Follow @SpiegelSports Thomas Vanek makes his debut tonight with the Florida Panthers after being acquired from the Detroit Red Wings for Dylan McIlrath and a conditional 2017 3rd round pick.
This is a great deal for the Panthers, as they have to pay a very small amount of money and dealt a player that likely had no future with the team anyway. More importantly is what Vanek brings to the table in terms of strengthening team weaknesses.
Amongst his 38 points in 48 games played are five power play goals and 11 total points on the man advantage. Florida's 25th ranked power play needs a boost, and Vanek could be just what the team was looking for to create more flexibility and depth on special teams.
While the power play is important, at the end of the day success five on five is the key. The top two lines are set and producing. The puzzle on how to get Nick Bjugstad going on the third line just got a little easier.
To put it in perspective, Bjugstad has two less points than defenseman Alex Petrovic...playing five more games! That trend needs to turn around in a big way to make the playoffs, and Vanek should help solidify the top three lines in terms of scoring.
Vanek will join Bjugstad and the best free agent signing last summer, Jonathan Marchessault, on the third line. Being a one-dimensional player might not hurt Florida in terms of what Vanek can do to the power play and third line. He has 23 helpers on the year to go with his 15 goals so he loves to set up his teammates and make them better. He is now tied with Aleksander Barkov for 2nd on the team in points.
Nothing should make Bjugstad happier to know he's got bonafide scorers on both sides of him now and it will only benefit him for the rest of the season.
After tonight's game Florida goes home for three in a row in the hopes of offsetting going 1-3 in Sunrise over the last week.
Will Vanek be the piece that helps Florida solidify their playoff spot in April?
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