The Florida Panthers have made the playoffs just twice since the 1999/2000 season, most recently back in 2015/16 when they lost in the first round to the New York Islanders in 6 games.

Hopes are as high as they've been in the 'Sunshine State' heading into the season, though, thanks to some big additions this summer (Joel Quenneville, Sergei Bobrovsky among others) and a postseason berth feels attainable for Florida.

The Panthers have every reason to be confident and Aaron Ekblad exuded that confidence in the form of this quote about not only how he views his team, but how the rest of the league should view the Panthers.

 

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<p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;”> Aaron #Ekblad thinks the #Panthers are the team to beat this year.

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We told you he was confident, but that's about as hot a take as you can make considering the Panthers' lack of recent playoff history and success.  Making a statement like that is how the culture starts to change, though, and we look forward to seeing if the Panthers can live up to their own expectations.
(H/T: The Athletic)