With the Panthers getting rid of several veterans, the message is sent to the core of Barkov, Huberdeau, Ekblad and Trocheck. The message is “It’s your team now”. When the Panthers signed Haapala, Dale Tallon has talked about playing a kid who hasn’t played in the NHL at all yet on the second line. This isn’t a good idea yet.
Being put on the second line right away puts a lot of pressure on the youngster. In 51 regular season games last year, Henrik put up 60 points which resulted in 1.