Elliotte Friedman believes Florida Panthers set to 'strike again' in trade market after placing Matthew Tkachuk on LTIR

The Florida Panthers are gearing up for another run at the Stanley Cup. The defending Stanley Cup champions once again appear to be juggernauts as they look to become the ninth team in NHL history to go back-to-back.

They proved they're all-in on Saturday night making a blockbuster trade to acquire star defenseman Seth Jones. They sent goaltender Spencer Knight and a first-round draft pick to Chicago in exchange for Jones.

On Sunday, it was announced that Matthew Tkachuk had been placed on LTIR due to his groin injury. This frees up $9.5 million in cap space for general manager Bill Zito to work with ahead of the trade deadline.

Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman expects the Panthers to use that money aggressively this week. Here's what he had to say during Monday's edition of "32 Thoughts: The Podcast".

"I think they're gonna take another shot at something. I absolutely, first of all, that's Zito's way. Number two, they're a Stanley Cup champion, and they want to go for it every year. It's like we talked about Vegas. They just want to keep going for it," Friedman said (2:02:00).

Friedman discussed the futures of center Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk. While the insider reportedly believes Bennett has a chance to stay with the Panthers — whom he joined in 2021 — the case of Tkachuk is seemingly wide open.

"You know, Sam Bennett, I've said before, and I've written before. There was a time earlier in the season where I think the Panthers and Bennett were close. There could always be a dispute in the definitions of close, but I've heard from several people it was kind of like in the ballpark. It was, it was doable. Well, I don't know if it was because the cap changed or whatever the case is, but it didn't get done and, but I don't think they're going to move him. I think whatever happens, they're going to keep him. They're going to go for it, and we'll see how it plays out in the summer," Friedman added.

"But I think you have to look at them right now and say, with all that cap room, they're gonna strike again. I think you also have to assume that with this groin injury with Tkachuk, at least now, depending on what they do, he's out for the rest of the regular season, and we'll see him in the playoffs. But the Panthers clearly see a wide open East like we all do, and they're saying, we're entering. We're jumping in. We don't want to look and see if there's any rocks, we are jumping right in," Friedman added.

With Matthew Tkachuk on LTIR, Florida has $8.705 million they can use to add even more to the roster for another deep postseason run.

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The Florida Panthers are in a battle for the Atlantic Division title

The Florida Panthers will be in a fight until the finish to win the Atlantic division.

It's currently a three-horse race between Florida, Toronto, and Tampa Bay. The Panthers are in second place with 77 points, just one point behind the Maple Leafs (78 points) and three points ahead of the Lightning (74 points).

Florida will play Toronto three more times throughout the final 21 games of the regular season. Those matchups will almost certainly determine who will secure the number one seed in the division.

The Florida Panthers will host the red-hot Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night at Amerant Bank Arena. The puck drops at 7 p.m. EST.