30 in 30: Inside look at the Florida Panthers

NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 30 teams throughout August. Today, the Florida Panthers.

The Florida Panthers are coming off the most successful regular season in their history, but that wasn’t good enough for them.

After losing in the Eastern Conference First Round in six games to the New York Islanders, the Panthers decided to revamp their defense with an overhaul rarely seen by a team that had 103 points.

Keith Yandle, Jason Demers and Mark Pysyk arrived in the offseason in trades and free agency. Four of the six defensemen who played in the Panthers’ 2015-16 season opener — Brian Campbell, Dmitry Kulikov, Erik Gudbranson and Willie Mitchell — are gone.

“I think we increased our talent level, our speed, puck movement from the back end,” said Gerard Gallant, who will return for his third season as Panthers coach. “I thought our defense did a real good job last year, but for us to get better, we had to get a little bit more talent, a little bit more speed. That’s what (we) were trying to accomplish.”

Returning, of course, is defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who signed an eight-year contract extension on July 1. The No. 1 pick of the 2014 NHL Draft has led Florida defensemen in scoring each of the past two seasons.

The Panthers followed that up by signing restricted free agent center Vincent Trocheck to a six-year contract and forward Reilly Smith to a five-year extension. Trocheck and Smith are among nine Panthers signed for at least the next five seasons, along with Yandle, Demers, Ekblad, centers Aleksander Barkov and Nick Bjugstad, and goalies Roberto Luongo and James Reimer.

“[Owners …

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