Complete Preview for the Florida Panthers' 2014-15 Season

When the Florida Panthers hired general manager Dale Tallon during the summer of 2010, the Chicago Blackhawks team he'd helped build had just won its first Stanley Cup. It was hoped that Tallon could apply the same model of success in the Sunshine State, building a winner around a collection of high draft picks accumulated through unsuccessful seasons.

The Panthers won the Southeast Division and made the playoffs in 2011-12, but they have regressed back to the league cellar in the two subsequent campaigns.

With new owner Vincent Viola spending money to build a winner, Panthers fans are hoping that the team's new mix of youth and experience will direct them back into the playoff picture in 2014-15.

What We Learned in 2013-14

On September 27, 2013, a new era began in South Florida when Viola was introduced as the owner of the Florida Panthers.

The winning did not begin last season. The Panthers moved up just one spot in the standings, from 30th to 29th. Florida was second worst in the league at both scoring and defending.

The scene was bleak across the forward lines.

Nick Bjugstad led the team in scoring with 38 points. Brad Boyes was Florida's only player to reach the 20-goal plateau. After posting 14 goals and 31 points in his rookie season, 2013 Calder Trophy winner Jonathan Huberdeau was hit by a serious sophomore slump with just nine goals and 28 points in 69 games. Promising rookie Aleksander Barkov suffered a season-ending knee injury while playing for Team Finland at the Winter Olympics.

On November 8, the Panthers' 3-9-4 start led to the firing of head coach Kevin Dineen. After failing to get Florida any closer to playoff contention, his replacement, Peter Horachek, was also dismissed at the end of the season.

Florida's biggest personnel move of the 2013-14 season came March 4, when the team reacquired goaltender Roberto Luongo from the Vancouver Canucks, along with forward Steven Anthony, in exchange for Jacob Markstrom and Shawn Matthias.

A former Panther who played 331 games for Florida between 2000 and 2006, rumors circulated that Florida was the top team on the wishlist for the three-time Vezina finalist and two-time Olympic gold medalist when it became clear that his time was up with the Canucks during the summer of 2012.

Luongo had a respectable run as a Panther to close out the season. He debuted with a shutout against the Buffalo Sabres on his way to a 6-7-1 record with a 2.46 goals-against average and .924 save percentage.

Despite the optimism surrounding Florida's new ownership and on-ice potential, attendance plummeted in 2013-14. The lockout year produced the second-best attendance in the team's history with an average gate of 16,996 in 2012-13, but that number dropped to 14,177 last season, according to ESPN.com. That was second worst in the league after the Phoenix Coyotes and the lowest number since the Panthers moved to their current 19,000-plus seat arena in 1998.

Outlook for 2014-15

On June 21, the Panthers named Gerard Gallant as their new head coach for 2014-15. Most recently an assistant with the Montreal Canadiens, Gallant played 615 NHL games as a left wing for the Detroit Red Wings and the Tampa Bay Lightning from 1984 to 1994. He led the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 56-76-4-6 record over three seasons as head coach between 2004 and 2006.

He also served as coach for Jonathan Huberdeau in junior, when the Saint John Sea Dogs reached the Memorial Cup in 2012.

Huberdeau told Alain Poupart of NHL.com: "I know he's a coach who likes to make everybody feel involved in the team. That's what we need on our team, get all close together."

Huberdeau will have plenty of new teammates to get close to this fall. Gone are goaltender Scott Clemmensen, free agent defenseman Tom Gilbert and oft-injured defenseman Ed Jovanovski, who was given a compliance buyout.

In free agency, Tallon made a splash with his new owner's money, paying premium prices to sign centers Dave Bolland and Derek MacKenzie, wingers Jussi Jokinen and Shawn Thornton, defenseman Willie Mitchell and backup goaltender Al Montoya.

Here's a look at the Panthers' projected lineup for the new season:

	Forward
	Defense
	Goal
Jussi Jokinen	Aleksander Barkov	Brad Boyes
Jonathan Huberdeau	Nick Bjugstad	Scottie Upshall
Tomas Fleischmann	Dave Bolland	Sean Bergenheim
Tomas Kopecky	Brandon Pirri	Jimmy Hayes
Derek MacKenzie		Shawn Thornton
Brian Campbell		Dmitry Kulikov
Willie Mitchell		Erik Gudbranson
Dylan Olsen		Aaron Ekblad
Colby Robak
	Roberto Luongo
	Al Montoya

The Panthers also won the 2014 NHL draft lottery, which allowed them to pick big defenseman Aaron Ekblad first overall. He has a good chance of cracking the lineup of a Panthers team that still lacks depth on the blue line. Other prospects who will be fighting for jobs include 2010 first-rounder Quinton Howden and 2011 second-round pick Rocco Grimaldi, though there won't be much available space in the lineup.

No longer a team that struggles to reach the salary cap floor, CapGeek.com reports that the Panthers have 25 NHL players signed at a cap hit of $64 million—just $5 million away from the ceiling.

Showing no shortage of confidence, Ekblad is aiming for the stars:

As a Canuck, Luongo battled against new teammates Bolland and Thornton in the playoffs, but he says he likes the additions that the Panthers made over the summer.

One thing's for sure. One of the wittiest and most self-deprecating Twitter accounts in the NHL, Luongo's, is now Florida Panthers property.