12. Florida Panthers: With oodles of salary-cap space and a wet-behind-the-ears roster, GM Mike Keenan did something that few of his peers could do: He signed some proven leaders -- Joe Nieuwendyk, Gary Roberts and Martin Gelinas -- and one proven point-a-game man, Josef Stumpel, to supplement a roster that has a bona-fide star in goal, Roberto Luongo, an emerging star on the blueline, Jay Bouwmeester, and an underrated star at centre, Olli Jokinen. In Florida, Roberts will be reunited with Jacques Martin, his former coach on a Guelph Memorial Cup team. Assuming Nieuwendyk and Roberts stay healthy (and given their recent history, that takes a leap of faith), the Panthers should be far more competitive than they have been in recent years.
