Vilmanis gets the Marchand minutes, and Maurice isn't hedging

The most important lineup call of Panthers camp isn't Brady Tkachuk's health. It's Sandis Vilmanis on the third line, and Paul Maurice just told everyone he isn't keeping the seat warm for anybody.

With Brad Marchand working back from offseason surgery, the first look beside Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen went to the 22-year-old from Riga. Maurice didn't hedge it. "I think he's a top-nine player all day long," he said Wednesday, adding that Vilmanis "can come out and be really strong defensively right from the get-go."

That second part is the one that matters. Coaches say "top nine" about a lot of kids in September. They don't usually trust them on the wall in their own zone on a line built to shut people down.

Why it isn't a placeholder

Vilmanis earned this in two leagues and two tournaments. He had 17 goals and 38 points in 48 games in Charlotte last season, then five points (three goals, two assists) in a 19-game NHL look.

He played for Latvia at the Olympics and put up 11 points at the World Championship, tied for fifth in the tournament.

The Panthers took him 157th overall in 2022. Fifth-round picks don't usually get a July 1 extension before they've played a full NHL season. He did, a two-year deal that kicks in for 2027-28. The front office voted before the coach did.

He also sounds like a guy who knows why he's here. Vilmanis told Florida Hockey Now the penalty-kill minutes and heavy usage in Charlotte built his trust in his own game. That's the Lundell line's job description in one sentence.

Brady's fine, Marchand's somewhere in between

Brady Tkachuk is day-to-day after sitting the third period of Tuesday's 3-2 shootout loss in Raleigh. Maurice said it'll take "a handful of days to get right" and expects him for the opener.

Tkachuk leads the team with three goals and five points in two preseason games, one of them a Gordie Howe hat trick. We're not worried, and the calendar says we shouldn't be.

Marchand skated lightly on Wednesday. Maurice's read: "He's certainly not behind, but I don't know he's necessarily ahead." That's coach for "no date, don't ask."

The call

Florida plays in Tampa tonight, hosts the Lightning on Saturday, and opens for real Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET in Raleigh on ESPN. Then it's San Jose and Anaheim on the road.

Here's the Ferda take. Vilmanis starts the season on that line, and he's still in the top nine when Marchand comes back. The kid kills penalties, wins his wall battles and has already shown he can finish at this level. Somebody else is going to lose a job to him, and it won't be close.