Observations:

January 2016 – The Chicago Blackhawks swung a minor-league trade on January 3rd shipping 24-year-old Jeremy Morin to the Toronto Maple Leafs for 2009 2nd rounder Richard Panik. Skating with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, Panik has scored eight goals and added 16 assists in 32 games and is inching closer to full-time NHL duty. This move to the Blackhawks system may delay any pending call-up he may have received in Toronto. However, he's a player who is capable of playing up and down the lineup and could earn depth minutes if help was needed on the big club. Brendan Ross

September 2015 – The summer transactions by the organization were not beneficial to the 24-year-old versatile winger. Competition was brought in off the free agent market from many directions and has limited his opportunities and may have put his roster spot in jeopardy. Panik finished the season with a minute upgrade, but did little offensively to propel himself forward. He did show excellent drive and responsibility over the full season. Panik is battling for the bottom roster spots with the likes of Mitch Marner, Connor Brown, Kaspari Kapanen, Mark Arcobello, Nikita Soshnikov and Matt Frattin, with tryouts Brad Boyes, Devin Setoguchi and Curtis Glencross trying to get noticed. Panik has an advantage with his 1 way contract and being a reliable player. His style of play seems like it would fit well with a coach like, Mike Babcock. Could be a victim of waivers, again, if one or two of the competitors afore mentioned stands out above him.  Jason Banks

February 2015 – Panik has firmly established his NHL job but has more to optimize his game and opportunity. On the surface Panik is playing a similar role with similar ice time and relatable production in Toronto as Tampa, but when you dig deeper you see the growth. After being claimed on waivers, Panik’s ice time rarely poked above 10 minutes while playing a limited 4^th line, but since the New Year came along, he has been utilized in a more responsible 3^rd line role regularly in the 14-16 minute range and a couple times approached 20. On a strong offensive Tampa squad, he was a negative player which can be of a head scratcher, but on a marginal Toronto team he is pretty much an even player with a little give and take. He is also been playing a more physical fore-check style doubling his hit total. With the Leafs poised to try and achieve ‘addition by subtraction’ Panik could be thrust into a top 6 role should either Phil Kessel or more likely Joffrey Lupul and moved in the next few days. With that bump will come more offensive situations like stronger top 6 line mates and power-play opportunities, these situations will be more productive and make Panik a decent player to be holding to finish the season but he will need to return next season to battle for the placement again. Jason Banks

October 2014 – The Toronto Maple Leafs have claimed Panik from waivers. Randall Buschmann

October 2014 – After being outplayed at training camp by prospects Vladislav Namestnikov and Nikita Kucherov, Panik was placed on waivers by Tampa Bay. Panik is experiencing a stall in development and needs more time to work on his game in the minor leagues. Randall Buschmann

February 2014 – Since being demoted late last month to Syracuse, Panik hadn't scored a goal and managed only two assists in seven games before leaving to play for Team Slovakia in the Olympics.  Panik was used sparingly in four contests and failed to register a point on what was generally a very disappointing tournament for Slovakia. Barring injuries in Tampa Bay, don't be surprised if he spends the rest of the season in Syracuse fine tuning his game. Randall Buschmann

January 2014 – Panik's season has been up and down but mostly, it's just been down. While his typical linemates Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat have been promoted to Tampa Bay's interim top line with Martin St. Louis, Panik has been a healthy scratch frequently. He holds a team worst minus-8 rating has been benched on several occasions for taking bad penalties. There's still plenty to like about Panik's game, such as his size, ability to shield the puck and the physicality he can bring to the lineup, all of which Tampa Bay lacks. When Panik is on, he's a real difference maker on the ice.  Randall Buschmann

October 2013 – Panik has earned a spot on Tampa Bay's opening night roster after impressive training camp and preseason showings.  He's slated to start on the third line with his Syracuse linemates Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson. The trio has proven to be an effective line together in the AHL and their success together has translated to the NHL very well so far. Randy Buschmann

June 2013 – Panik has had a whale of sophomore season as a pro. He posted 41 points (22 goals), positive 17 rating, with 81 PIMs in 51 AHL games, and added another nine points (five goals) in 25 NHL games. In the post season thus far he has eight points (four goals) and 29 PIMs in 10 games on his way to the Calder Cup finals. It would be extremely difficult for the Lightning to keep him off a top nine role for next season. Managers should look to get their hands on him if possible as he has good upside to bounce into regular offensive role and post good numbers for the Bolts in the near future. Jason Banks

February 2013 – There's no sophomore slump here, as Panik has raised his game to a new level this season. Panik's 21 goals through 43 games has already bested his rookie mark of 19 goals in 64 games. Panik was named to the AHL's Eastern Conference all-star team and earned his first call up with Tampa Bay on February 12th. Randy Buschmann

May 2012 – Panik is a very promising offensive forward for the Lightning. He is highly skilled with size, speed, and can be a constant scoring threat at any level. The downfall with Panik is that this offensively gifted forward will need to learn how to play defense more consistently in the pros. He represented Team Slovakia at the U20 WJCs for three straight tournaments (2009-11). The slick skating European finished a fairly successful rookie campaign in the AHL and will compete for spot in training camp with Tampa Bay, but will most likely get some more seasoning in Norfolk. Russ Bitely

Fantasy Outlook: B-

Panik has established himself as a very serviceable NHLer but the question is whether it'll be as a top-six player, or a third liner. He has the shot and size to be an effective power forward but has to show more consistency in his game.

Footage:

Panik scores his first goal of his NHL career

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