Panthers' Roberto Luongo: Likely sidelined until November

Luongo, who underwent hip surgery in May, has an estimated return date of November 1, Sportsnet's John Shannon reports.

Analysis:

Initially, the Panthers believed Luongo would be fully recovered by the start of the season, but it sounds like there may have been a setback. Tom Rowe, Florida's new general manager, is not taking any chances with his depth among defensemen and goalies -- the offseason is still in its infancy and already he's acquired goalies Reto Berra and James Reimer, plus quality blueliners in Mark Pysyk, Jason Demers and Keith Yandle. As if that wasn't enough, he re-signed Aaron Ekblad, a terrific scoring defenseman, for eight years. Bump Luongo down on your fantasy draft cheat sheets since he's expected to get off to a late start to the next campaign, but don't drop him too far as he'll have a retooled supporting cast protecting the crease in front of him once he's ready to rock.