With Yandle calling the shots from the blue line, the Panthers finished with the second ranked power play in the league at 26.8 percent, which also smashed the franchise's previous record for power-play success rate of 20.4 - the only other time the team operated at over 20 percent.
"You know the way that those guys can shoot the puck and score goals, I think I have the easiest job out there," Yandle said when asked about his ability to generate offense with the extra attacker. "It's just about distributing it to those guys and letting them do their magic."
Thanks in large part to his production on the power play, Yandle went on to finish with a career-high 62 points, which also moved him ahead of Robert Svehla (57, 1995-96) for the most points by a defenseman in a season in franchise history. Of those 62 points, a career-best 53 came in the form of assists, which -- you guessed it -- set a single-season franchise record for blueliners.
For his efforts, Yandle earned a trip to the NHL All-Star Game for the third time in his career.
"It's obviously special, especially when you see the guys that have played here," Yandle said after breaking the points record. "Guys that I've looked up to like Caber [Bryan McCabe] and Jovo [Ed Jovanovski], who really helped me out in the beginning of my career. Also, Brian Campbell and Robert Svehla, who was the guy that had the record… You take pride in it."
Then, of course, there's the streak.
The NHL's active iron man, Yandle pushed his consecutive games played streak to 797 after fighting through the bumps and bruises of yet another full 82-game season. The fifth-longest such streak in league history, he sits 167 games behind Doug Jarvis' all-time record of 964.
"To play any game in the league is special," said Yandle, who hasn't missed a game since March 22, 2009. "For me, I never take it for granted. You come to the rink and enjoy every moment of it, try to get better every day. To play any games in the NHL is a true honor for me."
Looking ahead to next season, Yandle, like the rest of his teammates, is eager to get to work under new head coach Joel Quenneville. In addition to leading the Chicago Blackhawks to a trio of Stanley Cups (2010, 2013 and 2015), he also ranks second in all-time coaching wins (890).
Much like Aaron Ekblad projects that he and defensive partner Mike Matheson could be molded under Quenneville into Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook -- mainstays on Chicago's blue line for all three Cups -- Yandle's role next season could be likened to Brian Campbell, who was the veteran offensive-defenseman on the Blackhawks' franchise-altering championship in 2010.
"I think it's unreal," Yandle said of the hiring. "A chance to get a Hall-of-Fame coach, a guy that has won Stanley Cups and knows how to win. I've heard from guys that played for him in Chicago, they loved him. It's definitely an exciting day here."
At 32, Yandle hopes this is the last summer he's spending outside of the playoff picture.
"I would trade in having a no-point season to be playing next week [in the playoffs]," he said after cleaning out his locker at BB&T Center on April 8. "It's kind of one of those things where you are happy you had a good season, but also not happy because we aren't playing next week."
