Bik Nizzar: Hockey is back has finally arrived in Florida..... I think, I dunno, has it finally arrived? They finally made the playoffs (meaning the Toronto Maple Leafs have the longest active post-season appearance drought hahahahaha) and General Manager / Wizard Dale Tallon has done an INCREDIBLE job stockpiling assets for this team. I don’t think I’ve ever uttered these words:
I’m jealous of the Florida Panthers.
Yeah, that’s such a shocking statement that it needed its own paragraph. And yet they still seem like they’re a bit off, maybe because its Florida, maybe because Stephen Weiss is a 1st line center here, maybe because Jose Theodore is the goalie or maybe because THEY’RE POTENTIALLY TRADING FOR ROBERTO LUONGO! As a Canucks fan, I want him to land in Florida because they have so many great prospects I’d love to see in Vancouver. But if we’re doing the whole ‘GM for a Day’ thing for Florida, how and WHY do you mess with what you’re building? Lemme just rattle off this list of incredible prospects they’ve amassed in the past couple of seasons (we’ll try to break some of them down later in the e-mail, just want to show how much depth they have for now).
Centers: 2011 1st rounder Jonathan Huberdeau, 2011 2nd rounder Rocco Grimaldi, 2010 1st rounder Nick Bjugstad, 2010 2nd rounder John McFarland, 2009 2nd rounder Drew Shore.
Wingers: 2010 1st rounder Quinton Howden
Defence: 2010 2nd rounder Alex Petrovic, (I’m going to add current NHL and 2010 1st rounder Erik Gudbranson to this list)
Goalie: 2008 2nd rounder Jacob Markstrom
LOOK AT THAT LIST!!!! They’ve got guys at every position who are considered amongst the best prospects in their respective spots (especially Huberdeau and Markstrom). Now I know that’s an abundance of centers, but McFarland and Shore can/will probably move to the wing..... So that’s basically an ENTIRE core of a team, IN THEIR SYSTEM!!!!! And they want to tamper with it by trading for Roberto Luongo?! I know bad drafting makes me angry, but apparently somehow good drafting also has made me angry...... TJ – take over.
TJ Molland: Hold on I need to google this roster just to remind myself who is actually on this team....
Alright, set. So first off, I need to make a correction. I am pretty sure you meant to say you are jealous of the Florida Panthers PROSPECTS. Because no one should be jealous of the lineup they have right now. I mean when it comes down to it they wouldn't have had enough points to make the playoffs in the Western Conference, let alone win a division (damn you terrible Southeast Division).
I am pretty sure this year was an anomaly for the Panthers. No playoff team should ever be in the bottom third in as many categories as the Panthers. Goals For (27th), 5-on-5 GF/GA (26th), Winning % when leading after the first period (25th), Winning % when leading after the second period (27th) and PK (25th) are just a few examples of where the kitty cats finished near the bottom of the league. And you are jealous of this?
Please enlighten me as to why I should be envious of a team that plays terrible during the season and still earn a playoff spot?
The NHL roster itself is alarmingly filled with over-achievers. I’m not gonna debate what this team did last year, cause this is about what’s to come for this team. And everything in that regard looks peachy-keen for the Sunrise State. You have a trio of young defensemen in Dmitry Kulikov, Gudbranson and Petrovic (a 6’4 semi-mobile bruiser). A stable of forwards who range from high skill guys (Huberdeau, Howden) 2 way forwards (Grimaldi, Bjugstad, Shore) and forwards with an edge (McFarland). Plus add, in my opinion the best goalie not in the NHL, in Jacob Markstrom. All the junk (and by junk, I mean the Tomas Kopecky, Tomas Fleischmann, Mike Weaver, Jose Theodore) that is on the roster right now will slowly be removed by all these prospects and its going to make for a pretty lethal team. It looks like Jason Garrison is going to test the free agent waters, and after the season he just had hard to blame him for doing so, but the Panthers have made him an offer and would like to retain him.
So please enlighten me, why aren’t you envious of this team?
TJ Molland: Give it 3 or 4 years. Then I think I will come around. But your points essentially back mine up. It was fortunate circumstance that allowed them to make the playoffs, not putting a winner on the ice. Dale Tallon is a smart man and he knows what he is doing. Most of those random players he acquired this past off season are set to have their contracts expire by 2015, which is right in that window I talk about. I am not a fan of this hodge-podge, mix-mash of players they have. I am a fan of what they should be able to present in a few years.
I have also heard Markstrom called the best goaltender not in the NHL. Hard to debate that. The man is great. I think it is time for him to prove it though. This is a perfect year to split duties with Theodore and learn what it takes to be an NHL goalie. Then when Theodore's contract runs out the following season he can take over full time duties.
The Panthers training camp might be one of the more fun ones to watch this fall with all their young talent buying for spots on the team. I doubt Tallon will be as busy this year in free agency as he was last year, but are there certain positions they are going to target this summer? They could use some depth on defense, but are they going to spend money to fill holes or let the young troops take over this year?
Bik Nizzar: 3-4 YEARS!?!??! IN TODAY’S NHL?!?! If you can’t right the ship in 3 years in THIS ERA, you’ve made a mistake. Which is what’s SOOOO shocking about the Edmonton’s of the world. Look at Chicago, Jonathan Toews first game was in 2007, he was Conn Smyth winner by 2010.... I’m not saying you have to win a cup in 3 years, but in this era, when scouting is SOOOO much better than it was in the mid-late 90’s, if you can’t make the playoffs in 3 years of mediocrity, then you have problems internally. And the Panthers don’t have problems considering the talent they’re getting ready to bring up.
Defensive depth is a bit of an issue considering Garrison is on the way out, but when your top 4 are Campbell, Gudbranson, Kulikov, Jovanovski... yeah sure it’s not ELITE, but it’s not TERRIBLE. A reliable 3rd pairing guy, like a Kent Huskins could be valuable to them.
TJ Molland: The reason why I think it will take a year or two more is that all these guys aren't going to be playing for the Panthers next year. They will be relevant and probably push for a bottom playoff spot during those years, but it will be a while before all these grade A prospects get to make their mark and take this team to the next level. The way this team is set up is a bridge gap, from their time in mediocrity (the last 12 years) to the time when their prospects are ready to claim it their own (3-4 years from now). The personnel that are here are here to help the team be relevant.
As long as Florida doesn't make any irrational moves they are in a good position to steadily improve their team internally. They have got great results out of second rate talent this year. It will be interesting to see if that second rate talent can prove they are more than just that and get this team back to the post season again.
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