Florida Panthers. Tampa Bay's older, less successful brother. He's the NHL equivalent of the bartender who remembers what it was like in the 'good ol' days' and is having a mid-life crisis because of how successful his younger brother is. Kinda like JD's brother in Scrubs. You know, the guy who played Ed and the guy who mentors the Flash?
Florida hasn't been relevant since they first entered the league and Scott Mellanby led the Rat Patrol every night until they met their end at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Final. Since then they have been the Buffalo Sabres of the South. Bad choices, cast-off signings, a lot of Toronto Maple Leafs and a certain Captain Luongo experiment gone full circle.
Perhaps embarrassed at how well the Lightning are selling out, the Panthers made some big changes last year. They brought in a core group of guys to form the nucleus of their new-look offense. Then when it looked like they still had a shot at the playoffs they brought in the Hairy One; Jaromir Jagr from New Jersey.
It didn't help.
Coach Gerald Gallant
He's no Patrick Roy but Gerald was a tiny tornado of force with the Red Wings in the 80's who also took his lumps coaching before landing in Florida. He coached the Columbus Blue Jackets in their early years, fired after his third year. He spend some (seven) years down in the minors before getting another kick at the can. Unfortunately, you have to return to start somewhere and that somewhere is Miami. Could be worse.
Forwards
Before the season started, the Panthers did this;
They finished 10th out of 16 in the Eastern Conference, only 8 points back of a playoff spot. The guys they brought in? Jussi Jokinen was their 3rd leading scorer after Huberdeau and Jagr with 44 points (8G 36A). The other four guys scored 15 goals between them. Did I mention Jussi scored only eight? While I believe experience means something, scoring means a little more. When your 5 core players contribute only 23 goals between them, things have got to change. Even the toughness factor seemed off; with Thornton only putting up 50 PIM tough guy minutes.
They re-signed Jagr to mentor/feed Huberdeau and Barkov, another potential 20 goal scorer.
Defense
With #1 pick Aaron Ekblad exceeding expectations, teamed with the Phil Housley-esque Brian Campbell, the Florid defensive pair scored more points than half of the forwards. Willie Mitchell did what he was supposed to do; play defense and he did it well. They've got some new young toughness to back him up but could use a couple more years of seasoning. Campbell's contract is over next year so look for a big year for him or to be moved at the trade deadline.
Goalies
Luongo continues to stick at his career .920 save percentage which is really great for any goalie on any team but Vancouver. He's out of the Canuck circus and loving it. Al Montoya, happy and content not to be the next Cory Schneider could pick up his game a little, but he's not going to go down that road. He will continue to be an acceptable occasional break for Lu.
My #1 Priority - kicking Tampa Bay's ass every time we meet
My #2 Priority - scoring a few more goals to the delight of Gary Bettman
My #3 Priority - being so non-threatening people won't notice the wins pile up like Ted from Scrubs.
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| he did keep Sacred Heart hospital legally functioning for 9 years... |
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