Less than a week away from opening day and I have my reservations. On the whole, it doesn't seem like they improved any from last year. On a positive note, Zibad and Kreids look phenomenal. I see them both having another great year. The Kids also look good. Another year of growth and playoff experience under their belt, seemed to do them a world of good. Miller looks like he is taking another giant step forward in his progression to be a top D-man. And Fox looks like the magic man once again. So with those two heading up our blueline, our D-corps looks strong once again. Shesty in net, looks to build off his Venezia trophy season.
Most of my reservations begin and end with Panarin. He doesn't look like the world class star when he first arrived. For two years you could count on one hand the number of mistakes he made during a game. Sometimes he would go completely mistake free which is unheard of in this fast-paced game. Anytime he had the puck, he would do the right thing. Either get it deep, successfully pass it off to a teammate, or score. Never would he throw an errant pass or turn it over. That is no longer the case. He is no longer superhuman. This began to show last season, even though he set a career record in points. And it was terribly visible during the 2nd half of the playoffs. He was a shell of himself. And this preseason, I see no flashes of brilliance, that he used to dole out multiple times during a game. No threading of passes on the tape, no shaking and baking of defenders, no intercepting passes or stealing of pucks. He is another year older and might be past his prime. I just hope his drop off isn't reminiscent of his play in the post-season last year. He was awful vs Tampa. -4 vs them and -2 vs the Canes.
It might not matter who lines up with him this year, if his decline in play continues. I highly doubt Vinny Trocheck is the answer.
I hope I'm wrong about Panarin, but I see the writing on the wall.
