Can the Panthers make the playoffs with this blueline?

[HockeyVirus]

This is their Dcore for the foreseeable future



So basically he is going to miss significant time after having a poor start to the season, and the hope will be he will be able to come back from a major injury, turn it around and be an elite dman who carries this Dcore and doesn't get re-injured.

I am posting this now because they have a winning record so I don't want to seem like I am piling on, more I am suggesting that this start is not sustainable and as the games go on there is going to be pain there. Especially when you consider the Panthers have had their goaltending start red hot but the stats still suggest it is only league average.

So I am asking, will the Panthers make the playoffs icing this Dcore?

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[Circus86]

I think the offense is strong enough to make the playoffs.

Looking at the D and what they are lacking I would say a MacKenzie Weegar type player would fit in nicely.

 

[VanillaCoke]

Nah

 

[Nikolajs Sillers]

Montour should be back some time.

 

[hotcabbagesoup]

Anton Lundell is essentially another top-4 dman out there whenever he's on the ice.

 

[BB88]

Montour will be back very soon.

But that’s a bottom5 dcore in the league.

Having said that unlike what many here think their F core is loaded with high end talent and will keep them in the mix

 

[seafoam]

I do think so, but they won’t be winning a Presidents trophy.

 

[NewEraGM]

The Atlantic is going to be really tough. Toronto and Tampa bay I think are locks for top 2. Boston looks very good. Detroit, Buffalo and Ottawa all look better than last year. Montreal is last but still will be tougher than last year.

In the metro, I’d say Carolina, NYR, Pitt are locks. So I think FL will battle for either 3rd in Atlantic or a WC spot with Washington, NYI

 

[tarheelhockey]

I feel for Panthers fans. Speaking from experience, it's tough to emerge as a contender after years of losing and then go right back into this cycle of misery again.

 

[Captain97]

It's possible, but for more likely I think they end up as 4th in the Atlantic and make the playoffs than miss altogether.

 

[VijayPatel11]

I feel for Panthers fans. Speaking from experience, it's tough to emerge as a contender after years of losing and then go right back into this cycle of misery again.

What misery? The season is young but it's been great so far...

 

[tarheelhockey]

What misery? The season is young but it's been great so far...

Keep that optimistic outlook... you're gonna need it.

 

[FinlandPanther]

I feel for Panthers fans. Speaking from experience, it's tough to emerge as a contender after years of losing and then go right back into this cycle of misery again.

Lmao what.

 

[hotcabbagesoup]

I feel for Panthers fans. Speaking from experience, it's tough to emerge as a contender after years of losing and then go right back into this cycle of misery again.

 

[FinlandPanther]

This is their Dcore for the foreseeable future



So basically he is going to miss significant time after having a poor start to the season, and the hope will be he will be able to come back from a major injury, turn it around and be an elite dman who carries this Dcore and doesn't get re-injured.

I am posting this now because they have a winning record so I don't want to seem like I am piling on, more I am suggesting that this start is not sustainable and as the games go on there is going to be pain there. Especially when you consider the Panthers have had their goaltending start red hot but the stats still suggest it is only league average.

So I am asking, will the Panthers make the playoffs icing this Dcore?

I would honestly worry about beating Montreal and Arizona if I were you.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

They could make the playoffs , but won’t go anywhere once they get in

 

[tarheelhockey]

Lmao what.

I mean Jesus, is it not pretty evident that the core of that D has been gutted? Going from a particularly dominant President’s Trophy team to… that… is a large step back.

The forward group is good enough to keep the bottom from falling out, but that’s assuming all the forwards are healthy and on top of their games, which is a massive assumption 4 games into the season.

 

[Mr Kot]

Cant they? Yes

Will they? Yes

Can they? No

 

[Super Hans]

Remember the defense the Avs had during the Roy head coach years? Cats will be fine.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Yes

 

[VijayPatel11]

I mean Jesus, is it not pretty evident that the core of that D has been gutted? Going from a particularly dominant President’s Trophy team to… that… is a large step back.

The forward group is good enough to keep the bottom from falling out, but that’s assuming all the forwards are healthy and on top of their games, which is a massive assumption 4 games into the season.

The D core has never been particularly good... And without Ekblad the team has gone something ridiculous like 32-9 over the past few years. The seasons gonna be great.

 

[HockeyVirus]

The D core has never been particularly good... And without Ekblad the team has gone something ridiculous like 32-9 over the past few years. The seasons gonna be great.

Last season it was exposed and was significantly better. This lineup is missing 2 top pairing dmen and a 2nd pairing one from end of last year. And even then, how many comebacks did the Panthers have? I swear for a stretch of 20 games it seems they went down early and then fought back in most of them.

And that was with Bob having his best season in years. I personally don't think between the forward depth hit they took, goaltending regressing to the mean, and the state of the defense they won't be able to overcome these issues.

The end result is the Panthers become a run and gun team trying to win games. And I don't think the Dmen are even suited for that because they lack skill with the puck

 

[BB88]

The D core has never been particularly good... And without Ekblad the team has gone something ridiculous like 32-9 over the past few years. The seasons gonna be great.

They had Weegar as a back up plan then

 

[tarheelhockey]

The D core has never been particularly good... And without Ekblad the team has gone something ridiculous like 32-9 over the past few years. The seasons gonna be great.

Well yeah, they were fine without Ekblad because they had Weegar out there blowing away all expectations. The same Weegar who left during the off-season. The #1 in that lineup is now Gustav Forsling, a good player but miles from being a replacement for what was lost.

If anything keeps it from getting too bad, it’ll be the new-coach boost that Paul Maurice has made a career of. Maybe he gets a group effort out of them that contains the damage… they wouldn’t be the first team to do that. But if they make the playoffs it’ll be with the worst D group out of any playoff team, no?

 

[GirardSpinorama]

Make the playoffs yes. It's not hard to make the playoffs. That defense went from okay to bad.