Can the Panthers make the playoffs with this blueline?

[RecycledEichel]

If Brandon Montour coming back improves your defense, then your defense is in big trouble to begin with

 

[thaman8765678]

Cool. That’s what you think, as an outsider. To Panthers fans, this trade was great. Tkatchuk at his age is such a better player than Huberdeau was at 24, and brings more to the team now, than Huberdeau did back then, and up until now. That, along with the cap space the Panthers will have over the next couple of summers, even more so when the big cap jump comes soon, makes this trade a good one in my eyes.

I could care less what anyone outside thinks of the trade. Members here think they know what Calgary is getting, or the Sutter will somehow elevate their games to an even higher level, but they didn’t watch those two players on a daily basis like we did, and saw how flawed they are, even with one of them being a 110+ point player.

Tkachuk is a great regular season player.

When the "Is Matthew Tkachuk the biggest playoff ghost" thread gets bumped in April when he does his yearly disappearing act, remember this post.

 

[Panthaz89]

Tkachuk is a great regular season player.

When the "Is Matthew Tkachuk the biggest playoff ghost" thread gets bumped in April when he does his yearly disappearing act, remember this post.

He had 10(4 goals) in 12 last year in the playoffs Huberdeau/Weegar had 6 in 10 collectively with only 1 goal and Weegar was horrid on D in that run so what's your point?

 

[Panteras]

Tkachuk is a great regular season player.

When the "Is Matthew Tkachuk the biggest playoff ghost" thread gets bumped in April when he does his yearly disappearing act, remember this post.

Did you see Huberdeau and Weegar last year in the playoffs? Me neither, they were also ghosts. Except Weegar actually, he was very obvious at being the sole reason we lost 2 games. So yeah, what is your point?

 

[Felidae]

Tkachuk has 15 points in 27 playoff games. Huberdeau has 21 points in 26 playoff games.

Huberdeau has the better postseason performance and overall production between them but Tkachuk has a longer time to change his individual postseason record since he's 5 years younger and just entering his prime. Meanwhile Huberdeau is in the later years of his with a much smaller window to improve his postseason record.

That should be the end of the discussion.

 

[pb1300]

Tkachuk is a great regular season player.

When the "Is Matthew Tkachuk the biggest playoff ghost" thread gets bumped in April when he does his yearly disappearing act, remember this post.

You got it bud

 

[BB88]

Tkachuk has 15 points in 27 playoff games. Huberdeau has 21 points in 26 playoff games.

Huberdeau has the better postseason performance and overall production between them but Tkachuk has a longer time to change his individual postseason record since he's 5 years younger and just entering his prime. Meanwhile Huberdeau is in the later years of his with a much smaller window to improve his postseason record.

That should be the end of the discussion.

Hubs should have as he’s at the end of his prime and Tkachuk is at the beginning of his prime.

Tkachuk- Barkov is just different type of threat than Hubs- Barkov or Gaudreau- Tkachuk

 

[Felidae]

Hubs should have as he’s at the end of his prime and Tkachuk is at the beginning of his prime.

Hence why I said Tkachuk has a much longer time to prove himself and shed his reputation as a poor postseason performer.

Huberdeau might be at the end of his prime, or just starting the later years of his. Lets remember he didnt exceed over a PPG until 25 and he hasnt looked back since. So he became an elite point producer a bit later than most.

He could have a noticeable decline as soon as next year or in his mid 30s. You never really know, even if the former is much more likely.

Tkachuk- Barkov is just different type of threat than Hubs- Barkov or Gaudreau- Tkachuk

I agree and I think Tkachuk and Barkov has the potential to be even better than Huberdeau and Barkov. As good as they were, they're a bit too similar offensively. Tkachuk simply brings another dimension as a pesty net front presence that can score goals in tight, while also being able to play the cycle game with Barkov. Just more variety in terms of playstyle and offensive options.

 

[pantherbot]

Tkachuk has 15 points in 27 playoff games. Huberdeau has 21 points in 26 playoff games.

Huberdeau has the better postseason performance and overall production between them but Tkachuk has a longer time to change his individual postseason record since he's 5 years younger and just entering his prime. Meanwhile Huberdeau is in the later years of his with a much smaller window to improve his postseason record.

That should be the end of the discussion.

I think the straight stats comparison kind of misses the point when comparing the two.

Huber is someone who needs to up his intensity level when going into big games. People like to bring up his performance in 2021, but forget that even then it was inconsistent. Not every game during that Tampa series was good. This is also probably why he's pretty inconsistent through the season, because he's generally a low intensity player who needs something to get him going. We see it sometimes when he gets pissed, he plays way more engage and that's the Huber I like.

Tkachuk on the other hand needs to control his intensity level better. He doesn't have a problem getting up for a nothing game in mid-February so his baseline intensity is what you want already. The criticism on him is he hasn't learned to always channel and control that properly, which is a common criticism on younger players like him.

I'd much rather have the younger caged panther that needs to be directed properly than the smoldering ember that needs to be fanned constantly to get the fire going.

 

[BB88]

Hence why I said Tkachuk has a much longer time to prove himself and shed his reputation as a poor postseason performer.

Huberdeau might be at the end of his prime, or just starting the later years of his. Lets remember he didnt exceed over a PPG until 25 and he hasnt looked back since. So he became an elite point producer a bit later than most.

He could have a noticeable decline as soon as next year or in his mid 30s. You never really know, even if the former is much more likely.

I agree and I think Tkachuk and Barkov has the potential to be even better than Huberdeau and Barkov. As good as they were, they're a bit too similar offensively. Tkachuk simply brings another dimension as a pesty net front presence that can score goals in tight, while also being able to play the cycle game with Barkov. Just more variety in terms of playstyle and offensive options.

I was agreeing with you no worries.

& yeah Tkachuk- Barkov is a much more versatile duo than Hubs- Barkov

 

[MarkusNaslund19]

Personally I think the Panthers are in trouble.

I get moving on from Huberdeau and Weegar. Choosing to shy away from deep investments in those players as they age out a bit. But not replacing Weegar was strange.

Ekblad has been unlucky, but at a certain point you have to call him injury prone. Who's the next best D on that team? Forsling? Montour? Decent players, but not championship caliber for 2/3 dmen.

They won't be bad because Barkov is incredible, Tkachuk is incredibly effective (in front of the net, etc), and they have good offensive depth.

But starting next year they are paying more than 14 million dollars in net, they're capped out, and they have no first round picks for ages.

Lundell is exciting, but I don't think the Panthers have many out of this world prospects.

I think they are sort of stuck in purgatory, but that purgatory will allow them to finish in the top 3 of their division for a couple (or few) years, lose in the 2nd round, and not really be a true cup contender.

 

[BB88]

Personally I think the Panthers are in trouble.

I get moving on from Huberdeau and Weegar. Choosing to shy away from deep investments in those players as they age out a bit. But not replacing Weegar was strange.

Ekblad has been unlucky, but at a certain point you have to call him injury prone. Who's the next best D on that team? Forsling? Montour? Decent players, but not championship caliber for 2/3 dmen.

They won't be bad because Barkov is incredible, Tkachuk is incredibly effective (in front of the net, etc), and they have good offensive depth.

But starting next year they are paying more than 14 million dollars in net, they're capped out, and they have no first round picks for ages.

Lundell is exciting, but I don't think the Panthers have many out of this world prospects.

I think they are sort of stuck in purgatory, but that purgatory will allow them to finish in the top 3 of their division for a couple (or few) years, lose in the 2nd round, and not really be a true cup contender.

How are they capped out moving forward?

-Cap can go up 4M
- Yandle buy out, drops from 5.3M to 1M
- Darling buy out, 1.2M drops out
-Hornqvist, 5.3M contract drops off
- Gudas, 2.3M drops off.
That’s a lot of useless cap going out the window. That’s 14-18M.

How are they again capped out?
Especially with all Barkov, Tkachuk, Ekblad, Knight signed longterm.

On top of you can bet good money Bob won’t finish his contract in Florida

On top of it
Barkov
Tkachuk
Lundell
Verhaeghe
Reinhart
Bennett
Ekblad
Forsling
Knight
Duclair

Are all 21-27y.

Your post makes about zero sense.

Florida needs to retool their defense, but they atleast have the money to do it

 

[pb1300]

Personally I think the Panthers are in trouble.

I get moving on from Huberdeau and Weegar. Choosing to shy away from deep investments in those players as they age out a bit. But not replacing Weegar was strange.

Ekblad has been unlucky, but at a certain point you have to call him injury prone. Who's the next best D on that team? Forsling? Montour? Decent players, but not championship caliber for 2/3 dmen.

They won't be bad because Barkov is incredible, Tkachuk is incredibly effective (in front of the net, etc), and they have good offensive depth.

But starting next year they are paying more than 14 million dollars in net, they're capped out, and they have no first round picks for ages.

Lundell is exciting, but I don't think the Panthers have many out of this world prospects.

I think they are sort of stuck in purgatory, but that purgatory will allow them to finish in the top 3 of their division for a couple (or few) years, lose in the 2nd round, and not really be a true cup contender.

We certainly are not capped out. We will have cap space to build a better all-around team, rather than just a heavily offensive-sided team like the past few seasons. This move was made to add Tkatchuk, and to get value for two players that were entering the final year of their deals, and were looking for way more than Zito wanted to give. This move was made to widen our window of opportunity, and with the cap space available, along with the eventual jump in the cap, Zito has set this team up for better success now, than we would have been with Huberdeau and Weegar re-signed long term.

 

[Dr Beinfest]

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

I think you meant “that defense went from bad to worse.”
The conops last year was literally “outscore your problems.”

 

[Panthaz89]

The only thing really limiting the Panthers in the future is the fact that they have little draft capital to make a bigger push in the playoff no doubt that they can reach the 2nd round but beyond that they are going to need to find a way to improve their D to make it to a finals.

 

[Ratsreign]

We certainly are not capped out. We will have cap space to build a better all-around team, rather than just a heavily offensive-sided team like the past few seasons. This move was made to add Tkatchuk, and to get value for two players that were entering the final year of their deals, and were looking for way more than Zito wanted to give. This move was made to widen our window of opportunity, and with the cap space available, along with the eventual jump in the cap, Zito has set this team up for better success now, than we would have been with Huberdeau and Weegar re-signed long term.

I’d like this post twice, if they would let me.
this trade was always all about the long term

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

Yes the one Blueline that's better than Florida's is the Avs and it's not even that much better.

 

[Artorius Horus T]

Why they hired PoMo as their next head coach is still beyond me.
awful coach, made a mess in Winnipeg, eventually, started early in Florida it seems.
(what was wrong with Andrew Brunette)

1694 games
780 wins (.460)
815 losses
99 ties

41-51 record in the play-offs

been fired 3 times and last season he resigned

he holds the NHL record for most losses

2 x division championships (99 and 02)
1 x Stanley Cup finals appearance (loss - 02)

he is a dinosaur from yester year
should not be coaching in the NHL

 

[topshelf15]

The Atlantic doesnt play defense TBH

 

[HockeyVirus]

Not looking good early. Currently in the bottom of the league standings

 

[TheImpatientPanther]

Not looking good early. Currently in the bottom of the league standings

17th is bottom?

 

[HockeyVirus]

17th is bottom?

Considering Panthers were expecting to be contenders might as well be. I guess we will see over the next few weeks but I am thinking Panthers will not be in a playoff spot by thanksgiving. As I said they massively overachieved last season

 

[Artorius Horus T]

Considering Panthers were expecting to be contenders might as well be. I guess we will see over the next few weeks but I am thinking Panthers will not be in a playoff spot by thanksgiving. As I said they massively overachieved last season

i disagree, they are massively underachieving this season, under Paul Maurice.

 

[WhereAreTheCookies]

Considering Panthers were expecting to be contenders might as well be. I guess we will see over the next few weeks but I am thinking Panthers will not be in a playoff spot by thanksgiving. As I said they massively overachieved last season

I mean there's 13 teams in the east separated by 4 points or less right now. It's difficult to say whether they're in a playoff spot or not as they could easily go on a winning streak. They have a few guys not really producing right now (Reinhart most notably), but I can't see that lasting.

 

[HockeyVirus]

I mean there's 13 teams in the east separated by 4 points or less right now. It's difficult to say whether they're in a playoff spot or not as they could easily go on a winning streak. They have a few guys not really producing right now (Reinhart most notably), but I can't see that lasting.

Last season was the outlier season for them. In normal seasons with normal divisions, they have been a bubble team under their core. They got worse moving two pieces for 1, plus all of the loss of depth due to cap space isn't helping.

I'm not suggesting they can't win a few games and be higher in the standings. Just, to this point of the season, their team has major major flaws.