Florida Panthers set to take step back?

[Pongs21]

Hopefully during his time off, Pomo re-evaluated his systems. His sit back, non aggressive and confusing man to man defensive strategy doesn't help. Florida should still be a solid team though, playoffs for sure.

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

It's strip clubs every night for the Panthers because on a PoMo team the players run the show.

 

[heksagon]

Florida is gonna be stuck as a middle of the pack team for the next little while, they mortgaged the future for a playoff run and didn't work out. No 1st round pick for what, 3 years ? It's gonna be tough to add to their team.


They are not even close, the players they lost as well as the picks are just disastrous. They will be above average offensively and pretty damn bad everywhere else. Take a loot at the blue line as well as the subtractions in their forward group, no 1st round pick til 2026

Get ready to eat crow.

 

[JPeeper]

No way, Tkachuk-Bennett-White will be a line in the regular season right? right?? (just based off things I'm seeing on twitter) They'll get rinsed. Tkachuk will drop to 60 points.

 

[Reality Czech]

The big story is obviously that they have lost Huberdeau and the hope is Tkachuk will be enough to replace that production - however, the bigger story to me is the defense.

Forsling-Ekblad
L Carlsson - Gudas
M Staal - Montour

Am I the only one who is completely underwhelmed by this D Corps? Yes, Ekblad is a beast - hopefully he doesn't get hurt like usual. Forsling is underappreciated, but the rest is suspect.

Obviously still a playoff team - but going to need to make an upgrade to this D if they want to get past the powerhouse Leafs and Lightning in that division. Thoughts?

Fair assessment. Everyone knows the defense has a lot to prove but they could add a guy midseason if need be.

Similar to Calgary, they may take a step back in the regular season but that's not necessarily a bad thing. As long as they can find chemistry and come together as a team by playoff time then anything can happen. The talent is there even if they are missing a piece or two right now. Both teams will be playing with a chip on their shoulder to prove the doubters wrong.

 

[bossram]

They have basically lost only Weegar who turns into a modern day Keith Yandle when the playoffs are around the corner and i don't doubt for a second that Maurice will make them play better 5 man D than Bruno did. They'll be fine.

Winnipeg's team defense was abysmal under PoMo, so I'm not sure what basis one would think losing their 2nd best defenseman and employing PoMo would lead to better defending.

 

[AvroArrow]

Get ready to eat crow.

Lmao please quote me in April. The D core is absolutely atrocious, they don't even have futures available to trade to make a run this year, and their team is far worse than last year to begin with. There is no way in hell they finish at the top of the division, they'll be 3rd or 4th, no higher than that.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Get ready to eat crow.

Yep. I’d still rank them the top team in the Atlantic. They did get a bit worse but so did Tampa and Toronto and Florida finished ahead of both of them last year. Florida’s D does concern me but Toronto’s goaltending and depth is also a concern and Tampa lost both D and depth players.
I still think Tampa is the best built team for the playoffs but we will see.

 

[howkie]

It is not the players I would be worried about, it is PoMos lack off structure and coaching I would be worried about. He only get anything done with a stacked team that is so good they manage to outplay his system. The 17-18 Jets would easliy been in the finals with a deccent coach.

 

[nammerus]

Most Panthers fans will tell you, the best way for your team to get better defensively (especially in the playoffs) is to swap a top 25-30 dman like Weagar for a below replacement level D in Marc Staal. That’s a trade you make 99/100 times.

 

[Gizmo Tkachuk]

Most Panthers fans will tell you, the best way for your team to get better defensively (especially in the playoffs) is to swap a top 25-30 dman like Weagar for a below replacement level D in Marc Staal. That’s a trade you make 99/100 times.

That's funny, because we aren't penciling in Staal as a Weegar "replacement".

The Weegar replacement is Forsling. He'll (likely) be paired with Ekblad on the top pairing.

We fully acknowledge that we don't have a replacement for Forsling's minutes on the second pairing and are hoping for someone like Carlsson or Kierstad to step up and at least not be below replacement level players.

 

[super6646]

Most Panthers fans will tell you, the best way for your team to get better defensively (especially in the playoffs) is to swap a top 25-30 dman like Weagar for a below replacement level D in Marc Staal. That’s a trade you make 99/100 times.

This is a very disingenuous post. On the other hand, the narrative that Weegar is a "choker" and why he is replaceable is also pretty bad.

 

[FinlandPanther]

Florida is gonna be stuck as a middle of the pack team for the next little while, they mortgaged the future for a playoff run and didn't work out. No 1st round pick for what, 3 years ? It's gonna be tough to add to their team.


They are not even close, the players they lost as well as the picks are just disastrous. They will be above average offensively and pretty damn bad everywhere else. Take a loot at the blue line as well as the subtractions in their forward group, no 1st round pick til 2026

Middle of the pack lmao. Do you see our cap situation after this season? This is going to be our down year and then we’re right back up again. We can also gain back assets. It’s not like we’re screwed lol.

This is a very disingenuous post. On the other hand, the narrative that Weegar is a "choker" and why he is replaceable is also pretty bad.

Weegar wasn’t replaceable. He’s a good D. That being said in the playoffs he’s been pretty garbage. That doesn’t mean he’s a bad player. Sutter can probably fix his dumb mistakes by making him play simple.

 

[abo9]

Obviously they're gonna take a step back, but the question is, by how much?

Huberdeau had 3 less assists than Barkov had points, and was one of the only players on that team with a shooting percentage in line with his career average.

Almost everyone else in the top 9 except Verhaeghe had a shooting % inflated between 1,1% (Bennett) to 5% (Duclair) - with Marchment and Lundell posting > 14% SH% which is pretty high. Even Tkachuk's was 3.1% higher than his career average.

And I'm lazy, those career average include last year's high %.


They lost their 2nd scoring D, 2nd most used player in Weegar. They lost Marchment who just had, let's be honest, an insane career year, And Duclair is out to start the year, who had 31 goals last year.

Almost everyone had pretty insane career years. Reminds me of Vegas' inaugural season a little bit.

Knight wasn't good last year, and Bob is hit or miss - solid when he's on, but pretty inconsistent.

Looking at their expected lineup on dailyfaceoff, I assume that they'll be in the playoffs, but closer to a wildcard spot than a President's trophy.

 

[Panthaz89]

Florida is gonna be stuck as a middle of the pack team for the next little while, they mortgaged the future for a playoff run and didn't work out. No 1st round pick for what, 3 years ? It's gonna be tough to add to their team.


They are not even close, the players they lost as well as the picks are just disastrous. They will be above average offensively and pretty damn bad everywhere else. Take a loot at the blue line as well as the subtractions in their forward group, no 1st round pick til 2026

They were already in first before the trade deadline adds. How the hell are they middle of the pack they have arguably the best forward group in the league and have an ok defense and a pretty stable set of goaltenders. They score 340 goals last season 25 more than the next team in the league.

 

[JP Mick]

Middle of the pack lmao. Do you see our cap situation after this season? This is going to be our down year and then we’re right back up again. We can also gain back assets. It’s not like we’re screwed lol.


Weegar wasn’t replaceable. He’s a good D. That being said in the playoffs he’s been pretty garbage. That doesn’t mean he’s a bad player. Sutter can probably fix his dumb mistakes by making him play simple.

I guarantee Forsling replaces him quite seamlessly this season.

Obviously they're gonna take a step back, but the question is, by how much?

Huberdeau had 3 less assists than Barkov had points, and was one of the only players on that team with a shooting percentage in line with his career average.

Almost everyone else in the top 9 except Verhaeghe had a shooting % inflated between 1,1% (Bennett) to 5% (Duclair) - with Marchment and Lundell posting > 14% SH% which is pretty high. Even Tkachuk's was 3.1% higher than his career average.

And I'm lazy, those career average include last year's high %.


They lost their 2nd scoring D, 2nd most used player in Weegar. They lost Marchment who just had, let's be honest, an insane career year, And Duclair is out to start the year, who had 31 goals last year.

Almost everyone had pretty insane career years. Reminds me of Vegas' inaugural season a little bit.

Knight wasn't good last year, and Bob is hit or miss - solid when he's on, but pretty inconsistent.

Looking at their expected lineup on dailyfaceoff, I assume that they'll be in the playoffs, but closer to a wildcard spot than a President's trophy.

The Panthers have a few under the radar wildcards that may surprise.

 

[JP Mick]

Most Panthers fans will tell you, the best way for your team to get better defensively (especially in the playoffs) is to swap a top 25-30 dman like Weagar for a below replacement level D in Marc Staal. That’s a trade you make 99/100 times.

You need to actually watch Panther games before you are entitled to be a smartass. If we had Staal instead of Weegar in the playoffs against Tampa last season we may have won a game.

 

[FinlandPanther]

Obviously they're gonna take a step back, but the question is, by how much?

Huberdeau had 3 less assists than Barkov had points, and was one of the only players on that team with a shooting percentage in line with his career average.

Almost everyone else in the top 9 except Verhaeghe had a shooting % inflated between 1,1% (Bennett) to 5% (Duclair) - with Marchment and Lundell posting > 14% SH% which is pretty high. Even Tkachuk's was 3.1% higher than his career average.

And I'm lazy, those career average include last year's high %.


They lost their 2nd scoring D, 2nd most used player in Weegar. They lost Marchment who just had, let's be honest, an insane career year, And Duclair is out to start the year, who had 31 goals last year.

Almost everyone had pretty insane career years. Reminds me of Vegas' inaugural season a little bit.

Knight wasn't good last year, and Bob is hit or miss - solid when he's on, but pretty inconsistent.

Looking at their expected lineup on dailyfaceoff, I assume that they'll be in the playoffs, but closer to a wildcard spot than a President's trophy.

Knight had some rough games and he also was phenomenal in others. He had like 3 really bad games that torched him. After his AHL stint he turned it on

 

[abo9]

Knight had some rough games and he also was phenomenal in others. He had like 3 really bad games that torched him. After his AHL stint he turned it on

I think a solid but quiet year from Knight would be a godsend for the Panthers. Get him on a cheap bridge deal and avoid having ti move Bob while Knight slowly overtakes afterwards....

The Panthers have a few under the radar wildcards that may surprise.

Lomberg, Luostirainen, Carlsson?

I'm genuinely curious. Daîyfaceoff shows Balcerd on L1, White on L2 and Cousins on L3 but I doubt any of those are "hidden gems"?

 

[AvroArrow]

They were already in first before the trade deadline adds. How the hell are they middle of the pack they have arguably the best forward group in the league and have an ok defense and a pretty stable set of goaltenders. They score 340 goals last season 25 more than the next team in the league.

Have you not seen the roster turnaround especially at forward ? "Ok defense" is being very generous, that looks like a top 5 worst blue line so far on paper, maybe they can play better as a unit but it's not looking pretty. No first round pick until 2026 is brutal.

 

[TheImpatientPanther]

Lmao please quote me in April. The D core is absolutely atrocious, they don't even have futures available to trade to make a run this year, and their team is far worse than last year to begin with. There is no way in hell they finish at the top of the division, they'll be 3rd or 4th, no higher than that.

So Zito should have held onto his 1sts like Dubas does and never make any deadline moves?
Or pay to get rid of Hornqvist (like Marleau) with a 1st?

Most Panthers fans will tell you, the best way for your team to get better defensively (especially in the playoffs) is to swap a top 25-30 dman like Weagar for a below replacement level D in Marc Staal. That’s a trade you make 99/100 times.

You heard it here first folks.

Staal - Ekblad is your top D pair in Florida...

It's gonna be Forsling - Ekblad and you've been told this countless times but you feel the need to ignore it for whatever reason

 

[sinDer]

They’ll take a step back, but not only because they lost Huberdeau and Weegar. Last season was exceptional and they weren’t going to repeat it, no matter their line up.

They’re still a good team on paper and should make the playoffs though.

Their D is big question mark. Should be good enough for the regular season if they stay healthy. They’ll be in big troubles if they start the playoffs with this D though.

 

[sinDer]

They regressed in coaching alone. Paul Maurice, right now, must think he's the luckiest man alive. Maurice has been coaching for 25+ years now and has only made it to the Cup finals once... something like 20 years ago.

I don’t know what to think about Maurice. But Brunette was clearly not ready to be HC in the NHL.

I don’t think Maurice is a terrible coach. At least he’s an actual NHL coach.

I wish Brunette the best, but I will not miss him looking completely lost behind the bench.

 

[AvroArrow]

So Zito should have held onto his 1sts like Dubas does and never make any deadline moves?
Or pay to get rid of Hornqvist (like Marleau) with a 1st?

Not saying he should have done nothing, just saying he took an all in shot at the cup and it failed, thus crippling their trade ability for the next few years. He should however have gotten a better return, something like what Tampa did with Hagel, a guy with term. Just brutal to mortgage that much of the future and have absolutely nothing to show for it. Giroux, Chiarot and then that Tkachuk trade is just brutal. Sure he's an elite level player, but you gave up Huberdeau who is better than Tkachuk, Weegar who's a legit top 4 D and a 1st for him.

Their team today is significantly worse than the team of last year and they have significantly fewer trade pieces to improve the team to make a playoff push. What can Florida realistically trade to acquire a significant piece at the deadline ? 2027 1st ? Whose salary are they moving out to make room ?

They went all in and failed. Zito had the right idea, just executed it horribly, gave up way too much for 1 run. On paper they are the 3rd or 4th best team in the Atlantic, with no available assets to acquire a meaningful piece at the deadline to make a push. Florida will be be stuck at the same level for at least the next 2 years.

 

[TheImpatientPanther]

Not saying he should have done nothing, just saying he took an all in shot at the cup and it failed, thus crippling their trade ability for the next few years. He should however have gotten a better return, something like what Tampa did with Hagel, a guy with term. Just brutal to mortgage that much of the future and have absolutely nothing to show for it. Giroux, Chiarot and then that Tkachuk trade is just brutal. Sure he's an elite level player, but you gave up Huberdeau who is better than Tkachuk, Weegar who's a legit top 4 D and a 1st for him.

Their team today is significantly worse than the team of last year and they have significantly fewer trade pieces to improve the team to make a playoff push. What can Florida realistically trade to acquire a significant piece at the deadline ? 2027 1st ? Whose salary are they moving out to make room ?

They went all in and failed. Zito had the right idea, just executed it horribly, gave up way too much for 1 run. On paper they are the 3rd or 4th best team in the Atlantic, with no available assets to acquire a meaningful piece at the deadline to make a push. Florida will be be stuck at the same level for at least the next 2 years.

Tallon never made any big moves so our fanbase was excited to see someone push all in. The Chiarot deal was a huge mistake IMO, loved the Giroux one though.

I agree it failed but there's also certain things like the inflated Bobrovsky deal (Tallon's doing) and Yandles dead cap that limited his ability to add to defense this offseason and possibly keep one of Giroux or Marchment.

Most if not all Florida fans know this will be an iffy year but the loss of Weegar is being magnified a tad, Forsling will likely replace most of the offense he supplied while being just as good defensively, if not better.

Maurice will have to drill into the heads of the whole team, forwards included to focus on team defense.

We have some prospects to offer up but I don't think Zito will make a big move, if Duclair wasn't injured, he'd likely have been the guy to package for a top 4 D.

We will obviously regress offensively but don't think we will go from 12th in GA/G last year to something like bottom 10.

Bobrovsky and Knight could cover up some lapses.
I'd say the more determing factor of Florda taking a step back is that the division got better.
Detroit, Buffalo and Ottawa won't be losing as much.