Florida Panthers set to take step back?

[AvroArrow]

Florida fans have explained all your worries in this thread, Florida isn't going away any time soon and you thinking missing late 1sts somehow cripples our window is laughable.

Duclair, Bennett, Reinhart, Montour aren't pieces that are valued?

Duclair could easily snag a 2nd when back healthy.
Bennett is a 1st+ if he has a similar year as before
Reinhart is a 1st+
Montour could get a 2nd.

Bob won't be here the entire 4 years.

Apart from you and 1 other poster, the rest of the Panthers fan base has expressed the same concerns as me

How does moving Duclair out help ? It's a lateral move not an upgrade, if anything it's a downgrade. You have to hope the prospect turns into an NHLer.

Your solution to adding to todays roster is, trade away todays roster for picks ? Does that make sense to you ? Where does that lead your team too ? I think you're missing the point again, they have no futures to add to todays roster. This would be like the Leafs trading Nylander for picks to upgrade the current roster, makes no sense at all. Trading away any of the guys you mentioned for picks only makes your team worse and increases the likelihood of missing the playoffs altogether.

Unless Florida is retaining 50% and attaching a 1st + to bob, he's staying there, and they don't have a 1st til 2026.

 

[BB88]

No 1st round pick for 3 years, that means extremely low chance of a young impact player on ELC coming into the lineup for about 5 years.

Very few trade assets. They have nothing available to upgrade the roster, meanwhile every team in the league that's considered a contender will be trading futures to upgrade at the TDL. They went all in last year and failed, now they'll suffer the consequences of that.

Ekblad and Forsling are good, the other 4 D-men are dog shit

They have 10M locked up in a backup goaltender for 4 more years

lol if you think Bobrovsky is anything but a "dump" that's a top 5 worst contract in the league, absolute anchor.

This is just such a bad answer.

Where are they going to need high end elc kids in the near future?

Go read that list again and stop to think.

Florida has all their core players locked up and 27y or under.
So for years they won’t have to find any cheap core players.

Barkov, Tkachuk, Ekblad, Lundell, Knight and the list continues is one of the best cores in the league and Barkov& Tkachuk contracts are going to look like massive steals in 2-3 years time, Barkov already is.

So they can focus on filling up the lineup outside them with cheaper quality depth players.
So far they have an incredible record on finding cheap quality contracts.

& year Bobs contract isn’t pretty but he’s a superior goaltender vs the Leafs duo and I doubt he’ll be in Florida for a 1-2 years longer& they have a potential franchise goalie locked up for 4 years cheap.

So again how are they stuck in the middle for years?


Edit, & they’ll have huge amount of cap space to spent in the near future.
Unlike the Leafs.

 

[TheImpatientPanther]

Apart from you and 1 other poster, the rest of the Panthers fan base has expressed the same concerns as me

How does moving Duclair out help ? It's a lateral move not an upgrade, if anything it's a downgrade. You have to hope the prospect turns into an NHLer.

Your solution to adding to todays roster is, trade away todays roster for picks ? Does that make sense to you ? Where does that lead your team too ? I think you're missing the point again, they have no futures to add to todays roster. This would be like the Leafs trading Nylander for picks to upgrade the current roster, makes no sense at all. Trading away any of the guys you mentioned for picks only makes your team worse and increases the likelihood of missing the playoffs altogether.

Unless Florida is retaining 50% and attaching a 1st + to bob, he's staying there, and they don't have a 1st til 2026.

Again you're the one that keeps bringing up having no 1sts...
Players can't be traded for 2nds + prospects at the deadline now?

No I'm fine with how the team is assembled, could it be better? Of course it could but Yandles dead cap doesn't help.

Florida fans know their team more intimately and not as worried as you are, we know the defense needs help and will get it next off season. Weegars role will be replaced by Forsling and its most of the same defense that had a 12th rated GA/G...

Maybe some projection from a Leafs fan that has them worried their window is closing?

 

[AvroArrow]

This is just such a bad answer.

Where are they going to need high end elc kids in the near future?

Go read that list again and stop to think.

Florida has all their core players locked up and 27y or under.
So for years they won’t have to find any cheap core players.

Barkov, Tkachuk, Ekblad, Lundell, Knight and the list continues is one of the best cores in the league and Barkov& Tkachuk contracts are going to look like massive steals in 2-3 years time, Barkov already is.

So they can focus on filling up the lineup outside them with cheaper quality depth players.
So far they have an incredible record on finding cheap quality contracts.

& year Bobs contract isn’t pretty but he’s a superior goaltender vs the Leafs duo and I doubt he’ll be in Florida for a 1-2 years longer& they have a potential franchise goalie locked up for 4 years cheap.

So again how are they stuck in the middle for years?


Edit, & they’ll have huge amount of cap space to spent in the near future.
Unlike the Leafs.

Already explained it, you failed to understand it, not typing it again

 

[BB88]

Already explained it, you failed to understand it, not typing it again

It sounds like you have no idea about their lineup of future look

Atleast if I have to read your posts to search for an answer

 

[AvroArrow]

Again you're the one that keeps bringing up having no 1sts...
Players can't be traded for 2nds + prospects at the deadline now?

No I'm fine with how the team is assembled, could it be better? Of course it could but Yandles dead cap doesn't help.

Florida fans know their team more intimately and not as worried as you are, we know the defense needs help and will get it next off season. Weegars role will be replaced by Forsling and its most of the same defense that had a 12th rated GA/G...

Maybe some projection from a Leafs fan that has them worried their window is closing?

Just sounds like an ultra defensive Panthers fan in denial about his teams current status and future. With how much you hate Toronto I understand why an opinion coming from a Leafs fan is so difficult for you to handle. Just don't be surprised with the way the season plays out, mentioned it 10+ times i'll say it one last time.

Todays roster is significantly worse than last years. Your trade assets to UPGRADE the current roster are non-existent. Trading your current core players for picks is not upgrading the current roster. The D core is top 5 worst in the league. Paying a back up goalie 10M for 4 years, sounds like a recipe for disaster.

As a divisional rival I absolutely love it.

It sounds like you have no idea about their lineup of future look

Atleast if I have to read your posts to search for an answer

Sounds like you're having a difficult time understanding basic points, try reading again

 

[BB88]

Just sounds like an ultra defensive Panthers fan in denial about his teams current status and future. With how much you hate Toronto I understand why an opinion coming from a Leafs fan is so difficult for you to handle. Just don't be surprised with the way the season plays out, mentioned it 10+ times i'll say it one last time.

Todays roster is significantly worse than last years. Your trade assets to UPGRADE the current roster are non-existent. Trading your current core players for picks is not upgrading the current roster. The D core is top 5 worst in the league. Paying a back up goalie 10M for 4 years, sounds like a recipe for disaster.

As a divisional rival I absolutely love it.


Sounds like you're having a difficult time understanding basic points, try reading again

If you made good points then yeah I would.

Panthers are set to be a contender for a long time after this retool year.
In a much much better place then the Leafs

 

[TheImpatientPanther]

Just sounds like an ultra defensive Panthers fan in denial about his teams current status and future. With how much you hate Toronto I understand why an opinion coming from a Leafs fan is so difficult for you to handle. Just don't be surprised with the way the season plays out, mentioned it 10+ times i'll say it one last time.

Todays roster is significantly worse than last years. Your trade assets to UPGRADE the current roster are non-existent. Trading your current core players for picks is not upgrading the current roster. The D core is top 5 worst in the league. Paying a back up goalie 10M for 4 years, sounds like a recipe for disaster.

As a divisional rival I absolutely love it.


Sounds like you're having a difficult time understanding basic points, try reading again

President trophy winning team scoring 4 goals a game, first since the 90s takes a step back.
How bold of you to predict this.

The future in Florida is a lot more bright than Toronto...
Enjoy your 2 year window, that's all you can project until Matthews and others sign on the dotted line.
Dubas on the hot seat, your D core and Captain consists of guys entering their mid 30s.

Florida's core is:

Barkov who is 27
Tkachuk who is 24
Ekblad and Forsling who are 26
Lundell and Knight who are 21

With players like Bennett, Verhaeghe, Reinhart and Duclair still in their mid to late 20s...

 

[HuGo Sham]

step back? so from 122 pts to ...110?
fellow habs fans are going to have to get over the fever dream
this will be a high pick - unless catastrophic injuries happen

 

[AvroArrow]

President trophy winning team scoring 4 goals a game, first since the 90s takes a step back, how bold of you to predict this.

The future in Florida is a lot more bright than Toronto...
Enjoy your 2 year window, that's all you can project until Matthews and others sign on the dotted line.
Dubas on the hot seat, your D core and Captain consists of guys entering their mid 30s.

Florida's core is:

Barkov who is 27
Tkachuk who is 24
Ekblad and Forsling who are 26
Lundell and Knight who are 21

With players like Bennett, Verhaeghe, Reinhart and Duclair still in their mid to late 20s...

"The future is bright in Florida" No 1st round picks until 2026, how are you going to acquire players at the deadline to compete with other contenders that are bolstering their rosters?

"Yeah but we can trade our core players away to acquire 1st round picks!" Doesn't that that just make your present day team worse ?

"But we acquire 1st round picks!" But that literally defeats the purpose of ADDING to today's roster to compete TODAY. And you still have 10M tied up in a back up goalie for 4 years ? "

"So we can trade a guy like Duclair or Bennett for picks!" So the plan is to trade your core players away, for a 1st round pick, use that 1st round pick and package it with Bob to dump him @ 50% retention ?

"Yes! Don't you see we're in a great situation and better than the Leafs! The plan to compete today is to trade our core players away for picks because we don't have any, use those picks to package Bobrovsky as a dump, don't you see how that makes today's team better ?" No...

Sums up our discussion

 

[TheImpatientPanther]

"The future is bright in Florida" No 1st round picks until 2026, how are you going to acquire players at the deadline to compete with other contenders that are bolstering their rosters?

"Yeah but we can trade our core players away to acquire 1st round picks!" Doesn't that that just make your present day team worse ?

"But we acquire 1st round picks!" But that literally defeats the purpose of ADDING to today's roster to compete TODAY. And you still have 10M tied up in a back up goalie for 4 years ? "

"So we can trade a guy like Duclair or Bennett for picks!" So the plan is to trade your core players away, for a 1st round pick, use that 1st round pick and package it with Bob to dump him @ 50% retention ?

"Yes! Don't you see we're in a great situation and better than the Leafs! The plan to compete today is to trade our core players away for picks because we don't have any, use those picks to package Bobrovsky as a dump, don't you see how that makes today's team better ?" No...

Sums up our discussion

Because paying 4 players half your cap is better...
No no, we will do it again, just pay them more...
That'll show the other teams we demand more firm in the playoff exits.

Blame goaltending, Campbell, no no Andersen was the problem, he must have learned it from Reimer.

I didn't say to trade them for picks, my plan was to swap one of them for a D man, we have Lundell and Denisenko/Heponiemi who could supplant Bennett and Duclair soon.
I offered up pick value because you act like we need to keep our 1sts like Dubas and not use them at deadline?

"Bottom 5 D core" is my fave quote so far though.

 

[ProjectPanthers]

Rather finish 3rd in the Atlantic and win a couple playoff series than get another President's Trophy. Regular season regression is expected but Zito is trying to build this team for the playoffs. They're good enough to get there. What happens when they do is the real question. Does anything else really matter?

It's clear what he saw in Huberdeau and Weegar during last year's playoffs (two atrocious performances) was enough for him to not want to throw the money and term at them that they'd want/deserve. We will see if that decision pays off or bites him in the ass. Like others have said though, if the defense isn't improved a little bit there could be trouble.

 

[AvroArrow]

Because paying 4 players half your cap is better...
No no, we will do it again, just pay them more...
That'll show the other teams we demand more firm in the playoff exits.

Blame goaltending, Campbell, no no Andersen was the problem, he must have learned it from Reimer.

I didn't say to trade them for picks, my plan was to swap one of them for a D man, we have Lundell and Denisenko/Heponiemi who could supplant Bennett and Duclair soon.
I offered up pick value because you act like we need to keep our 1sts like Dubas and not use them at deadline?

"Bottom 5 D core" is my fave quote so far though.

Somehow you're turning a Florida Panthers thread into a Leafs hate thread, amazing. I'm just ending this discussion here, as always you refuse to stick to the subject and derail the topic when you don't have an answer.

2026 is a long time away, hope you can wait for your team to fix the mess Zito made by being so impatient and giving all his trade assets away for free just to get swept. 1st for Chiarot, 1st for Giroux, 0 to show for it, rough.

 

[BB88]

I’m not sure how people can look at Floridas lineup, core, contract situation and think they are set to be average for the next 3-5 years.

Next year their defense looks way too weak for a true Cup contender but we are talking of one year

Tkachuk- Barkov
Verhaghe- Lundell- Reinhart
Bennett- Duclair

Ekblad- Forsling

Knight.

All 27y or younger.

12-13M of dead cap dropping off next summer.

How is that set to be average?
Nobody who follows them at all should think Bob will stay in Florida for the full 7 years either.


Edit.
& they’ll have Barkov locked up at 10 and Tkachuk at 9.5M when same level superstars are starting to hit 12-14M on the market.

Ekblad is still ”just” 7.5M for the next 3 years.

Sure they don’t have picks but what true core player are they out of right now with Barkov/Tkachuk/Lundell/Ekblad/Knight in place already?

 

[FinlandPanther]

Somehow you're turning a Florida Panthers thread into a Leafs hate thread, amazing. I'm just ending this discussion here, as always you refuse to stick to the subject and derail the topic when you don't have an answer.

2026 is a long time away, hope you can wait for your team to fix the mess Zito made by being so impatient and giving all his trade assets away for free just to get swept. 1st for Chiarot, 1st for Giroux, 0 to show for it, rough.

“mess” lmao. You have dubas as a GM, you’d be blessed to have papa Zito. Go derail another thread. Don’t you have a first round exit to prepare for?

 

[TheImpatientPanther]

Somehow you're turning a Florida Panthers thread into a Leafs hate thread, amazing. I'm just ending this discussion here, as always you refuse to stick to the subject and derail the topic when you don't have an answer.

2026 is a long time away, hope you can wait for your team to fix the mess Zito made by being so impatient and giving all his trade assets away for free just to get swept. 1st for Chiarot, 1st for Giroux, 0 to show for it, rough.

That 0 to show for it was still more success than other teams, who've been so close with 3-1 series leads and then choking them away, wonder why their GM didn't trade some of them 1sts to bolster the lineup?

Only way to win Cup is to trade your 1st, got it......but you also have to keep the 1sts, draft them and develop them.

Avoid having a garbage top 5 D core...

Don't spend $14.5 million on goaltending because you can always blame them when you lose the series...

 

[Laus723]

Just sounds like an ultra defensive Panthers fan in denial about his teams current status and future. With how much you hate Toronto I understand why an opinion coming from a Leafs fan is so difficult for you to handle. Just don't be surprised with the way the season plays out, mentioned it 10+ times i'll say it one last time.

Todays roster is significantly worse than last years. Your trade assets to UPGRADE the current roster are non-existent. Trading your current core players for picks is not upgrading the current roster. The D core is top 5 worst in the league. Paying a back up goalie 10M for 4 years, sounds like a recipe for disaster.

As a divisional rival I absolutely love it.


Sounds like you're having a difficult time understanding basic points, try reading again

You also think Guda and Montour are dog shit, haven't paid attention to who's come in and how well they've done here time and time again. but carry on with your nonsensical bullshit just because you WANT the Panthers to be bad. Significantly worse roster? Lmao, nope. They have kids on ELCs looking to step up, they still have depth, and Zito continues to find value players and contracts.

 

[FlameChampion]

I think their regular season will suffer a bit. They had such a great season last year though, that it would of been tough to match.

Still easily a top 3 team in the Atlantic. I dont think the order really matters, its a blood bath and they have to go through each other regardless.

Question will be whether or not they are better in the playoffs. Think we have to wait and see. Tampa Bay seems like their kryptonite unfortunately for Panther fans. From watching the Edmonton vs Calgary series, I personally think that Tkachuk is overrated. He doesnt have as much impact as many media people would claim. Dont get me wrong, hes a good player but I dont think hes majestical power forward that has been hyped up. That being said, Huber also didnt seem to be a playoff performer so who knows. Only time will tell.

I do like the Panthers center depth. Barkov is obviously great. I think Lundell is going to be as stud. Still have a lot of offensive pieces.

I know some people make claims about their defense. They have some great pieces obviously but I think, a better coach would pull it together a bit better. Not sure if I like the Maurice hire. Hes an upgrade on Brunette, but too bad for Panther fans, that they werent able to get Trotz. I think he could of helped push that team further.

I think the problem with the Panthers success (last year) comes down to Cooper just owning Brunette (and TB just knowing what it takes to win). Hopefully Maurice helps.

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

President trophy winning team scoring 4 goals a game, first since the 90s takes a step back.
How bold of you to predict this.

The future in Florida is a lot more bright than Toronto...
Enjoy your 2 year window, that's all you can project until Matthews and others sign on the dotted line.
Dubas on the hot seat, your D core and Captain consists of guys entering their mid 30s.

Florida's core is:

Barkov who is 27
Tkachuk who is 24
Ekblad and Forsling who are 26
Lundell and Knight who are 21

With players like Bennett, Verhaeghe, Reinhart and Duclair still in their mid to late 20s...

I like FLA core, and think that while they have issues, they have a lot to be excited about.

I am concerned that when you look at the net subtractions from last year's team, they are significant. Combine that with a thin blueline that relies on heavily on Ekblad, who has issues staying on the ice, and a talent pipeline that was tapped to improve the team last year/this off season, and I think the folks expressing concerns have some justification.

The other big thing to me is that the Panthers are almost hitting at 100% on their reclamation projects, and that's unlikely to continue. I love to see guy contribute after being written off elsewhere, but it's amazing how successful the Panthers have been with those guys in general. It will be interesting to see how the Panthers do this year.

 

[BKarchitect]

Strikes me reading through this thread that by the end of the year, Forsling had become the defenseman that people think Weegar is. I’m not saying I’d take Forsling in a vacuum over Weegar especially if Weegar has a bounce back season but I think Forsling-Ekblad is actually a better top pairing moving forward. Forsling was already generating a lot of chances with Gudas as his main partner and his skating ability should actually help cover for one of the main quibbles I have with Ekblad, that’s he’s not the most mobile top level defenseman out there.

I expect Forsling to be an analytics darling next year in the same way peak Weegar was. He was already crushing it with Gudas and a full time move next to Ekblad and an increase in minutes from 21-22 to 23-24 per night is going to highlight him as a pretty damn impressive defenseman.

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

Strikes me reading through this thread that by the end of the year, Forsling had become the defenseman that people think Weegar is. I’m not saying I’d take Forsling in a vacuum over Weegar especially if Weegar has a bounce back season but I think Forsling-Ekblad is actually a better top pairing moving forward. Forsling was already generating a lot of chances with Gudas as his main partner and his skating ability should actually help cover for one of the main quibbles I have with Ekblad, that’s he’s not the most mobile top level defenseman out there.

I expect Forsling to be an analytics darling next year in the same way peak Weegar was. He was already crushing it with Gudas and a full time move next to Ekblad and an increase in minutes from 21-22 to 23-24 per night is going to highlight him as a pretty damn impressive defenseman.

But the Panthers aren't "adding" Forsling. They're moving Forsling up in the line-up to get him a couple extra minutes per game, and then backfilling his spot with Staal, correct? And at this point, Staal is pretty limited in what he's going to give you IMO.

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

Strikes me reading through this thread that by the end of the year, Forsling had become the defenseman that people think Weegar is. I’m not saying I’d take Forsling in a vacuum over Weegar especially if Weegar has a bounce back season but I think Forsling-Ekblad is actually a better top pairing moving forward. Forsling was already generating a lot of chances with Gudas as his main partner and his skating ability should actually help cover for one of the main quibbles I have with Ekblad, that’s he’s not the most mobile top level defenseman out there.

I expect Forsling to be an analytics darling next year in the same way peak Weegar was. He was already crushing it with Gudas and a full time move next to Ekblad and an increase in minutes from 21-22 to 23-24 per night is going to highlight him as a pretty damn impressive defenseman.

I agree with this. I expect this top pairing to be solid. And to be honest, I know you talked about how much it will expose Forsling's abilities. But I think it will help Ekblad too. I think he has never had a partner who compliments him as well as he should have. Weegar would hog the puck. That's after, Yandle would hog the puck.
Forsling just plays the game straight up, and doesn't try to do too much with the puck like Weegar. Or just worry about himself over the team, like Yandle. Don't get me wrong, I still liked Weegar, but he had his faults. I wished for so long he would have been moved to the second pair on his natural side. Maybe in Calgary playing under Sutter he will hit his ceiling.
But overall, I've wanted Ekblad and Forsling to be paired together for a couple of years now. Wished it would have happened last season. I think it would have really helped. Finally it's happened. Hopefully it works out well.

 

[notbias]

“mess” lmao. You have dubas as a GM, you’d be blessed to have papa Zito. Go derail another thread. Don’t you have a first round exit to prepare for?

This is big talk from a team who mortgaged their future for 4 wins instead of 3...

Not liking Florida's future, they downgraded this year, clearly.

 

[Peasy]

Rather finish 3rd in the Atlantic and win a couple playoff series than get another President's Trophy. Regular season regression is expected but Zito is trying to build this team for the playoffs. They're good enough to get there. What happens when they do is the real question. Does anything else really matter?

It's clear what he saw in Huberdeau and Weegar during last year's playoffs (two atrocious performances) was enough for him to not want to throw the money and term at them that they'd want/deserve. We will see if that decision pays off or bites him in the ass. Like others have said though, if the defense isn't improved a little bit there could be trouble.

Weird that he decided to trade them for a player that also has history of being a disappointment in the playoffs.

 

[FinlandPanther]

This is big talk from a team who mortgaged their future for 4 wins instead of 3...

Not liking Florida's future, they downgraded this year, clearly.

Ok first round exit champion. We traded picks omg were doomed. Our core is intact. Yours won’t be soon. I’d worry about your future. Florida is sitting pretty. But it’s nice you guys are worried, it takes the pressure about having to focus on your own issues.