Speculation: Potential TDL adds we can get?

[PSLguy]

Ceci is a joke, we abused him in the Finals.

What RD do you want that would fit in the cap constraints and probably wouldn't cost too much to get?

 

[pantherbot]

I’m happy for him that he eventually found success because he was never going to here, and maybe a second stint would be different but for me? I never want that guy putting on a panthers jersey again.

What's with the Matheson hate around here? Sure he wasn't great by the time we traded him, but there were lots of issues with that team and he always gave a good effort. He admitted he struggled mentally by the end and honestly I think we rushed him with that contract. He's ideally a really good mid-pair or borderline top-pair on a team like the Habs.

He's had pretty good success since we traded him away, never spoke ill of the org, has a good attitude and all the tools we need in a dman to fill the role Monty had. He also wouldn't need to adjust as much if coming over at the trade deadline as he'd already be familiar with the area and a couple guys on the team (Barkov, Ekblad), which is pretty important for TDL acquisitions.

Obviously depends on what the Habs would want to acquire him, but looking at the list of what's actually available, Matheson seems to be the best fit.

 

[FinlandPanther]

What's with the Matheson hate around here? Sure he wasn't great by the time we traded him, but there were lots of issues with that team and he always gave a good effort. He admitted he struggled mentally by the end and honestly I think we rushed him with that contract. He's ideally a really good mid-pair or borderline top-pair on a team like the Habs.

He's had pretty good success since we traded him away, never spoke ill of the org, has a good attitude and all the tools we need in a dman to fill the role Monty had. He also wouldn't need to adjust as much if coming over at the trade deadline as he'd already be familiar with the area and a couple guys on the team (Barkov, Ekblad), which is pretty important for TDL acquisitions.

Obviously depends on what the Habs would want to acquire him, but looking at the list of what's actually available, Matheson seems to be the best fit.

Matheson is the dumbest hockey player I’ve ever seen. No thank you.

 

[FrolikFan67]

What's with the Matheson hate around here? Sure he wasn't great by the time we traded him, but there were lots of issues with that team and he always gave a good effort. He admitted he struggled mentally by the end and honestly I think we rushed him with that contract. He's ideally a really good mid-pair or borderline top-pair on a team like the Habs.

He's had pretty good success since we traded him away, never spoke ill of the org, has a good attitude and all the tools we need in a dman to fill the role Monty had. He also wouldn't need to adjust as much if coming over at the trade deadline as he'd already be familiar with the area and a couple guys on the team (Barkov, Ekblad), which is pretty important for TDL acquisitions.

Obviously depends on what the Habs would want to acquire him, but looking at the list of what's actually available, Matheson seems to be the best fit.

I don’t say this lightly with some of the guys we’ve had over the years but I honestly haven’t seen someone who killed us more than he did. I didn’t think 1 guy out of 18 skaters could single handedly hurt a team that much but the amount of times he hurt us scarred me. Yandle, kindl, kuba, the list goes on, still doesn’t beat Matheson imo. Banish him to the shadow realm

 

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

I remember in the 2020 bubble in the last tune up game and then the first 2 "playoff" games vs NYI (technically it counted as Florida making the playoffs) he was on the ice for 9 straight goals against and in the box for the 10th on a penalty.

 

[I am not exposed]

Matheson is a good player, and he was when he was with the Panthers. And he's a better player now. Would happily welcome him back. Might get me watching more games actually.

The hate towards him is bizarre and ridiculous. I hope he comes back just to annoy FrolikFan67

​

 

[KW]

Here’s “JMO”. Whatever Zito is looking to do at the TDL probably won’t involve trading away someone on the NHL roster now. I think Zito has enough loyalty not to do that, and I think he’s counted his $’s accurately enough that he knows exactly what’s feasible the rest of the season. I might be wrong but I therefore don’t see Zito doing a blockbuster deal like Carolina-Colorado did before the TDL and I don’t see him trading away even A Boquist, Nosek, Balinskis, Bjornfot, unless there’s a direct replacement (and of those two, only A Boquist or Bjornfot would be options IMO). Zito is okay with trading away assets from minors or picks, because there’s no commitment to those yet at the NHL level.

The commitment I believe lasts thru the end of the season, at which point trades and walkaways can and do happen. After the cup, he couldn’t keep Monty, OEL, Tarasenko and Stolarz because they were going to be too expensive. Lomberg and Stenlund were two that I wish could have stayed - at least one of them - but money was very tight and Zito had to replace especially Monty and OEL (was clearly hoping A Boquist could be a Monty-light but that’s yet to happen). (Mahura left too but we didn’t want to keep him anyway.)

So I don’t know what he’s going to do, although I agree with everyone here that there’s a need for an upgrade on D. That means one mid-pair guy. Wonder who that might be. In addition to that, I had been thinking we need one more bot-6 forward but with Lundy’s line doing a great job, with Greer and Nosek jelling with ERod, maybe there’s no need. I have to say though that Tarasenko was a key piece in the Cup run. It’ll be interesting to see.

 

[PSLguy]

Panthers are #2, behind Carolina.

 

[KW]

I’m not at all convinced that swapping Necas and Drury for Rantanen and Hall will actually make Carolina better this playoffs. If names on jerseys were the main difference maker, then the Rangers would have way more cup wins.

 

[FinlandPanther]

I’m not at all convinced that swapping Necas and Drury for Rantanen and Hall will actually make Carolina better this playoffs. If names on jerseys were the main difference maker, then the Rangers would have way more cup wins.

I think they’ll look amazing in their 4 games in the ECF.

 

[Dread Clawz]

What RD do you want that would fit in the cap constraints and probably wouldn't cost too much to get?

I don't think that cap space thing is right, every year we have more cap at the deadline than we started the season with.

 

[FinlandPanther]

If there’s a D that can move the puck up the ice and isn’t a liability he needs to be our target. I CANNOT watch this idiot Balinskis anymore

 

[iam76]

If there’s a D that can move the puck up the ice and isn’t a liability he needs to be our target. I CANNOT watch this idiot Balinskis anymore

He doesn't bother me that much.. but he should be 6-8 dman at most

 

[Felidae]

Not saying Matheson wasn't a liability in his own zone, but you also gotta remember the team was overall pretty bad defensively during his time here. (26th, 28th and 18th in GA his last 3 years with us)

Matheson was in an environment were his flaws were heavily exposed..

That being said, not necessarily advocating for him to come back either. Right now we have also been below average defensively, and he certainly isn't gonna help us in that regard.

I know we have Forsling, but I wouldnt mind another stabilizing presence that can eat minutes, even if just to make certain defenseman play less, that in itself would already be a net positive.

Also, I think our forwards are good enough to carry the offensive load. We are still top 10 in PP and GF despite recent scoring struggles, and with a few key players not producing at the rate they normally do.

So while a puck moving defenseman would help immensely, I think we could still make a deep run without one. Hell, we won a cup with a version of Montour that produced at almost half the rate he did the year prior, and he wasn't exactly anything special defensively either.

 

[Dread Clawz]

Not saying Matheson wasn't a liability in his own zone, but you also gotta remember the team was overall pretty bad defensively during his time here. (26th, 28th and 18th in GA his last 3 years with us)

Matheson was in an environment were his flaws were heavily exposed..

That being said, not necessarily advocating for him to come back either. Right now we have also been below average defensively, and he certainly isn't gonna help us in that regard.

I know we have Forsling, but I wouldnt mind another stabilizing presence that can eat minutes, even if just to make certain defenseman play less, that in itself would already be a net positive.

Also, I think our forward offense is good enough to carry the offensive load. We are still top 10 in PP and GF despite recent scoring struggles, and with a few key players not producing at the rate they normally do.

So while a puck moving defenseman would help immensely, I think we could still make a deep run without one. Hell, we won a cup with a version of Montour that produced at almost half the rate he did the year prior, and he wasn't exactly anything special defensively either.

I agree, I think Marcus Pettersson would be the ideal add. He's rock solid defensively but can also move the puck.

 

[ShootIt]

Not saying Matheson wasn't a liability in his own zone, but you also gotta remember the team was overall pretty bad defensively during his time here. (26th, 28th and 18th in GA his last 3 years with us)

Matheson was in an environment were his flaws were heavily exposed..

That being said, not necessarily advocating for him to come back either. Right now we have also been below average defensively, and he certainly isn't gonna help us in that regard.

I know we have Forsling, but I wouldnt mind another stabilizing presence that can eat minutes, even if just to make certain defenseman play less, that in itself would already be a net positive.

Also, I think our forwards are good enough to carry the offensive load. We are still top 10 in PP and GF despite recent scoring struggles, and with a few key players not producing at the rate they normally do.

So while a puck moving defenseman would help immensely, I think we could still make a deep run without one. Hell, we won a cup with a version of Montour that produced at almost half the rate he did the year prior, and he wasn't exactly anything special defensively either.

I think if you could pair Matheson with a steady defensive partner, a la Mikkola, it could be a decent pairing.
His cap hit as is is decent for his play. Only issue I could see is with Montreal looking for a wildcard spot, not sure they want to deal within the division, even if he isn't a star player.

 

[kerrabria]

Stop with the Matheson revisionism.

The Florida Panthers Mike Matheson was the single worst defenseman I've ever seen get minutes in the NHL. I remember I started taking ADHD meds around Matheson's final season, and I recall thinking that MM looked like a guy who had space-outs every shift. I don't doubt he was struggling mentally, but he literally asked for the contact he was given. Tallon wanted a 4-6 year deal. Matheson wanted 8, which was insane for both sides. He'd give inconsistent flashes of elite offensive abilities, but his defense and decision-making was so bad that I (and others) questioned whether or not he'd be a true NHL dman once he could no longer be sheltered. On his end, if he really thought he'd fulfill his potential and be a top pair guy, why in the world would you lock in your prime at that figure?

Not even Yandle was as bad as Matheson. Remember Yandle's issue was complete lack of effort. He'd dodge any contact, and he'd regularly skate half speed or just not move his feet. But in the right circumstances, Yandle made great passes and clean sweep checks. Matheson was actually trying, and the results were always horrendous.

Our team D and defensemen perssonnel were bad during those final Tallon years, but Matheson stood out as the worst. Riley Stillman and the corpse of Anton Stralman were our shutdown pair because Matheson and Yandle couldn't be used in their own zone.

Matheson was so bad that he lost his top pair LD spot to 7th round pick, RHS MacKenzie Weegar.

Matheson was so f***ing bad that after Pysyk had already been moved up to 4RW, Quenneville dipped even further into our organizational depth chart (at a time when we had a bottom 10 blueline in the league with no prospects), so he could put TWO defensemen on the fourth line.

 

[RCGP2]

The Matheson trade was basically the turning point from being a joke team to a contender. Let's not undo that.

 

[kerrabria]

Matheson is Montreal's 1D, a hometown talent, one of their three captains, speaks fluent French, and has another year on his deal. They will not trade him in-division for less than 1st Rounder+. And I wouldn't take Matheson for free to play middle pair on his off side.

 

[Ratsreign]

The Matheson trade was basically the turning point from being a joke team to a contender. Let's not undo that.

That was the first step, for sure. But that had more to do with who was coming in than Matheson going out. Matheson’s contract going out was probably more important than the player going out.
Not that I’m in any way advocating for his return...

 

[austropanther]

Stop with the Matheson revisionism.

The Florida Panthers Mike Matheson was the single worst defenseman I've ever seen get minutes in the NHL. I remember I started taking ADHD meds around Matheson's final season, and I recall thinking that MM looked like a guy who had space-outs every shift. I don't doubt he was struggling mentally, but he literally asked for the contact he was given. Tallon wanted a 4-6 year deal. Matheson wanted 8, which was insane for both sides. He'd give inconsistent flashes of elite offensive abilities, but his defense and decision-making was so bad that I (and others) questioned whether or not he'd be a true NHL dman once he could no longer be sheltered. On his end, if he really thought he'd fulfill his potential and be a top pair guy, why in the world would you lock in your prime at that figure?

Not even Yandle was as bad as Matheson. Remember Yandle's issue was complete lack of effort. He'd dodge any contact, and he'd regularly skate half speed or just not move his feet. But in the right circumstances, Yandle made great passes and clean sweep checks. Matheson was actually trying, and the results were always horrendous.

Our team D and defensemen perssonnel were bad during those final Tallon years, but Matheson stood out as the worst. Riley Stillman and the corpse of Anton Stralman were our shutdown pair because Matheson and Yandle couldn't be used in their own zone.

Matheson was so bad that he lost his top pair LD spot to 7th round pick, RHS MacKenzie Weegar.

Matheson was so f***ing bad that after Pysyk had already been moved up to 4RW, Quenneville dipped even further into our organizational depth chart (at a time when we had a bottom 10 blueline in the league with no prospects), so he could put TWO defensemen on the fourth line.

You convinced me... Matheson is clearly the worst Dman we ever had. So let's stay very far away from him and rather get our one and only true captain Erik Gudbranson back.

 

[I am not exposed]

You convinced me... Matheson is clearly the worst Dman we ever had. So let's stay very far away from him and rather get our one and only true captain Erik Gudbranson back.

Why not get both back

And lol at thinking Matheson is the worst defenseman you've seen play for this team. You're very spoilt if that is the case!

 

[kerrabria]

You convinced me... Matheson is clearly the worst Dman we ever had. So let's stay very far away from him and rather get our one and only true captain Erik Gudbranson back.

Huberdeau (A*) - Barkov (A^) - Tippett
Crouse - Bjugstad - Dadonov
Mamin - Acciari - Vatrano

Matheson - Ekblad (A)
McCoshen - Gudbranson (C)

*Home games
^Road games

This is the plan, and we will not deviate from it.

 

[austropanther]

Why not get both back

And lol at thinking Matheson is the worst defenseman you've seen play for this team. You're very spoilt if that is the case!

Left the irony emoji out intentionally since I was one of the few who kept defending Guds...

Matheson can do something that no other Dman of ours can do: winning a game by himself while skating circles around everybody. Monty kind of did that on a far lower level and less regularly. We have no remotely close replacement for him. Somebody suggested already putting Matheson with a guy like Mikkola and we'd have a bonafide 2nd D pair

 

[kerrabria]

Why not get both back

And lol at thinking Matheson is the worst defenseman you've seen play for this team. You're very spoilt if that is the case!

I’ve only watched since 2015-16, so I was spared Tallon’s scorched earth policy. Do you have any candidates since then who have played more than like 50 games?