What The Hell Has Happened To The Florida Panthers?

[jackjohnson]

Last season they had a stellar regular season record and were the highest-scoring team in decades. Now they're under .500 heading into Christmas.

Yes, they lost Huberdeau, but they acquired Tkachuk and he's been better this season (although probably not as good as Huberdeau was last season). They've also lost Weegar and Marchment. I don't think these subtractions alone explain their immense drop-off, however.

What's wrong?

They were a one hit wonder where all their players were firing on all cylinders at the same time, even unknown scrubs like Marchment etc.

 

[Kairi Zaide]

They lost their #1D in Ben Chiarot

 

[blankall]

Lost the 1-2 punch of Huberdeau and Barkov. Those guys turned random tweeners into ppg players.

Awful defence.

 

[crazy8888]

Hired a horrible coach and their defense/goaltending sucks. But they are better than their record shows - one of the better five on five teams xgf in the league.

Still don't understand why they fired a young coach who took them to a president's trophy.

Seriously why did they get rid of Burnette?

 

[the_fan]

They made that trade for a reason.

It’s a cap league and extends their window

And how is that working out for them?

 

[Panteras]

Cap situation, which lead to loss of important depth, which lead to Zito having to find a bunch of cheap mercenaries to even ice a team, compounded by a barrage of injuries which include Ekblad who’s now officially on track to a Rick DiPietro career finish, which leads to an even weaker defensive core and unable to get better because of point #1, Barkov with personal issues and mysterious illnesses which means he’s been below average and not played like himself at all this season, plus an aging regressing sieve in net who earns 10 million and is a tall order for even the best GM in history to deal with in order to make the team better.

But sure, it’s Hfboards so the reason is PoMo…

 

[GreenLine]

It's almost as if it was a bad idea to hire the coach with the most losses all time and who fired himself from his last job because even he realised that he couldn't get it done. Who could've seen that coming?

 

[BB88]

And how is that working out for them?

That trade isn’t the reason they are looking worse.

& a stepback was expected this year, they are retooling because of abysmal cap situation.
You know it’s a cap league?

Hitting this low certainly wasn’t expected

 

[FunkySeeFunkyDo]

And how is that working out for them?

Better in the long run than if they resigned Huberdeau and let Weegar walk for nothing.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Flames, Florida same story. A good trade doesn't make a good team. Gotta get the boys to jive.

how about Flames and Panthers undo the trade to see if they get beter

 

[Gurglesons]

Anyone that paid attention to their cap structure knew this year was coming. Zito made a smart move acquiring Tkachuk and giving it another run when they get some cap off next year via Hornqvist and Yandle and then the following year when they can maybe explore moving Bob.

Key injuries have made what was likely a wild card playoff finish out of grasp.

 

[LevelingSolo]

I think moving on from Brunette was the right decision but Maurice was not the best hire

 

[JaegerDice]

should have rehired q as he served his penance. also lost a lot of depth. tkachuk is actually an upgrade over huberdeau. but losing weegar, marchment, maxim, acciari and injuries sure didn't help.

He served his penance for helping to ruin a kid’s life? How?

Nobody that was proveably involved in that disgrace is ever coming back to the NHL.

 

[TheImpatientPanther]

Anyone that paid attention to their cap structure knew this year was coming. Zito made a smart move acquiring Tkachuk and giving it another run when they get some cap off next year via Hornqvist and Yandle and then the following year when they can maybe explore moving Bob.

Key injuries have made what was likely a wild card playoff finish out of grasp.

Wish a lot of the non Panthers posters were as intelligent as you.

 

[Picaroon]

Who could have predicted this

Kent Hughes...

 

[Panteras]

Anyone that paid attention to their cap structure knew this year was coming. Zito made a smart move acquiring Tkachuk and giving it another run when they get some cap off next year via Hornqvist and Yandle and then the following year when they can maybe explore moving Bob.

Key injuries have made what was likely a wild card playoff finish out of grasp.

Finally someone who knows what he’s talking about.

 

[FinlandPanther]

And how is that working out for them?

Well it’s 35 games into their window so…

They were a one hit wonder where all their players were firing on all cylinders at the same time, even unknown scrubs like Marchment etc.

Calling Machement a scrub really shows a lack of knowledge.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

they need coach Q or someone like him

Definitely. He'll keep them focused on the game and not allow any distractions like one of the players being sexually assaulted by a staff member.

 

[Ace]

Making trades for the sake of making trades never works out. It ruins team chemistry. The Huberdeau for Tkachuk trade screwed both teams. Although Flames didn't have a choice because players wanted out

Getting a player locked up for his whole prime and moving on from guys needing contracts deep into their 30s is not “trades for the sake of trades”

perhaps told you sos should wait for years 3-8 not games 1-30

 

[tabness]

Definitely. He'll keep them focused on the game and not allow any distractions like one of the players being sexually assaulted by a staff member.

yes that's exactly the one and only aspect of Q I was talking about lol...

 

[njdevils1982]

paper tigers AKA the great pretenders

the same thing happened in '16 when they won their division

 

[My3Sons]

yes that's exactly the one and only aspect of Q I was talking about lol...

Other than that Mrs. Lincoln how did you enjoy the play?

 

[Cancuks]

Too many trades and messing with their chemistry. That Chiarot first could end up being Bedard.

 

[Hoglander]

Great player, but Tkachuk seems like one of those ultra cocky team cancers, where teammates appreciate his skill but can barely stand working alongside the guy. Plus they lost a fair bit of talent that was obviously a good fit for them. Similar thing happened to my Canucks after losing Tanev/Markstrom/Toffoli/Stecher in one offseason... it upset the lockeroom and set the team back bigtime. Fast forward a few years, and they still haven't recovered from it.

 

[AvroArrow]

I'm more surprised that people didn't see this coming. Traded away all their futures, lost a shit ton of core pieces and depth guys. Said it at the start of the year, they are done for the next 2-3 years. They don't have any assets available to add to this core, and the current group isn't good enough to be a contender. They went all in and failed, no 1st til 2026. Their 1st this year might be Bedard, could end up being the worst trade in NHL history, no exaggeration.

Zito should've been fired in the off-season. Paid a premium for Giroux, Chiarot (lol) both walked in FA. Marchment gone, got absolutely bent over on the Huberdeau deal. Traded an elite winger + top pair D, + , for Tkachuk.