Playing out the string…

With the Panthers loss last night against Buffalo and the Bruins win this afternoon it is pretty safe to say the Panthers are done.  Even if the Panthers hold onto this 3-1 lead against Tampa, they would be 7 points behind Boston.  If Boston finishes at its current season place, they would finish with 87 or 88 points.  The Panthers need to finish 10-1-1 to get to 88 points and 10-2 to get to 87 points.  I don’t think this is happening for a team that hasn’t had a 4 game winning streak in 2 years.

So what is left?  Personally it is going to see the Panthers on Tuesday in Toronto for the 4th time in 2 seasons.  I’m hoping McCabe can keep scoring when coming to Toronto and I’m hoping for a game with a lot of speed.  I’m going with my Dad who will be in his Leafs jersey so we will have a good time.

For the Panthers I think the playing time for the kids, especially Ellerby.  He has hardly played since the deadline when he was called up.  It is time to let him learn at the NHL level because hopefully he and Garrison will be regulars next year.  Matthias, Frolik and Bitz should get more playing time at the expense of veterans like Stillman and Dvorak.  Ellerby, Garrison and Matthias could then be sent down to Rochester to help them with their playoff run.

This will be the last few games in a Panthers uniform for a number of players on the current roster.  I am going to attempt to review the current roster and make a case either for trading or keeping a player.  It will be interesting for me to reconcile my case for trading Weiss and Horton.  My main point is a bunch of kids can finish 14th in the East and actually build something.

The nail in the coffin?

I am glad I missed the game tonight.  The Panthers got blown out of their own building by an Ovechkin-less Capitals team 7-3.  I have tried to make excuses for keeping some of the current core of the team but games like this show that the Panthers truly need to be shaken up and they need to start over.

The Panthers can be 12th-15th in the East or a bottom 5 team giving the veteran’s minutes to the kids.  I would rather have Repik and Matthias and Ellerby play and finish 14th in the East than have to watch Horton/Weiss and McCabe finishing 11th.  And I’m a fan of Horton, Weiss and McCabe.  But things have to change this summer.  This team simply isn’t good enough.

Deja vu all over again

Let’s see where the Panthers were on March 14 since the lockout:

2005-06 – 26-29-9, 61 points, 12th in the East, 10 points out of 8th

2006-07 – 29-28-7, 71 points, 13th in the East, 7 points out of 8th

2007-08 – 34-31-8, 76 points, tied for 10th in the East, 3 points out of 8th

2008-09 – 34-25-10, 78 points, tied for 8th in the East

2009-10 (before this evening’s games) – 28-29-10, 12th in the East, 6 points out of 8th

So it’s more of the same this year.  I can’t see the Panthers going 12-3 over their last 15 games to get to 90 points.  I hope I’m proven wrong.  I was happy with the trades made on deadline day by Randy Sexton.  I thought that 3 2nd round picks and Byron Bitz was a good return for 3 rent a players.  I think the major moves mentioned in the letter to fans from the new owners will happen around draft time, which is becoming an annual tradition for Panthers fans.  I think the team can go in two directions:

1. The team can actually add players using either their 1st round pick or the 2nd round picks acquired this year.

2. The team trades Weiss, Horton, Vokoun and McCabe and tries to build a Cup contender.

I think #1 is not the viable option since even if a legitimate top 3 forward and top pair D are acquired this summer, this team’s ceiling is a lower end playoff spot.  The organization needs to start building a team that will challenge for a Stanley Cup in 3-4 years.  Plus option #1 would have a small window since Vokoun/McCabe/Stillman etc. are entering the last year of their contracts.

Here are the players I keep from this year’s team:

Forwards:  Booth, Frolik, Matthias, Repik, Bitz, McArdle

Defencemen:  Kulikov, Ballard, Allen, Ellerby, Garrison

Goaltenders: Markstrom, Salak

In other words, I would like Weiss, Horton, McCabe, Vokoun, Stillman, Dvorak, Campbell etc. all traded for young players.  Hopefully the Panthers will have a top 5 pick this year to add to the core.  I am excited about the Panthers having 4 of the top 60 picks in this year’s draft.

We will see what happens.  I am cautiously optimistic about Sexton.  The only thing that worries me is that if Sexton was fired today, he probably wouldn’t get an interview for other GM vacancies.

Where are the Panthers after 51 games?

If you had told me before this season that the Panthers had 51 points in 51 games, I wouldn’t have been surprised.  The Panthers are now 12th in the East, 3 points behind Boston and the Islanders, who are tied for 8th.  Considering the team has played without Booth since game 9 and did not have Cory Stillman for an extended period of time, the Panthers are doing okay so far.  They have been very inconsistent this year and have not had a four game winning streak yet.

The news of Nathan Horton’s broken leg may be the death toll to the Panthers playoff hopes.  Horton has been the team’s best forward all year long and it seems he has finally realized the effort level required to be a star player.  If the Panthers needed the forwards other than the first line to provide secondary scoring before the Horton injury, the team will need the usual suspects even more now.  I’m hoping these players can increase their offensive production.  McCabe and Ballard also will need to score, particularly on the power play.

The real question that the new owners and Randy Sexton have to answer is “what is the core of the next Cup contending team?”  The Thrashers, Blue Jackets and Blues have shown us that simply making the playoffs for one round is not enough.  In the salary cap era you have to develop your team so that you have a two to three years to contend for the Cup before everyone requires salaries that do not fit the cap.  Chicago and Pittsburgh are trying to buck this trend by having their core and then add low-cost veterans and younger players with their remaining cap space.

I’m going to try and identify who can be part of the next Panthers team that contends for the Cup.  We will break these players up between definite parts of the core, players who will not be part of the team and the remaining players, the “maybes”:

The Definites:

David Booth – I don’t think David Booth will play this year.  I would rather that Booth would take his time and come back next fall.  The Panthers don’t expect him back until after the Olympic break at the earliest.  Assuming he does recover then he will definitely be part of the core that will hopefully contend for the Stanley Cup in three years.

Michael Frolik – Frolik has had an up and down year but has played better as the season has gone on.  He provides a good forecheck and will get better as he enters his third and fourth years in the league.

Gregory Campbell – Campbell can be an excellent third/fourth line centre who can help on the penalty kill.  He has had a lot of injury problems this year and only has two goals.  I think Campbell will bounce back in the next couple of years and could be the main checking centre on the next Cup contending team.

Keith Ballard – Ballard is a very good defenceman who I think can be a great #3 D on a contending team.  He doesn’t quite have the offensive game or shot from the point to be a top two D on a great team.

Dimitry Kulikov – I think Kulikov is playing with the Panthers as an 18 year old instead of Ellerby and Garrison because the Panthers want to keep him from jumping to Russia.  He has done very well considering his age and I think has the shot and puck-moving skills to be a top pair D on a contending team.

Jacob Markstrom – I expect Markstrom to come to Florida after next season, when Vokoun’s contract expires.  He has all of the makings of a #1 goalie and I think that after a couple of years adjusting to the North American game he will be an elite goalie.

The Goners:

Steven Reinprecht – Reinprecht is signed for three years but will probably be too past his prime when the Panthers become contenders.  He has been up and down this year with a great stretch including a hat trick earlier this year.  I don’t think he has the game or size to play as a checking forward so I think that after his contract expires he will no longer be with the Panthers.

Radek Dvorak – Dvorak has been a serviceable third line forward in his second stint with the Panthers.  He has a contract through next season and I can see him being traded at the deadline next year to a playoff team looking for depth.

Cory Stillman – I think Cory is going to retire after his contract expires next year.  He has had a great career and if he stays healthy next year could be a good rental player for a contender next year.

Dominic Moore – Moore didn’t sign until right around the season began this year.  He’s a good third line player who can provide a forecheck but is on a one year deal and I think the Panthers will want Matthias to take his minutes next year.

Victor Oreskovich – Oreskovich is a great story but is a crash line player with little to no offensive potential.  He may someday be a fourth line player on a good team but I think he will be a journeyman throughout his career.

Nick Tarnasky – Tarnasky is a fourth line forward who hasn’t been able to stay healthy this year.

Bryan McCabe – McCabe has been a solid addition to the blue line and has provided the leadership that was lacking from former captain Olli Jokinen.  The problem is McCabe is on the downside of his career and I think he will be a valuable commodity at the deadline next year when his contract expires.

Dennis Seidenberg – Seidenberg has been a good, low-cost option on D this year and has been an excellent shot-blocker, much like Skrastins last year.  He eats a lot of minutes but doesn’t have much of an offensive game.  We will see if he is re-signed but at best he would be a 5th/6th D on a good team as his career progresses.  I think he will be traded at the deadline this year.

Jordan Leopold – Part of the return for Jay Bouwmeester, Leopold has been solid after a brief adjustment period at the start of the year.  He is also on a one year deal and I think he might be traded at the deadline as well.

Tomas Vokoun – I don’t see Vokoun being re-signed after next year because the Markstrom/Clemmensen combo should be in goal in a couple of years.  Vokoun has been a top 10 NHL goalie for a long time now and he could provide a significant package of prospects/picks next year when his contract becomes a little more manageable to contending teams.

Scott Clemmensen – I can see Clemmensen being a backup next year and then finishing his contract in 2011-2012 as a 1/1a with Markstrom.  After that I believe he won’t be a Panther.  He needs to play better as he has not met expectations so far this year outside of the odd good start (in Detroit for example).

The “Maybes“:

Nathan Horton and Stephen Weiss – I’m grouping these two together.  If your top 4 forwards are Horton, Weiss, Booth and Frolik can you contend for a Cup?  I don’t know but I don’t think so.  If Horton and Weiss are your second line?  Then, I think these two will be part of a contending team.  I have been happy with their production so far this year and I hope both play with Team Canada at the Worlds if the Panthers do miss the playoffs.

Rostislav Olesz – Olesz is easily the most frustrating Panther forward.  He does have talent but he has not come close to converting his talent to on-ice production.  He might be on the next Panthers contending team as a third liner simply because no one else will touch the 6 year, $3 million per year contract that he signed before last year.  Thank God Jacques Martin is in Montreal.

Kamil Kreps – If Kreps can increase his offensive production just a bit then he can be a good checking centre who can forecheck for a good team, otherwise he is a fringe NHL player.

Shawn Matthias – I have seen glimpses of a productive NHL player when Matthias has played with the Panthers this year.  He has not put everything together yet but could eventually.  I’m worried that he hasn’t had great numbers in the AHL.  I would like to see him get more ice time at the NHL level.

Michael Repik – I think Repik should get more of a chance to play with the Panthers.  Especially if they fall out of the playoff picture around the Olympic break.

Kenndal McArdle – McArdle has been a good energy line player when healthy this year.  Like Kreps, he will have to show more of an offensive game.  The Panthers should give him NHL minutes to see if he can develop into a productive third line game.

Bryan Allen – maybe my least favourite Panther for no fault of his own.  He has played better and I have to be easier on him since he is still working his way back from a severe knee injury.  But he is slow and his positioning is not very good.  He might fill a Hal Gill role on a good team as a fifth or sixth D.  He will be with the Panthers for a while since he still has a long way to go on his five year contract.  Another JM gem.

Jason Garrison – Will Garrison be better than a third pairing D?  I don’t know.  He might become a good fourth D.  From what I have seen, he needs to improve his skating but there wasn’t much of a drop off in 5 on 5 play when Garrison was in the lineup.

Keaton Ellerby – I would like to see Ellerby play more and be given a chance since he was a first round pick.  He was considered to be a project when he was drafted so he might still be a year or two away from becoming an everyday NHLer.  We will see what will happen.

Well I’m back blogging.  Here’s hoping (again) that I can keep it up.

As you can see above, I’m not too optimistic that the Panthers can make the playoffs this year.  They have had too many injuries and not enough talent outside of goaltending to play consistently good hockey.  I would love to have a top 3 pick in the draft this year.  This would add a player of a caliber that the Panthers have been lacking while picking between 10th and 14th the last few years.  But I won’t contend if we end the playoff streak.

Thanks for reading.

Sports suck

I am watching the last period of Florida Panthers hockey this season.  For the 9th straight year the Panthers aren’t making the playoffs.  This was the best Panthers season since 1999-2000.  For once the reason the Panthers didn’t make the playoffs because of inconsistent effort and a lack of talent.  This year the Panthers had good effort but did not have enough talent to make the playoffs.  Two areas where talent can win a team games is the power play and the shootout.  The Panthers had the 24th best power play in the league and they went 3-8 in the shootout.  If the Panthers were just a little better in the shootout or the power play then they would have made the playoffs.

The Panthers simply weren’t good enough.  The Panthers had to play their A game every night to make the playoffs.  It is impossible over an 82 game season for everybody on a NHL team to play their A game every night.  I don’t want to continue going over what went wrong with the season.  There were two stretches that killed the team, the first 13 games of the season and the 10 games a couple of weeks ago when the team lost 8 of 10.  So enough with that and let’s see who is staying and who is going?

The team’s unrestricted free agents are:

Jay Bouwmeester – It’s pretty much accepted around the hockey world that Jay Bouwmeester is leaving the Panthers this summer.  I would have been okay with this if he had played better in the 10 games after the deadline when the Panthers fell apart.  This was not Jay’s best year.  He did not play well for very long stretches of the season while in other games he was a world class defenceman.  I don’t know if he is worth $7 million a year for 6 or 7 years.  I think he would me more effective if he played 24-25 minutes instead of 27 minutes a game.  I can’t blame the guy for leaving though.  He hasn’t played in a NHL playoff game.  I hope he signs with a Western Conference team.

Nick Boynton – Since Steve Eminger is in the lineup tonight and Boynton was suspended by the team for arguing with Peter DeBoer.  Boynton played fine when he was on the ice for the team but I think the trade for Eminger and the return of Bryan Allen next year means that he won’t be back.

Karlis Skrastins – Skrastins was prone to defensive miscues, especially around his own net but he was a solid player otherwise and was excellent at blocking shots.  I can see Jacques Martin trying to re-sign Karlis but I’m not sure if he will be willing to spend much more than the $2.4 million that he made this season.

Jassen Cullimore – Cullimore played this year mainly because Allen was hurt early in the year and the Panthers did not trust Noah Welch to be the 6th defenceman.  Cullimore gave the Panthers what they expected but wore down as the year went on and showed that he doesn’t have any puck skills and doesn’t play well in space.  I don’t think he will be back with the Panthers.

Richard Zednik – Zednik was a great story this year coming back from a life threatening neck injury to play a full season except for one stint on the injured list in December.  He gave the Panthers what you would expect from him with 17 goals.  I don’t think Zednik will be back because he’s not really a third or fourth line player in that he’s not that effective of a defensive player.  The Panthers are also hoping that Olesz and Frolik and maybe Michael Repik will take over a top 6 role.  I hope he does catch on somewhere else though and plays well.

Radek Dvorak – I thought Radek played really well this year as a third line forward.  He was very good on the PK and gave the Panthers what you would want from a third line winger.  I think the Panthers are going to try and keep their third line together and will re-sign Dvorak and Peltonen to play with Campbell.  This third line was one of the better third lines in the league this past year.

Ville Peltonen – Ville was a tough player for the Panthers this year, playing through injuries throughout the year.  As with Dvorak I think the Panthers bring Ville back for one year at a reasonable number so the Panthers can keep the third line together.

Craig Anderson – This is an interesting case.  I can’t see Craig Anderson coming back this summer.  Why would he come back when he will probably have a better chance of being a starting goalie elsewhere.  I don’t think the Panthers will trade Vokoun this summer becuase of his contract and the fact Vokoun has a no-trade clause.  Anderson at his best could be a solid #1 goalie and at worst would be a great part of a two goalie system.  If I’m the LA Kings I’m offering a contract to Craig Anderson.

The team’s restricted free agents of note are:

David Booth – The Panthers have to keep David Booth.  If he leaves because the Panthers do not match an offer sheet then the team should trade each and every one of their veterans and start from scratch.  Booth scored 31 goals in 72 games this year which was 8 goals more than anyone else on the team.  He will be back and will probably take up most of the cap room saved from Bouwmeester leaving.

Anthony Stewart – I loved Anthony Stewart’s work ethic this year.  He will eventually be an effective third line winger.  I am not sure if he will realize this future in Florida though.  The Panthers will have Campbell, Tarnasky, Kreps, Matthias and maybe Dvorak and Peltonen to play on the third and fourth lines.  Brett McLean may be back as well so it might be best for Anthony to get a shot with another organization.

Steve Eminger – Eminger scored his first goal as a Panther tonight.  As long as his salary demands are not unreasonable I think he will be back as the Panthers sixth defenceman next year.  Hopefully he will take a step forward like Campbell and Weiss who also played for DeBoer as a junior.

The only potential buy-out I could see is Brett McLean who did not have a strong season.

So if who I think is staying and leaving is right then the 2009-2010 Panthers lineup will look like:

Forwards:

Stillman – Weiss – Frolik

Booth – Horton – Olesz

Peltonen – Campbell – Dvorak

Repik/Matthias/McLean/Tarnasky/Kreps

Defence:

Ballard – McCabe

Allen – Skrastins

Eminger/Ellerby/Garrison

Goalies

Vokoun – ? (Shantz, Plante?)

Does this team make the playoffs next year?  I don’t know.  Frolik/Olesz and maybe one of the other young forwards will have to continue to develop.  A real key to next year will be Nathan Horton.  He has to produce more than 22 goals next year.  The Panthers will have to find a backup goaltender and probably one more depth defenceman in case Ellerby or Garrison isn’t ready.

This is going to be an interesting offseason to say the least.  The Panthers could either take a big step forward and make the playoffs next year and even cause some damage in the playoffs or they could take a step back and fall behind Buffalo, Toronto, Tampa and even Atlanta for playoff contention.

We will see.  One more reason that sports suck is the fact that the Indians haven’t won yet this year.  You can’t win a playoff spot in April but you can sure as heck lose one.  Let’s hope that the Indians pitching staff steps it up so they don’t fall too far behind in the AL Central.

Thanks for reading.

Well this isn’t starting well…

The Thrashers have just scored and the Rangers are up 1-0 on the Flyers so this hasn’t started well.  It’s been a roller coaster of a season hasn’t it?

The Panthers have come out too aggressive and did a good job killing off the 5 on 3 to begin with but couldn’t stop the Atlanta power play after another penalty by Olesz.  They are on the PP now so hopefully they will get the win back.

And now the Rangers have scored again and are up 2-0.  The Panthers have no one to blame but themselves.  They have blown a number of 3rd period leads in the last month or so.

Okay with the Indians losing their first 3 games while giving up 82 runs and the Panthers down I’m going to come back later when I can be a  bit more positive.  This will be an interesting offseason no matter how the Panthers finish.  Everyone knows Bouwmeester is gone so we will see what happens.

Game 3 Tonight!

The Panthers won their first game of the season on Saturday when David Booth scored in OT against the Thrashers.  Once again the Panthers played an aggressive game and deserved to win.  If they can keep this pace up then I think we will have a shot at a playoff spot.  I was happy that Frolik and Stewart were in the lineup.  Hopefully they play tonight as well.  I would like Kreps to play instead of Peltonen so that the young guys can continue to develop. 

Game 3 is tonight at home vs. Minnesota, a team that has had the Panthers’ number over the years.  It will be interesting to see how the Panthers uptempo game will do against the Wild’s trapping style of play.  Here’s hoping the Panthers can push through the trap and can keep the Wild out of their zone.  McCabe likely won’t be in the lineup tonight but at least his back is not broken as initially reported by TSN.  Skrastins may play tonight as well which will be good for the team since Bouwmeester, Allen, Ballard and Boynton have put in a lot of ice time in the first two games. 

I will be watching the first couple of periods tonight since I have to leave after 9 to go play in my pick up hockey game.  Hopefully I survive my game to write a review tomorrow.  As George Richards from the Miami Herald points out, this would be a big win tonight since the next game is Saturday against the Islanders.  Win these next two and the Panthers are in okay shape going into a stretch of 8 out of 10 games on the road. 

This was a quick post since I’m on my lunch hour but I want to be back sometime tomorrow or Saturday with a Game 3 review and preview against the Islanders.  Thanks for reading.

Game 1 Review and Game 2 Preview!

Game 1:  Loss at Carolina 6-4

The Good

The forwards played very well, especially Booth and Horton.  Moving Horton to centre looks like it will pay off since the team has two lines that can score between Horton-Stillman-Olesz and Booth-Weiss-Zednik. 

David Booth’s first goal.  It was a beauty and if he plays all year like he did last night then he should score 30 this year. 

Seeing Richard Zednik back on the ice.  He looked fine out there and that is awesome.

Jay Bouwmeester played an excellent game, setting up the Booth goal and making 2 or 3 excellent outlet passes that led to Panthers breaks during the game.  He is playing with a confidence that we haven’t seen from him and getting him away from Martin’s suffocating system is a plus.

The system the Panthers played.  It was so much fun to watch the Panthers attack for once.  They have some adjustments to make in their own end but their forecheck and speed off the rush was excellent.  It seemed like the Panthers had more puck possession time than in past years.  This is a good thing and I think the Panthers can only improve from this point on.

The Bad

Tomas Vokoun.  He was a slow starter last year too but this team needs all of the points it can get and the team can’t afford bad goals against.  I’m sure Tomas knows this and will get stronger as the year goes on.

The defence at times was a little unorganized.  This is expected since the full team did not play much together in the preseason and guys are getting used to new partners.  Boynton seemed a bit lost out there and Ballard loves delivering the big hit but skated himself out of position a couple of times.  McCabe looked like McCabe for his time on the ice and did alright.  Allen had his good shifts and bad shifts which is a usual night for him.  Murphy played okay but not well in his own end which has been a problem for him ever since he joined the league.  Bouwmeester played great tonight and was the bright spot of the D.  I’m sure they will adjust and play better as the year goes on.

The McCabe injury stinks.  The media says it is a back injury.  Shades of Bertuzzi?  Probably not.  Hopefully it’s a minor thing and McCabe is back on the ice soon.  Well guess what?  I just checked on tsn.ca and he may have broken his back.  I can’t see a guy coming back soon after breaking his freaking back can you?

I want to give DeBoer the benefit of the doubt especially since it was his first game.  But I don’t understand why Frolik, Stewart and Welch watched this game from the press box.  Frolik is one of the team’s top prospects and should either be playing with the Panthers or in Rochester playing top minutes with Matthias.  Stewart was the team’s best forward in the preseason and did everything the Panthers asked him to do over the summer and they reward him with a press box seat?  The Panthers know what they are going to get from Ville Peltonen and Wade Belak.  Let’s see what they can get from Anthony Stewart for once.  I want the team to give him 20 games where they tell him “if you have a bad game you are staying in the NHL”.  I want to see how he can play without looking over his shoulder after every shift.  As for Noah Welch, he will play tonight since McCabe probably isn’t playing with a broken back.  I thought he should have played instead of Murphy last night.  He missed most of last year with the shoulder injury and like Stewart the Panthers need to see what they have in him.  Is the result last night different if DeBoer makes those lineup changes?  Probably not.  But these are choices that will pay off 30 and 40 games from now.  Here’s hoping the forwards are in the lineup with Welch tonight.

Game 2!

Game 2 is the home opener tonight against Atlanta.  It’s Canadian Thanksgiving and I’m going to the parents for turkey so hopefully I will get home to watch the last two periods of the game.  The Thrashers beat the Capitals 7-4 last night so hopefully this will be a let down game for them.  Kovalchuk always plays well against us so the Panthers need to contain him.  I don’t think Atlanta makes the playoffs this year but their goaltending, if Lehtonen is healthy, is solid and their D is going to be above average this year.  This will make them a team that is hard to play against.  Not that the Panthers make anything easier for themselves. 

Thanks for reading.

Panthers Preview!

Let’s try a new title since posting every 3 months doesn’t work for You Heard it Here First.  The Panthers start the 2008-09 season tomorrow in Carolina.  The opening day roster is per www.nhl.com:

Forwards

The forwards on the roster are:  David Booth, Gregory Campbell, Radek Dvorak, Michael Frolik, Nathan Horton, Kamil Kreps, Brett McLean, Rostislav Olesz, Ville Peltonen, Anthony Stewart, Cory Stillman, Stephen Weiss and Richard Zednik.

It will be interesting to see how fast the team cna develop chemistry up front since there were a lot of nagging injuries with Weiss and Booth in particular missing some time.  They both should be in the lineup tomorrow night so that is good.  I am a fan of trying Horton at centre since the Panthers aren’t as strong down the middle as other teams in the league.  There are 13 forwards (14 if you count Belak as a forward).  It will be interesting to see if Frolik or Stewart will play.  Stewart was one of their best players in the preseason and I think the Panthers should give him 20 games of solid minutes so they can finally see if he can fit in and be a good NHL player or if he needs even more time in Rochester.  I think Frolik has to play because it hurts his development to watch games in the press box when he could be on the top line in the AHL.  Matthias was sent down today and I am fine with that.  He will play a lot in Rochester and will be ready to join the team sooner rather than later.

Defencemen

The defencemen on the roster are:  Bryan Allen, Keith Ballard, Wade Belak, Jay Bouwmeester, Nick Boynton, Bryan McCabe, Cory Murphy, Noah Welch, Karlis Skrastins (on injured reserve).

I think Murphy (who cleared waivers yesterday) and Belak will be in the press box tommorrow.  I hope Welch plays so that he can get himself back into game shape after missing so much time last year.  It sounds like Ballard and Boynton are going to play together.  We will see if Bouwmeester plays with McCabe or with Allen.  Allen on the third pairing is better for the team as he can be a solid 16-18 minute defenceman.  He gets a little overexposed when he’s out there for too long.  This might be the best defence corps in the Panthers history.  This should be a strength of the team and not a weakness for the first time since the late 1990′s.

Goaltenders

The goalies on the roster are Tomas Vokoun and Craig Anderson.  This is the backbone of the team.  Anderson’s emergence as a solid backup should allow Vokoun to stay fresh throughout the year as he tired around the all star break.  These two should be one of the best pairings in the league this year.

Coaching

This is the one part of the team that I am the most excited about.  Peter DeBoer is going to implement a much more aggressive game which will benefit this group of forwards who have good speed.  Hopefully the adjustment period to the NHL doesn’t take too long for DeBoer and hopefully Jacques Martin gives him space and lets him grow without suffocating him with pressure or expectations. 

All in all I’m excited about the Panthers this year.  I think we have a chance at winning the Southeast.  I don’t think any of the experts have the Panthers making the playoffs but I think they have a chance.  Other than 3 or 4 teams the East is wide open and 7-8 teams will be fighting for 4 spots.  Carolina has a couple of injuries up front in Williams and Walker so hopefully the Panthers can take advantage of this and beat the Hurricanes.  Game 2 is the home opener against Atlanta and the Panthers need to win that game for both the home crowd and for the team’s confidence. 

I will try to update more as the season progresses.  Thanks for reading.

Too long since the last post

Sorry.  I have been too busy lately.  Besides the Panthers and Indians have had me so angry it’s probably for the best I have disappeared.  The Indians stink.  Their starting pitching has been awesome for the most part but the offence and the bullpen need a major overhaul and I don’t think this is their year.  The next three series against Detroit, Minnesota and Chicago will show how their season is going to play out and whether they will trade C.C. or not.

As for the Panthers…  I don’t know.  I can’t rationally speak about the Jokinen trade.  I hope Ballard becomes an all star because that is the only way the Panthers win this trade.  They have signed Olesz for 6 years at over $3 million a year.  I don’t understand this deal and Olesz is one of my favourite Panthers.  Was someone going to give him an offer sheet for this much?  I don’t think so especially when you consider his production and the inability to stay in the lineup.  If Olesz stays healthy and breaks out as expected then this is a good deal, otherwise it’s a deal where he could be bought out in 2 years.

I haven’t heard anything yet about Bouwmeester signing and that scares the hell out of me.  I hope the Panthers match any offers because if someone like Detroit uses their cap room on Bo I don’t want the 28th pick of the first round for the next four years.  I also am afraid of Bouwmeester signing his one year qualifying offer and either leaving as an unrestricted free agent after this season or forcing a trade at the deadline for draft picks.  Either way I do not expect the best.

I will try to get into a posting routine later this week.  I have a lot to complain about.  Thanks for reading.