Defence or offence

[I am not exposed]

In your opinion, which needs the bigger improvement in the offseason.

When Upshall is your top point scorer you've got problems!

However, the defence coughs up so many pucks its ridiculous.

I'm leaning more towards defence. Of course both need improving significantly.

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[Gizmo Tkachuk]

Defense. Can't rely on Lu to stand on his head all game without helping him out on the defensive end. I'd also like to see a better defensive system put in place.

 

[FrolikFan67]

defense. we already have a core of barkov, bjugstad, huberdeau, trocheck/pirri on offense. not to mention bergenheim who i hope we extend past next season. fleischmann could bounce back. upshall's a solid 3rd line winger. boyes is signed for another year. the only issue on offense is we're very young and inexperienced, but thats the group we're moving ahead with. we still need 2 strong wingers to complete it but we have bigger issues on defense.
campbell has 2 more yrs and isnt getting any younger. kulikov is somewhat of a wild card. gudbranson, is the only longterm piece back there right now and he's still young and developing though. still a couple years away from matheson and mccoshen working their way into our lineup and that'll come with a couple years of development once here. thats why I'm hoping we draft ekblad and sign another top-4 D or two (depending on what we do with kulikov).

 

[Android 16]

A defensive OVERHAUL.

First off, tell Jovo the Panthers' brand new training facility is in Antarctica and lock the door to the real one. Let Gilbert walk.. Next, sign Matt Greene. Huge fan of Greene; he's real solid. Try to sign Niskanen if the Pens can't reach a deal with him. Plan b could be to attempt to acquire Edler from the Canucks. Grab some more treasure from a sinking ship. I don't care what his +/- is, the guy has a cannon and he's another powerplay quarterback/shooter. Maybe try to acquire all three somehow.. Maybe Brooks Orpik? Guy is another winner that we can use, who still has game left in the tank. How about Meszaros? There's another solid powerplay shooter. Dale needs to work his magic.

So going into next year, we can either put a squad in front of Luongo that can contribute on offense and defense, keep us out of the McDavid sweepstakes and on the road to the playoffs or put out what we have right now.

I was thinking of the following combinations with potential additions I mentioned..

Campbell (35) - Edler (28)
Kulikov (23) - Greene (31)
Gudbranson (22) - Olsen (23)

or

Campbell (35) - Niskanen (27)
Kulikov (23) - Greene (31)
Gudbranson (22) - Orpik (34)

or

Campbell (35) - Meszaros (28)
Kulikov (23) - Greene (31)
Gudbranson (22) - Olsen (23)

Like I said Gilbert and Jovo can take a hike. Petrovic can go back to the minors and find out if he wants to make millions or not. Robak, same as Petrovic. I'm a little iffy about Kulikov at this point, he's such a bipolar hockey player. Kuli will make an outstanding play and on the same shift will look like a complete imbecile. He's gotta be paired with a safety net so to speak. Put Kulikov with a veteran defenseman who can help Kuli physically and cover for him in his own zone. I'm not saying the answer is Matt Greene, but maybe pairing Kulikov with an accomplished, winning-veteran like Greene will push him to be a better professional. Let's try the whole, "Guddy and Olsen have chemistry thing". We'll know quickly if that pairing is a liability. Also, I'm not too high on Olsen, but might as well keep him to see what kind of season he can produce from start to finish. I like his attitude of shoot it from anywhere.

 

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

 

[FrolikFan67]

keep in mind drafting ekblad is a very strong possibility. but watch, we'll finish 2nd, the oilers will win the lottery and take ekblad. we'll miss out on him like mackinnon

if we were to draft ekblad id hope for something like this:

Campbell-Greene
Nikitin-Gudbranson
Gilbert-Ekblad

and i think that'd be in the realm of possibility. niskanen may cost a pretty decent amount, greene and nikitin are both very solid and wouldnt break the bank.

trade kulikov for a winger if possible. *cough* matt read *cough*
if we draft ekblad and add another solid D (2 if kulikov happens to be traded), then I'm ok with bringing gilbert back, cheap, on the 3rd line.
if we were to sign niskanen, greene, and orpik? that'd be insane lol
if we don't draft ekblad, but one of the forwards rather, then we could resign kulikov, and id go after niskanen and greene. niskanen could cost a decently high amount though.

Campbell-Niskanen
Kulikov-Greene
Gilbert-Gudbranson

whoever we draft it'll make it easier to look at, but I'm looking at niskanen, greene, nikitin, meszaros, possibly orpik, possibly resign gilbert for the 3rd depending on how things go. those are the guys I'm hoping we're targeting.

 

[Crossbar]

Defense. Our games are done and over with early on because we give other teams huge leads.

The old adage "the best defense is a good offense" is just too hard to do every single game for 60 minutes straight. All the successful teams seem to give very little by trapping, converting on turnovers and defending leads. Our transition game definitely needs to improve, which is why I think having better d-men will fix that and make all our forwards and special teams better in the process.

 

[ProjectPanthers]

I would LOVE to add Ekblad to this team. I feel like the offense will come. A lot of guys are coming into their own like Bjugstad for instance. Barkov will make strides. We will still need to add some sort of piece(s) up front to solidify a truly pathetic offense and powerplay. I also think Flash will turn it around next season. This year has just not been his. He's a MUCH better than what he has been this year.

With that said, our defense is atrocious. For the past two seasons we have looked discombobulated in our own zone. Bad giveaways, failures to clear, not covering your man, the list goes on. I think we need to add two proven NHLers to even sniff the playoffs. The likes of Gilbert, Robak and Petrovic will not cut it in the NHL.

Campell - ???
Kulikov - ???
??? - Gudbranson.

This is what our defense looks like going into next year. Is there really a question of which needs to be improved?

 

[gudzilla]

a defenseman can still be good for 40-50p

 

[Android 16]

You're dreamin' if you think re-signing Gilbert will help us next year. There are two things that Gilbert has been doing since game one that have been self destructive to this team. One is his indecision with the puck in his own zone. And two is he never makes a good first pass and he's hesitant every single time. It disrupts the whole flow of our offense. How many times have you seen the center fly up the middle with his blade open ready for a pass. Barkov and Bjugstad hardly ever get a precise outlet pass.

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

You're dreamin' if you think re-signing Gilbert will help us next year. There are two things that Gilbert has been doing since game one that have been self destructive to this team. One is his indecision with the puck in his own zone. And two is he never makes a good first pass and he's hesitant every single time. It disrupts the whole flow of our offense. How many times have you seen the center fly up the middle with his blade open ready for a pass. Barkov and Bjugstad hardly ever get a precise outlet pass.

Exactly what I see, and you could say the same thing about Campbell. Put them together on defense and it's no wonder the offense gets stalled. Hold it, hold it, pass to each other. Hold it, hold it, pass to each other. Skate hard up to the defensive blueline, pass back to each other. Or skate it up ice themselves (mostly Campbell) and dump it into the offensive zone, when it would have been much better to pass it up to a forward. They do the opponent's work for them. They forecheck themselves.

 

[ShootIt]

If VV isn't ************ us, we have the cap for both.

 

[gudzilla]

If VV isn't ************ us, we have the cap for both.

yeah, but the team isnt attractive for FA:s yet

 

[Effe]

We need one scoring winger and 2 blueliners.

 

[Android 16]

Exactly what I see, and you could say the same thing about Campbell. Put them together on defense and it's no wonder the offense gets stalled. Hold it, hold it, pass to each other. Hold it, hold it, pass to each other. Skate hard up to the defensive blueline, pass back to each other. Or skate it up ice themselves (mostly Campbell) and dump it into the offensive zone, when it would have been much better to pass it up to a forward. They do the opponent's work for them. They forecheck themselves.

It's infectious. Everyone does it now and it's sickening. Wait behind the net. Look at your options and then play hot potato with your d-partner. Meanwhile, the forecheckers are just smelling blood because of the indecision and stalling. Our forwards are just skating around in circles wasting energy and time. Dale wants us to be a puck possession team, but problem is that whole plan backfires if you have the wrong people in place doing important things like making a successful FIRST pass. We don't have a Doughty, Keith, Karlsson or anything even close to a guy like that except Campbell. But, Campbell is being overused and he's clearly not motivated at this point with ten games left. Honestly, who could blame him. His spot on the team, contract and his assistant captaincy is all locked. Plus, he's far and away our best defenseman currently. Dale loves him. Plus, it's not like we have any young guys threatening to take his job. Dale needs to revamp this defense. Just redo the whole thing for next year. If he doesn't make any big changes, we'll be in line for McDavid next year for sure.

That's just the defense. The offense is whole different story. We have too many versions of the same player. Fleischmann has one more year left, but I've lost all faith in him. He hasn't been the same since Weiss - Versteeg - Fleischmann. We need talent up there and we need it badly for our young guys to flourish and see their point totals go up and gain confidence. Right now, it's just too much for them handle alone. Most of them are too young and not good enough yet to lead a team into the playoffs.

 

[Panthers Rock]

They'll be going after both for sure, but defense should actually be the focus right now. We have a lot of great offensive prospects upcoming for us and I know some are a ways off. But you can already see what Bjugstad, Barkov, Huberdeau, Howden, Shore, etc. are capable of at this age.

I want them to add offense for sure as well, but defense has to be a focus. It is not good enough right now. Inexcusable for the most part. We can do better than Gilbert and Jovo. Right now, Olsen isn't even making a case to be on this team. I like the guy but if he's only good with Gudbranson, that doesn't say much for him. He may just be too young and inexperienced and need AHL seasoning.

 

[PanthersHockey1]

Find a defensemen who can take campbells wide open buttery passes on the PP and absolutely destroy anyone in front of that shot including the goaltender as it sails not 20 feet wide of the net but actually hit it every single time.

 

[coopdaloop123]

Guys like Orpik, Green, and Mithchell would all be great additions to the D ... I am leaving out Niskanin because I assume there is no way Pitt lets him walk.

 

[ShootIt]

yeah, but the team isnt attractive for FA:s yet

Unless we over pay.

 

[EnforceTheLaus]

Guys like Orpik, Green, and Mithchell would all be great additions to the D ... I am leaving out Niskanin because I assume there is no way Pitt lets him walk.

$$

Plus there is a possibility Pitt says, "We got Letang and Maata" and tries to build a more defensive blue line with cheaper guys like Greene, Weaver etc.

 

[Acadmus]

Tough call because this team needs both, but the lack of goalscoring has been the Achilles' heel of this team for time eternal. Increasing puck possession, shots, and scoring chances in the offensive zone is a pretty critical need, and one only partially fulfilled by prospects.

I actually think the defense is in better shape...Jovo can't last forever, Soupy2 is great when paired with the right person, Guds and Kuli are adequate, and we've got a multitude of prospects in the pipeline, including a rather top-end guy in Matheson. It may behoove Tallon to go for a couple top-6 guys (including a real top-line goal scorer) and let the defense work itself out for another season.

Meanwhile, we've still got goaltending to look at...Luongo's not Stanley Cup material even if the right team in front of him can get us close, Ellis is thankfully not going to see much icetime unless Louie gets injured (ptoo ptoo...spit over left shoulder), but we need to be looking to the future there since there's nothing really promising as a clear #1 in the pipeline.

 

[FrolikFan67]

draft ekblad. sign greene, nikitin, and mitchell. trade kuli for a winger. compliance buyout jovo.

Campbell-Greene
Nikitin-Gudbranson
Mitchell-Ekblad

 

[coopdaloop123]

$$

Plus there is a possibility Pitt says, "We got Letang and Maata" and tries to build a more defensive blue line with cheaper guys like Greene, Weaver etc.

Maata is still on the cheap for quite a while, they can afford to sign Nisky for nice $$ for a few years especially if they are letting Orpik go which most assume they are.

The only way I could see Nisky walking is if someone offers him a max-year deal for amazing money ... which the Panthers "could", but who knows if they will.

 

[Android 16]

draft ekblad. sign greene, nikitin, and mitchell. trade kuli for a winger. compliance buyout jovo.

Campbell-Greene
Nikitin-Gudbranson
Mitchell-Ekblad

I like the addition of Greene, but I don't think there's nearly enough speed back there. Ekblad jumping in at 18? So, do we want to ruin him like we did Kulikov? I'd rather keep him in the OHL another year. Let's not make the same mistakes Sexton and Martin made.

 

[gudzilla]

I like the addition of Greene, but I don't think there's nearly enough speed back there. Ekblad jumping in at 18? So, do we want to ruin him like we did Kulikov? I'd rather keep him in the OHL another year. Let's not make the same mistakes Sexton and Martin made.

ekblad is a bunch of tiers above kulikov as a prospect