Grade the Off-season so far

[RainingRats]

People forget that we have a young studly core under age 25 who are still growing and producing more every year. To say we have “the same team as last year” + Hoffman is selling us short. We’re going to improve just by being another year older and more experienced

I don't disagree but we've heard this before.

 

[PC76]

A

Russian Dman looks like a clever play.
Hoffman, home run.
Resigning Vitrano and McCann. Two solid players.
Nice draft with two in top 34.

Just gotta get the C away from MacKenzie so he can sit in the press box.

Capt Mac....step up and help the team, relinquish and help us move on. You're blockin the way.

 

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

I think people around here are pretty heads down and blinders up on that Hoffman fiance situation. You sleep on that hand grenade at your own peril. In general I'm not going to defend "chemistry" over skill, but people can go too far the other direction downplaying the need for a good room. I just hope we haven't unlearned our 2016 lesson so quickly.

What's the worst case scenario here? I've evaluated it and don't see a huge deal. Hoffman is not facing any trouble. His fiance will be on her best behavior. The only way this situation could sour dressing room wise is if it comes out that she did it and Hoffman stays with her. That will lead to trouble.

Tallon talked to all the relevant players who signed off on the deal and Hoffman is supposedly a good enough teammate so I'm willing to take the risk for a player who you can pretty much guarantee will play at least 75 games and put up 25 goals and over 50 points, who Florida got for peanuts.

 

[BB88]

People forget that we have a young studly core under age 25 who are still growing and producing more every year. To say we have “the same team as last year” + Hoffman is selling us short. We’re going to improve just by being another year older and more experienced

Boston& Toronto can say that easily as well. Tampa depending on who goes on Karlsson trade.

Just development+ Hoffman is not going to be enough when a better team adds Tavares and other better team Karlsson. A franchise C+ the best D-man in the game.
Florida really lacks that franchise D-man who can take over the games.

Right now depending on injuries Florida ranks 4th on the Atlantic and somewhere 7-8 in the East.
I really like the top6 in Florida though and could see them give trouble to someone in the 1st round, depending on luck of course.

I'm a Boston fan and what has happened during the last week/will happen is just a damm nightmare.

 

[pb1300]

You think the Lightning have that many question marks? The Capitals? The Bruins? The Penguins? These are teams we should be comparing ourselves to. Teams that have cup aspirations. I mean if you want to make the playoffs and get bounced out in the first round like always I guess the roster is fine, but you cannot go far in this league unless you have solid contributors throughout the lineup. As it currently stands we don’t have a lot of guys I’m confident will contribute outside of the top 6 and we have nobody on defense that I feel comfortable going against the top teams best players.

Yes, those teams do have holes, even though they are SC winners. There is no team that is content with their roster. And its the SC playoffs, where anything can happen. The Panthers played well against those teams for the most part, so I dont see how we would automatically be "bounced in the first round." There are obviously areas that could be upgraded, especially in the bottom six and bottom four D, but we are in a lot better shape than a good number of teams in the league, enough for us to contend in the division, let alone for a playoff spot.

 

[Jean Luc Discard]

Just development+ Hoffman is not going to be enough when a better team adds Tavares and other better team Karlsson. A franchise C+ the best D-man in the game.
Florida really lacks that franchise D-man who can take over the games, the top6 matches up against the others.

Thankfully championships aren't decided on paper and we just saw a prime example of such when the Golden Nuggets proceeded to the SC Final. The Isles has been built as a tough team whereas the Laughs play primarily a speed and skill game which means that guys like Marner and Willie Nyllie focus on perimeter play. The Laughs will go through the same process which the Caps did for ten years before winning the Cup which is tight checking game coupled with some high end skill. All it takes e.g. couple of big dmen really taking notice of when Marner is on the ice and begins his usual opposing zone cycle play and when he skates behind the net then just step into his lane and lay the guy out. Couple of big hits into Marner and Willie is going to make them readjust their game and that process will take them at least a year. imo the Leafs is still a weak team even though they have the necessary high end skill. The game of hockey is zerosum game: the Laughs and Lightning are trying to win by whos got the best talent on their roster and when they got a step on you it's going to get harder to beat them in their chosen strategy. Therefore, the Cats should engage in depth strategy. This is just my opinion but I think that a lineup of ...
Dadonov - Barkov - Bjugstad
Hoffman - Trocheck - Huberdeau
Mamin - Borgstrom - Tippett
Hunt - McCann - Sceviour
Matheson - Ekblad
Yandle - Parayko
McCoshen - Petrovic
Stillman
.. has a better chance at winning than a lineup of...
Marleau - Tavares - Marner
Hyman - Matthews - Nylander
Timashov - Kadri - Kapanen
Johnsson - Jooris - Brown
Rielly - Zaitsev
Dermott - Gardiner
Nielsen - Carrick
(trade Heponiemi + Gildon + 2nd for Parayko)
In 2-3 years time when the Cats are or at least should be in the discussion for being a favorite for winning the Cup, they probably have a lot of depth in every position whereas the Lightning have depleted theirs. Then it becomes a coaching issues: is Boogie still going to rely primarily on Barkov and Trocheck to carry this team or can/will he use the entire lineup effectively.

We've gone through this numerous times already... the Cats are betting on Ekblad being the french fries dman for the Cats regardless you like or see it as Dalé sees it. He's getting paid like he's one now and they're not going to move him because they simply can't since it's going to be end of Dalé if Ekblad is traded and after one year Ek is scoring like 50pts per season and accrues +25 on the +/-. I don't exactly like the situation either but that's the way it is now. I think that around the next exp draft there will a team or two who are looking into starting their own rebuild and there will be high end defensemen trying to find a new home and Dalé is going to try acquire one of them.

 

[BeezKnees]

Boston& Toronto can say that easily as well. Tampa depending on who goes on Karlsson trade.

Just development+ Hoffman is not going to be enough when a better team adds Tavares and other better team Karlsson. A franchise C+ the best D-man in the game.
Florida really lacks that franchise D-man who can take over the games.

Right now depending on injuries Florida ranks 4th on the Atlantic and somewhere 7-8 in the East.
I really like the top6 in Florida though and could see them give trouble to someone in the 1st round, depending on luck of course.

I'm a Boston fan and what has happened during the last week/will happen is just a damm nightmare.

Wasn't trying to insinuate that we'll be on par with TB or Toronto. But we're grading our offseason, not grading whether we're the best team in the league. Right now we should be good enough to make the playoffs and addressed weaknesses from last year without losing anything. Our goal right now needs to be making the playoffs and getting our core that experience.

While we won't be cup favorites, there are plenty of scenarios where we could surprise people with a run and do some damage. Vegas inexplicably made a run last year. Predators the year before, who made it as an 8th seed. Especially with these divisional playoffs, you see a Winnipeg/Nashville 2nd round where they wipe each other out and Vegas finishes the winner off. I could easily see that happening with Tampa/Toronto where they knock the other out and make life easier for another team in the East

 

[PanthersHockey1]

Since when are we competing with the Tampa and Toronto's of the world?

The goal is to become an annual playoff team and start winning rounds.

For those teams not making the eastern conference is a failure.

 

[RainingRats]

To compete with them, we will need a breakout season from guys like Borgstrom or Tippet. Matheson and Ekblad will need to take their game to the next level. Limit Mack and Haley's games. Goaltending will need to be consistently strong and our special teams must be in the top 10. A comparable player acquisition is unreasonable and we know won't happen.

I do wonder if Tallon does anything in response. I doubt it.

 

[RainingRats]

Since when are we competing with the Tampa and Toronto's of the world?

The goal is to become an annual playoff team and start winning rounds.

For those teams not making the eastern conference is a failure.

They're in our division and we play them a lot. I also think most people consider this a playoff team so we're looking ahead.

 

[BB88]

Thankfully championships aren't decided on paper and we just saw a prime example of such when the Golden Nuggets proceeded to the SC Final. The Isles has been built as a tough team whereas the Laughs play primarily a speed and skill game which means that guys like Marner and Willie Nyllie focus on perimeter play. The Laughs will go through the same process which the Caps did for ten years before winning the Cup which is tight checking game coupled with some high end skill. All it takes e.g. couple of big dmen really taking notice of when Marner is on the ice and begins his usual opposing zone cycle play and when he skates behind the net then just step into his lane and lay the guy out. Couple of big hits into Marner and Willie is going to make them readjust their game and that process will take them at least a year. imo the Leafs is still a weak team even though they have the necessary high end skill. The game of hockey is zerosum game: the Laughs and Lightning are trying to win by whos got the best talent on their roster and when they got a step on you it's going to get harder to beat them in their chosen strategy. Therefore, the Cats should engage in depth strategy. This is just my opinion but I think that a lineup of ...
Dadonov - Barkov - Bjugstad
Hoffman - Trocheck - Huberdeau
Mamin - Borgstrom - Tippett
Hunt - McCann - Sceviour
Matheson - Ekblad
Yandle - Parayko(You don't have him and with ROR in the Blues really don't have anything to land him)
McCoshen - Petrovic
Stillman
.. has a better chance at winning than a lineup of...
Marleau - Tavares - Marner
Hyman - Matthews - Nylander
Timashov - Kadri - Kapanen
Johnsson - Jooris - Brown
Rielly - Zaitsev
Dermott - Gardiner
Nielsen - Carrick
(trade Heponiemi + Gildon + 2nd for Parayko)
In 2-3 years time when the Cats are or at least should be in the discussion for being a favorite for winning the Cup, they probably have a lot of depth in every position whereas the Lightning have depleted theirs. Then it becomes a coaching issues: is Boogie still going to rely primarily on Barkov and Trocheck to carry this team or can/will he use the entire lineup effectively.

We've gone through this numerous times already... the Cats are betting on Ekblad being the french fries dman for the Cats regardless you like or see it as Dalé sees it. He's getting paid like he's one now and they're not going to move him because they simply can't since it's going to be end of Dalé if Ekblad is traded and after one year Ek is scoring like 50pts per season and accrues +25 on the +/-. I don't exactly like the situation either but that's the way it is now. I think that around the next exp draft there will a team or two who are looking into starting their own rebuild and there will be high end defensemen trying to find a new home and Dalé is going to try acquire one of them.

Wasn't trying to insinuate that we'll be on par with TB or Toronto. But we're grading our offseason, not grading whether we're the best team in the league. Right now we should be good enough to make the playoffs and addressed weaknesses from last year without losing anything. Our goal right now needs to be making the playoffs and getting our core that experience.

While we won't be cup favorites, there are plenty of scenarios where we could surprise people with a run and do some damage. Vegas inexplicably made a run last year. Predators the year before, who made it as an 8th seed. Especially with these divisional playoffs, you see a Winnipeg/Nashville 2nd round where they wipe each other out and Vegas finishes the winner off. I could easily see that happening with Tampa/Toronto where they knock the other out and make life easier for another team in the East

I want to start by saying Preds never were a true 8th place team, they had 2 #1D's and the best top4 in the league with Rinne/Johansen/FF/Arvidson.
They were build better than a 8th place team, and Vegas is something that happens once in a million years and they didn't have to get through 2 of the best teams in the league.

Florida has a good team, I said it even before Hoffman trade the F group isn't my concern with them, now with Hoffman the top5 is one of the best in the league.
But if Karlsson lands in Tampa I haven't seen a team like that since I started watching NHL regularly, it looks like a team one shouldn't be able to build.
Even then one can say it's just 1 team, which is true, but then add Toronto who was already an elite team and they added a franchise C in his prime, now they are looking like a legit threat to do damage in the playoffs.
So that's already 2 elite of elite teams playing in the same division as we are, and then for Florida there's Boston as the 3rd threat and for Boston Florida as the 3rd threat.
This division is just a complete nightmare and just being good or great won't get you far, it maybe won't even get you into the playoffs or to win a round.

I'd like to see Florida make the playoffs but my goal is always have a plan that gets you to Stanley Cup race.

 

[RainingRats]

I want to start by saying Preds never were a true 8th place team, they had 2 #1D's and the best top4 in the league with Rinne/Johansen/FF/Arvidson.
They were build better than a 8th place team, and Vegas is something that happens once in a million years and they didn't have to get through 2 of the best teams in the league.

Florida has a good team, I said it even before Hoffman trade the F group isn't my concern with them, now with Hoffman the top5 is one of the best in the league.
But if Karlsson lands in Tampa I haven't seen a team like that since I started watching NHL regularly, it looks like a team one shouldn't be able to build.
Even then one can say it's just 1 team, which is true, but then add Toronto who was already an elite team and they added a franchise C in his prime, now they are looking like a legit threat to do damage in the playoffs.
So that's already 2 elite of elite teams playing in the same division as we are, and then for Florida there's Boston as the 3rd threat and for Boston Florida as the 3rd threat.
This division is just a complete nightmare and just being good or great won't get you far, it maybe won't even get you into the playoffs or to win a round.

I'd like to see Florida make the playoffs but my goal is always have a plan that gets you to Stanley Cup race.

Or even win a round. Florida fans are so used to missing the playoffs that getting in is good enough. We need to have a higher standard like winning a round or two.

 

[BB88]

Or even win a round. Florida fans are so used to missing the playoffs that getting in is good enough. We need to have a higher standard like winning a round or two.

Getting into playoffs is good when a team has been misisng it for a long time. But once you make them you should plan on improving, the next goal should be making a serious run and ignoring just making the playoffs.

Florida is core wise more in the place where they should be planning on doing damage in the playoffs.
This division is going to be a nightmare for a long time, might as well keep that in mind.

 

[Chaos2k7]

I dont think its all roses for any of TB TOR, or BOS.

People make assumptions on paper, lets see it play out. We should be in the playoffs, and we play all three of those teams well.

 

[Ryuji Yamazaki]

Or even win a round. Florida fans are so used to missing the playoffs that getting in is good enough. We need to have a higher standard like winning a round or two.

Exactly this. Even if we manage to make the playoffs, it’s a different/grittier game. Having guys like Mack/Haley/Petro/Pysyk is not gonna cut it.

 

[Breaking Dadonov]

Or even win a round. Florida fans are so used to missing the playoffs that getting in is good enough. We need to have a higher standard like winning a round or two.

This guy gets it.

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

I'll just put the last part of my other post in here.

If the Panthers play defense first, I have no worries about anybody. That's why my grade for the offseason is incomplete, if I knew what Boughner was thinking I could give it a fair grade.

 

[RainingRats]

I'll just put the last part of my other post in here.

If the Panthers play defense first, I have no worries about anybody. That's why my grade for the offseason is incomplete, if I knew what Boughner was thinking I could give it a fair grade.

Boughner is going to play the same system that got us to 96 points.

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

Boughner is going to play the same system that got us to 96 points.

He didn't play the same system all season.

 

[Chaos2k7]

He didn't play the same system all season.

They surely did, only it took three months and until the new year to see the results. No learning curve this time.

 

[GermanPanther]

Boughner is going to play the same system that got us to 96 points.

He didn´t must play the same System like last Year, you get better Players different Players. He will adjust the system to the new Lines with who play with who.
I mean where ever Hoffmann lands on which Line the Line will be faster with him, also with him more skill and shooter joins the Team so more technical faster play possible.

With a tougher russian Defender comeing in you can change Lines there and adjust the art of Game.
Same with the Bottom 6 the skill will be definetly much higher then last Year in the Bottom 6.
Malgin, McGinn both played last year 2nd Line will now turn 3rd Line, also we get 1 more better 2 Way player in the Bottom 6 there you can adjust also there kind of playing and useing during the Season.

So play the same system then last Year, makeing no sense to me.

 

[CHGoalie27]

He didn´t must play the same System like last Year, you get better Players different Players. He will adjust the system to the new Lines with who play with who.
I mean where ever Hoffmann lands on which Line the Line will be faster with him, also with him more skill and shooter joins the Team so more technical faster play possible.

With a tougher russian Defender comeing in you can change Lines there and adjust the art of Game.
Same with the Bottom 6 the skill will be definetly much higher then last Year in the Bottom 6.
Malgin, McGinn both played last year 2nd Line will now turn 3rd Line, also we get 1 more better 2 Way player in the Bottom 6 there you can adjust also there kind of playing and useing during the Season.

So play the same system then last Year, makeing no sense to me.

Why does it not make sense to play the way we played for the second half?

We have the same guys. But rested and healthier.

Don't fix what ain't broke.

 

[Dread Clawz]

I disagree. Detroit, Buffalo, Montreal and Ottawa have gotten worse. Also CBJ and NJD added no one? The only team worse than Florida last year who improved was Carolina.

Like there's no question, Toronto, a team better than Florida last year, will also be better than Florida this year, I'm just not sure how that affects the Panthers.

CBJ got slightly better, but nj might have actually gotten worse. They have their work cut out to get back to the playoffs, Hall isn't going to replicate last season's scoring, and they lost moore and probably lost Maroon.

I'm also not that scared of Carolina, their defense is sick but I'm not buying their goalie tandem. If Mrazek doesn't have a good season, they have no chance.

 

[KW]

I dont think its all roses for any of TB TOR, or BOS.

People make assumptions on paper, lets see it play out. We should be in the playoffs, and we play all three of those teams well.

Yup.

So many playoffs the number 4-8 team from the east or west makes it to the final.

Hockey isn’t basketball, thank God. It’s got an element of unpredictability that results in luck and bounces and ultimately the saying that you make your own luck.

Just having a Tavares or a Stamkos or a Karlsson or a Crosby or a Malkin or an Ovechkin or ... you get the idea. No guarantees.

 

[BB88]

CBJ got slightly better, but nj might have actually gotten worse. They have their work cut out to get back to the playoffs, Hall isn't going to replicate last season's scoring, and they lost moore and probably lost Maroon.

I'm also not that scared of Carolina, their defense is sick but I'm not buying their goalie tandem. If Mrazek doesn't have a good season, they have no chance.

I think the Devils are due for a drop, they were the biggest 1 man team in the league, that depth won't do in the East anymore.

Carolina could fail badly but they already got to 11th last with abysmal goaltending last season, now they've improved everywhere in the lineup.
Better offense, adding Svechnikov is going to be a really nice boost, Necas is a potential add, they've added toughness into their lineup without overdoing it and the top6 on defense looks lot stronger this year.

I'd bet on 2 of Carolina/Columbus/Florida to take the WC spots, Florida probably being favourite #1.

Yup.

So many playoffs the number 4-8 team from the east or west makes it to the final.

Hockey isn’t basketball, thank God. It’s got an element of unpredictability that results in luck and bounces and ultimately the saying that you make your own luck.

Just having a Tavares or a Stamkos or a Karlsson or a Crosby or a Malkin or an Ovechkin or ... you get the idea. No guarantees.

You have no quarantees in hockey, but it's not about beating one of those teams.

Both of Boston/Florida have to be ready to go through 3 elite teams to get into the finals, not 1 but 3.