Gentle Man
09/12
As I laid in bed last night, it got me thinking about the yesteryears of our beloved franchise. First things first, no team has come close to the 96 team for obvious reasons. That team was magic. They captured the hearts and minds of many, many people. That team, for the most part, stayed relevant till the All-Star break of the year after. But from there, for one reason or another, it started going down-hill till the franchise hit rock-bottom and beyond. Hockey Hell is probably better.
....Until 2011 and Dale Tallon and his band of misfits came to our team and over-achieved. They over-achieved just like the 96 team, just not on the same level. Not close. But days after that faithful goal by Henrique passed between Theodore's pads, my outlook for the team returned to the same feelings from the DECADE prior. Why? because that team over-achieved and received many, many breaks. A top-line of Versteeg-Weiss-Fleischmann caught lightning in a bottle and were a hit. Our second-line center of Goc began potting in goals. Wait what? Our second-line center of Goc......
The defensive backbones of Campbell-Garrison clicked. Jovanovoski and rookie Erik Gudbranson were a force....wait Jovanovski? him?
So as I broke it down, how DID that team make the playoffs? Were the lighting went through injuries. Hurricanes did the same. We had the Thrashers just move to Winnipeg, and the Capitals didnt have a goalie till they gave Holtby a shot in the dark. But through it all, we ended up winning the division. A combination of this team over-achieving and our division rivals falling under the right circumstances favoring the Panthers.
And that summer I said, we have these prospects in the system, but man, I doubt this team can achieve the way they did, and for one reason or another, they certainly didn't
Cue up 2014-2015. We did not make the playoffs AGAIN, but why do I feel better about this team moving forward than I did in 2011? For the following reasons:
1. Our Kids not overachieve. Not in my mind. I think they showed progression more than anything. Ekblad has generational talent ceiling, and if we even goes 75% of hitting it Ill be happy with that.
It's not a patchwork of free agents that kept us afloat, but rather the young studs that developed.
2. Jagr. He did the same for Philadelphia and Voracek. He HAS done the same for Barkov and Hubs. He better stay.
3. This team came oh-so-close to a playoff berth against competition that weren't suffering under the same conditions as the 2011 competition.
4. Less positions to fill this time around. This team is just simply better than the 2011 team and that is a fact. With Jagr, the top line is better. Bjugstad is a way better 2nd line center than Goc and so on and so forth. Mitchell in essence, is the new Jovo, and my goodness what a difference. Jovo has had a wonderful career, but he decent to not good during his 2nd stint. Top-to-bottom, 2014-15 was better, and we are in position to add 1, maybe 2 or 3 players but that's it. It really is.
So in closing, the ending to this season was less than storybook. However, I am more than willing to say that this is only chapter 1 for this team. 2011 ended in a playoff berth, but that book ended and was shut the day after Henrique scored that goal.
This ending feels like the season before the Panthers made their Cinderella run and I am excited to see where it goes.
Let's just band together and make the next 6 months fly as fast as possible.
....Until 2011 and Dale Tallon and his band of misfits came to our team and over-achieved. They over-achieved just like the 96 team, just not on the same level. Not close. But days after that faithful goal by Henrique passed between Theodore's pads, my outlook for the team returned to the same feelings from the DECADE prior. Why? because that team over-achieved and received many, many breaks. A top-line of Versteeg-Weiss-Fleischmann caught lightning in a bottle and were a hit. Our second-line center of Goc began potting in goals. Wait what? Our second-line center of Goc......
The defensive backbones of Campbell-Garrison clicked. Jovanovoski and rookie Erik Gudbranson were a force....wait Jovanovski? him?
So as I broke it down, how DID that team make the playoffs? Were the lighting went through injuries. Hurricanes did the same. We had the Thrashers just move to Winnipeg, and the Capitals didnt have a goalie till they gave Holtby a shot in the dark. But through it all, we ended up winning the division. A combination of this team over-achieving and our division rivals falling under the right circumstances favoring the Panthers.
And that summer I said, we have these prospects in the system, but man, I doubt this team can achieve the way they did, and for one reason or another, they certainly didn't
Cue up 2014-2015. We did not make the playoffs AGAIN, but why do I feel better about this team moving forward than I did in 2011? For the following reasons:
1. Our Kids not overachieve. Not in my mind. I think they showed progression more than anything. Ekblad has generational talent ceiling, and if we even goes 75% of hitting it Ill be happy with that.
It's not a patchwork of free agents that kept us afloat, but rather the young studs that developed.
2. Jagr. He did the same for Philadelphia and Voracek. He HAS done the same for Barkov and Hubs. He better stay.
3. This team came oh-so-close to a playoff berth against competition that weren't suffering under the same conditions as the 2011 competition.
4. Less positions to fill this time around. This team is just simply better than the 2011 team and that is a fact. With Jagr, the top line is better. Bjugstad is a way better 2nd line center than Goc and so on and so forth. Mitchell in essence, is the new Jovo, and my goodness what a difference. Jovo has had a wonderful career, but he decent to not good during his 2nd stint. Top-to-bottom, 2014-15 was better, and we are in position to add 1, maybe 2 or 3 players but that's it. It really is.
So in closing, the ending to this season was less than storybook. However, I am more than willing to say that this is only chapter 1 for this team. 2011 ended in a playoff berth, but that book ended and was shut the day after Henrique scored that goal.
This ending feels like the season before the Panthers made their Cinderella run and I am excited to see where it goes.
Let's just band together and make the next 6 months fly as fast as possible.
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