Confirmed with Link: Panthers announce new additions & changes to Hockey Ops. staff (Fenton, Dudley & Campbell hired)

[Jean Luc Discard]

GR has some updates on Dady/Hoff, unclear if pure speculation or what Free Agent Focus: How would the Panthers replace Hoffman and Dadonov?

He targets Galchenyuk as a potential mutual interest; I would like the signing. He brings probably what Connolly does on expectation; some high-end growth potential; and could play center if need be...

I would sign Galch for a twoway deal at 900k. If you forget that he's a former top pick and accrued decent point totals like three years ago then what do you actually have in Galch? Currently you don't get points with him, you don't get defensive play with him, you don't get transitional aka playmaking with him, even the Calculator doesn't see the stats which would promote him as a good moneypuck-gamble...

 

[Pigge]

GR has some updates on Dady/Hoff, unclear if pure speculation or what Free Agent Focus: How would the Panthers replace Hoffman and Dadonov?

He targets Galchenyuk as a potential mutual interest; I would like the signing. He brings probably what Connolly does on expectation; some high-end growth potential; and could play center if need be...

Would he be cheaper? Since he left Montreal it seems he has disappointed and struck out in three organizations. He would be a great pseudo reclamation project at less than $4M, but if he thinks he's a given first liner it could be another dead end.

 

[FinlandPanther]

Would he be cheaper? Since he left Montreal it seems he has disappointed and struck out in three organizations. He would be a great pseudo reclamation project at less than $4M, but if he thinks he's a given first liner it could be another dead end.

Galchenyuk sucks. Like I’d be ok with him if he’s all we could get but I’m not expecting miracles with him. He’s dumb as shit.

 

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

Galchenyuk makes a ton of sense, cheap one year deal, if he sucks whatever, if he's good a nice 2nd round pick at the TDL.

Funny because you're literally talking about trading 3 guys we actually did draft at the top of the draft.....you know....because they sucked so much?

Trade all 3 just to repeat the last 10 years all over again? Sounds like Panthers logic to me, let's do it.

Florida has made the playoffs 3 times the past 15 seasons post lockout, but has only drafted in the top 10 4 times. So they've made the playoffs 3 times, drafted in the top 10 4 times, and finished between 10-14 8 times. That's just continued mediocrity, again it's better to suck than be mediocre. Again, Florida is not a playoff team, why finish 22nd overall? Accrue picks and draft top 3.

 

[violaswallet]

Eh, to respond, I think he is worthwhile. For the five seasons before last, he put up at least 40pts and at least 17 goals. He seems to play better at center than wing, which works well given our gaping whole at center. This puts competition on Borg/whoever is competing for that spot. (I don't think Haula is coming back and I think Galy offers more offense)

I'd either offer a 1-year deal cheap (1-2M) or something a bit longer (2(3) YR, 2.5(3)M per year) to lock him in.

 

[Jean Luc Discard]

Eh, to respond, I think he is worthwhile. For the five seasons before last, he put up at least 40pts and at least 17 goals. He seems to play better at center than wing, which works well given our gaping whole at center. This puts competition on Borg/whoever is competing for that spot. (I don't think Haula is coming back and I think Galy offers more offense)

I'd either offer a 1-year deal cheap (1-2M) or something a bit longer (2(3) YR, 2.5(3)M per year) to lock him in.

Sounds really convincing.

Zito better get his head checked if he wastes a roster spot by signing Galch.

 

[Dread Clawz]

It's OK if you don't understand, this is like rocket science. This sport evolves and today it means that your so called superstar players do not get to be bubble-wrapped from the extracurricular activities and in fact they have to be initiating mayhem if an opportunity presents itself. Enforcers are being squeezed out of the league because of competition by cap reasons and players themselves. For an instance, Mackinnon is really aggressive player and he fights if need be. The pinnacle of superstars assuming enforcer tasks is the Tkachuck bros who are really taking advantage of the fact that teams do not have the capacity in their cap structure to employ low skilled enforcers, allowing other teams to take advantage of lack of physicality. But sure, you can replay your Oilers 80's dynasty VHS-tapes all you want but that's ancient fookin' history, pal.

Oh I understand where the league is now. There are no more straight up goons but there are still plenty of pests, fighters and semi-enforcers like Reaves and Martin. Barkov is not MacKinnon and he's DEFINITELY not the Tkachuks. You can't reasonably expect Barkov to play like the Tkachuks. That's not even just a a-hole brother duo, it's a whole lineage of a-holes, those kids have been cultivated to be pests since they were barely big enough to put on skates. Brady and Matthew were drafted as high as they were due IN PART to the fact that they play the style they do. Ekblad shows more fire than Barkov, but he is still not a intense take over the locker room type leader either. That's why a guy like Yandle has been able to come in a put his stamp in tue room and become the head honcho, because of the leadership void. And his clown antics and happy go lucky attitude have trickled down throughout the lineup. If Mitchell, Thornton, Jagr etc were still playing, he'd be put more into his role and wouldn't dare usurp their places at the top. But yeah, you guys keep expecting Barkov, Hubs, and Ek to become great leaders. And we'll keep watching the Panthers be soft and uninspired and not make the playoffs.

 

[violaswallet]

Sounds really convincing.

Zito better get his head checked if he wastes a roster spot by signing Galch.

Out of curiosity, what is your plan moving forward this season with forward if we don't re-sign Hoff and Dady? I really think is one of the best options sadly

 

[Dread Clawz]

It does seem like Gally plays better at center, but I wouldnt be expecting much from him, whether he plays at center or wing. If the Panthers don't at least re-sign Dads, they'll be pretty bad.

 

[Chessarmy]

Dale Tallon did not leave this organization in a good place at all. Bloated contracts, little depth on both sides of the puck, an albatross in net.

In short, if Zito isn’t a magician we screwed.

 

[violaswallet]

Dale Tallon did not leave this organization in a good place at all. Bloated contracts, little depth on both sides of the puck, an albatross in net.

In short, if Zito isn’t a magician we screwed.

Yeah, I didn;t realize it until this off-season. We really blew last off-season...

The Trocheck trade was bad in hindsight: we should have 1:1.

Let's hope that Tippett and Denisenko hit...

 

[Jean Luc Discard]

Out of curiosity, what is your plan moving forward this season with forward if we don't re-sign Hoff and Dady? I really think is one of the best options sadly

Well, pretty much every other team in the league is on the lookout for centers so Zito is already in for a heavy bidding competition right from the get-go. I've talked about the options a bit with @TheImpatientPanther , like trading Huberdeau for RNH or Danault, which TIP suggested.

From a moneypuck-standpoint, we need to a twoway center to face some of the high quality competition while allowing Borg/Saarela to get easier minutes. The required center doesn't exactly have to be heavily involved e.g. carrying the puck into the zone or in goal scoring but instead good at keeping the puck in the o-zone, passing the puck to players on scoring opportunities and being responsible defensively.

ofc the front office knows the status of Borgstrom and Saarela better than anyone here so the mgmt might come to the conclusion that they can't get anything done via trades and they have to proceed with Saarela and Borgstrom as 2/3C.

 

[violaswallet]

Well, pretty much every other team in the league is on the lookout for centers so Zito is already in for a heavy bidding competition right from the get-go. I've talked about the options a bit with @TheImpatientPanther , like trading Huberdeau for RNH or Danault, which TIP suggested.

From a moneypuck-standpoint, we need to a twoway center to face some of the high quality competition while allowing Borg/Saarela to get easier minutes. The required center doesn't exactly have to be heavily involved e.g. carrying the puck into the zone or in goal scoring but instead good at keeping the puck in the o-zone, passing the puck to players on scoring opportunities and being responsible defensively.

ofc the front office knows the status of Borgstrom and Saarela better than anyone here so the mgmt might come to the conclusion that they can't get anything done via trades and they have to proceed with Saarela and Borgstrom as 2/3C.

So apart from those trades, your plan is to have Saarela, Borg, Tippett and Denisenko compete in the top 6/9 with Barkov, Hubrdeau, Vatrano, Connolly and say Walmark?

 

[Jean Luc Discard]

So apart from those trades, your plan is to have Saarela, Borg, Tippett and Denisenko compete in the top 6/9 with Barkov, Hubrdeau, Vatrano, Connolly and say Walmark?

Hoffman needs to be signed because he gets 60-70pts from middle6 lines and ofc he's deadly on the PP.
My prediction is that they will start Denisenko on the 2nd line but he probably gets sent to the AHL to work on his defensive game and maybe he'll acquires some middle6 playmaking winger.
Other than that I don't think Zito has a lot to do with the forward corps.

 

[violaswallet]

Hoffman needs to be signed because he gets 60-70pts from middle6 lines and ofc he's deadly on the PP.
My prediction is that they will start Denisenko on the 2nd line but he probably gets sent to the AHL to work on his defensive game and maybe he'll acquires some middle6 playmaking winger.
Other than that I don't think Zito has a lot to do with the forward corps.

Gotchya: the Hoffman re-signing was the thing I missed; thanks

I'd like it to happen but GR is not optimistic

 

[FrolikFan67]

I’m fine with galchenyuk only if it’s a 1yr deal, I don’t want to get tied down to him. It’s either something like him or it’ll be Borgstrom playing 2C if there isn’t a trade to be worked out.

which if we don’t want to be mediocre and instead opt to be bad to get a top pick, just letting Borgstrom play 2C would probably be the best thing. See how he does with the ice time, over the course of an entire season, with more skilled players, that way we have a much clearer picture of what we have with him. I’m kinda curious tbh, it’s not like he’s gotten much of an opportunity here. Granted, he hasn’t earned it. But those were small sample sizes, not like I’m expecting much, but I am curious to see how he would do in a top-6 role over the course of a whole season

 

[violaswallet]

I’m fine with galchenyuk only if it’s a 1yr deal, I don’t want to get tied down to him. It’s either something like him or it’ll be Borgstrom playing 2C if there isn’t a trade to be worked out.

which if we don’t want to be mediocre and instead opt to be bad to get a top pick, just letting Borgstrom play 2C would probably be the best thing. See how he does with the ice time, over the course of an entire season, with more skilled players, that way we have a much clearer picture of what we have with him. I’m kinda curious tbh, it’s not like he’s gotten much of an opportunity here. Granted, he hasn’t earned it. But those were small sample sizes, not like I’m expecting much, but I am curious to see how he would do in a top-6 role over the course of a whole season

Being medicore is a bad strategy: we only have a couple more years with our young core before we re-sign

 

[Jean Luc Discard]

Being medicore is a bad strategy: we only have a couple more years with our young core before we re-sign

Being mediocre is not a strategy but rather the result of Tallon's idea and implementation of how to draft and develop players. Zito can do only so much within the next few months before the next season starts and Zito probably needs to see for himself how the players will start off.

 

[violaswallet]

Being mediocre is not a strategy but rather the result of Tallon's idea and implementation of how to draft and develop players. Zito can do only so much within the next few months before the next season starts and Zito probably needs to see for himself how the players will start off.

Eh, we can do medium things: try to re-sign one of Hoff/Dad, maybe try to move on of Yandle/Stralman for something decent, send Matheson to forward camp , target a buy low option like Granlund or Gally. maybe move futures for a forward without expansion protection?

 

[FrolikFan67]

Being medicore is a bad strategy: we only have a couple more years with our young core before we re-sign

I know, I’ve been preaching for the past like 2yrs that this was the window, we squandered the last two years and I don’t know what they can even do right now. They may keep both Barkov and huberdeau and re-sign both you their mega deals, Ekblad is high but not in that 10+ per mega range, and maybe they ride it out with those 3 as the big earners. Yeah we have bob but I suspect only 4 more years, which would only be one year into huberdeaus eventual new deal and two years into Barkov’s, and hopefully they can find a way to get out of the last two years of bob since it’ll be easier with his salary structure. Knight longterm would do wonders for the cap at that point, Tippett and Denisenko have 5-6 years before their first “big” contract if they start this year, plus we have this 12th oa selection probably cracking the lineup in 2-3 years and cost controlled for a longtime.

so who knows, maybe they retain both. The cap will be stagnant for the next 2yrs, I just wonder what they’ll both be looking for at that point in time.

either way, if we keep them, then drafting well is imperative. It already is for every club, but even more so for us right now

 

[violaswallet]

I know, I’ve been preaching for the past like 2yrs that this was the window, we squandered the last two years and I don’t know what they can even do right now. They may keep both Barkov and huberdeau and re-sign both you their mega deals, Ekblad is high but not in that 10+ per mega range, and maybe they ride it out with those 3 as the big earners. Yeah we have bob but I suspect only 4 more years, which would only be one year into huberdeaus eventual new deal and two years into Barkov’s, and hopefully they can find a way to get out of the last two years of bob since it’ll be easier with his salary structure. Knight longterm would do wonders for the cap at that point, Tippett and Denisenko have 5-6 years before their first “big” contract if they start this year, plus we have this 12th oa selection probably cracking the lineup in 2-3 years and cost controlled for a longtime.

so who knows, maybe they retain both. The cap will be stagnant for the next 2yrs, I just wonder what they’ll both be looking for at that point in time.

either way, if we keep them, then drafting well is imperative. It already is for every club, but even more so for us right now

Eh, it's inter-related. I think if we trade Ekblad, probability of Huberdeau and Barkov re-signing plummets. I don't think a re-build now makes total sense, until we see that Barkov isn't re-signing. For some reason I think trading Huberdeau in the right trade wouldn't.

If we were to re-build, I'd keep Ekblad and rebuild around him for the reasons you said

 

[FrolikFan67]

Eh, it's inter-related. I think if we trade Ekblad, probability of Huberdeau and Barkov re-signing plummets. I don't think a re-build now makes total sense, until we see that Barkov isn't re-signing. For some reason I think trading Huberdeau in the right trade wouldn't.

If we were to re-build, I'd keep Ekblad and rebuild around him for the reasons you said

I definitely would not advocate for a rebuild. A “re-tool”? Sure, absolutely, changes need to happen. I still don’t see us retaining all 3 of those guys when their new contracts will be signed. I don’t see us trading Barkov, especially with our center depth, and I don’t see us trading Ekblad, especially with our D depth. I just feel like Huberdeau is the odd man out as a winger, we have other needs, and if we are to address those needs without making any big or huge free agency signings and we need immediate help on D and 2C (can’t wait 3-5yrs for a prospect to make it and then develop at the nhl level once he does make it). We have no other trade pieces. Tippett and Denisenko won’t return the kinda package Huberdeau would, he still has 3yrs left at a great price, he’s coming off of career highs and was voted 4th amongst LWers in the league, and we need to retain our cost controlled assets (Tippett, Denisenko, etc). Whether it’s this offseason or next, I think it’s best for the team to trade Huberdeau for a good package vs keeping him, even though I think he’s our best forward (I rank him slightly above Barkov)

 

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

So apart from those trades, your plan is to have Saarela, Borg, Tippett and Denisenko compete in the top 6/9 with Barkov, Hubrdeau, Vatrano, Connolly and say Walmark?

This is my strategy, suck but be watchable. I have never been so disappointed as I was this year with the complete lack of care, and amount of no-show games. I also haven't seen any viable solutions posted that get Florida to the playoffs.

 

[violaswallet]

Eh, I guess I'm slightly more optimistic: we need to see what our prospects bring, but I think Zito will fix our defense somehow and I expect Bob to bounce back. For better or worse, Bob is our hopes for the next two seasons and I believe in him.

 

[ProjectPanthers]

LMAO at anyone who thinks Borgstrom in the lineup next season is even remotely logical, let alone playing 2nd line center minutes.

Just give it up, he's never going to be anything significant on this team. Maybe elsewhere but he is done as a Panther and likely done in the NHL.

You talk about Boro and how he's "not a savior" (which no one claimed he would be) and in the same breath mention Borgstrom playing significant minutes on this team as if he hasn't been a total bum in a league that plays at a much slower pace and has WAY less talent than the NHL.

Some of you are out to f***ing lunch.