Where's the deef(ense)?

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

So I noticed a lot of reaction threads after the poor start, and am not trying to start one, but I'm just wondering about the defense situation long-term. I knew that this might be a long season, but I am a little worried about how our d pairings look down the road. Campbell's a lock, but aside from that, we have two dmen (Kulikov and Guds) who are taking a long time to develop, Petro still needs time, and Robak has been hugely disappointing. Couple that with the fact that our only other competent guy Weaver will almost certainly be traded at the deadline, Jovo, Whitney, Gilbert, and Gilroy are not players for the future, and Matheson is a way's away, and it doesn't look good, not just for this season, but for future seasons as well. So I ask you all, what do you think will be done about this?



TL;DR version: Our defense isn't good, what will be done to fix it?

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[Drugs Delaney]

Free agents if the new owners are willing to spend to fill holes. We'll have to see on that one.

 

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

Free agents if the new owners are willing to spend to fill holes. We'll have to see on that one.

It's hard to acquire 2 or 3 marquee dmen through free agency

 

[Dread Clawz]

It's hard to acquire 2 or 3 marquee dmen through free agency

Signing one of the top D this summer would be a good start. I also hope we draft Ekblad or McKeown. Also, Matheson might not be as far away as you are thinking. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him on this team within the next two years. Especially if he signs after this season.

 

[Gizmo Tkachuk]

http://capgeek.com/free-agents/?year_id=2014&team_id=-1&position_id=D&fa_type_id=2

There's the list of FA defensemen for next year. Nick Schultz and Dan Girardi are the ones who stand out to me who could be had. Guys like Phanuef will obviously be re-signed.

 

[Dread Clawz]

http://capgeek.com/free-agents/?year_id=2014&team_id=-1&position_id=D&fa_type_id=2

There's the list of FA defensemen for next year. Nick Schultz and Dan Girardi are the ones who stand out to me who could be had. Guys like Phanuef will obviously be re-signed.

But the question is, will they re-sign both Ranger and Phaneuf? I think one of them will be let go.

 

[coopdaloop123]

But the question is, will they re-sign both Ranger and Phaneuf? I think one of them will be let go.

Ranger isn't worth looking at, wayyyy past anything close to a prime. The names to keep an eye on would be Girardi / Niskakin. Both huge upgrades and most likely not re-signing. Niskakin could potentially be moved in the coming weeks via trade.

 

[FrolikFan67]

well we have campbell, gudbranson, and kulikov right now. petrovic either at the deadline or next season, i thought he looked great in his short stint here, i personally think hes ready. leaving 2 spots open, and matheson isnt far away.
i know gudbranson hasnt looked amazing, but hes also on the 3rd and paired with guys like whitney, jovo, and gilroy. when hes paired with campbell he looks significantly better. i think he should be paired on the 1st with him. go out and get a solid 2nd pairing D for kuli, and another signing/trade for a D for petrovic next season. id love to get niskanen, i wanted to trade for him last season.

 

[Gizmo Tkachuk]

But the question is, will they re-sign both Ranger and Phaneuf? I think one of them will be let go.

Even if for some reason they didn't keep Phaneuf, there's no way we'd be the highest bidders unless we got rid of Campbell. Having two guys on D making a combined 14-16 million? Not even mentioning how much Kulikov and Gudbranson might earn next year when we resign them?

Probably not likely to happen.

 

[ShootIt]

Way kuli and guds are playing, they won't cost too much

 

[Drugs Delaney]

It's hard to acquire 2 or 3 marquee dmen through free agency

Perhaps I misunderstood you. I wasn't suggesting 2-3 marquee defencemen. Serviceable ones would make it better until our guys mature. Guys like Gilbert and Gilroy shouldn't be hard to upgrade. DT is going to have to get creative. He's getting paid to do so. I just hope the deep pockets are there if he needs to attract guys to Florida.

 

[Android 16]

Gil-bert-roy.. whatever. They both stink. I cringe every time I see one of them with the puck.

 

[Dread Clawz]

Ranger isn't worth looking at, wayyyy past anything close to a prime. The names to keep an eye on would be Girardi / Niskakin. Both huge upgrades and most likely not re-signing. Niskakin could potentially be moved in the coming weeks via trade.

I was under the impression he was playing well in Toronto? I'm not saying he's a #1 or anything, but he'd for sure be a big upgrade to some of the guys we have playing now. I'd love to get Girardi or Niskanen, but in case we don't sign of the top 2 d-men who'll likely be on the market, I'm just talking about Plan B.

Even if for some reason they didn't keep Phaneuf, there's no way we'd be the highest bidders unless we got rid of Campbell. Having two guys on D making a combined 14-16 million? Not even mentioning how much Kulikov and Gudbranson might earn next year when we resign them?

Probably not likely to happen.

I don't think Phaneuf will earn as much as he did on his last contract. Although, if there's one thing we saw last summer, the lockout didn't really change GM's spending habits. Plus the cap will be going up. I echo ShootIt though, I don't really see a huge raise in Kuli or Guds' near future. Actually Guds will probably be seeing a paycut.

 

[RogerRoger]

Ranger isn't worth looking at, wayyyy past anything close to a prime. The names to keep an eye on would be Girardi / Niskakin. Both huge upgrades and most likely not re-signing. Niskakin could potentially be moved in the coming weeks via trade.

I'd take Emelin in an heart-beat. The guy hit and his solid defensively and would most likely be in our price range.

 

[Chino Oscar]

well we have campbell, gudbranson, and kulikov right now. petrovic either at the deadline or next season, i thought he looked great in his short stint here, i personally think hes ready. leaving 2 spots open, and matheson isnt far away.
i know gudbranson hasnt looked amazing, but hes also on the 3rd and paired with guys like whitney, jovo, and gilroy. when hes paired with campbell he looks significantly better. i think he should be paired on the 1st with him. go out and get a solid 2nd pairing D for kuli, and another signing/trade for a D for petrovic next season. id love to get niskanen, i wanted to trade for him last season.

I take it you didn't watch the pre-season games. He only looked good on one of the games, he was a mistake-prone, turn-over machine the rest of the games... that's why he was sent back to San Antonio. Petrovic is definitely not ready yet. I have read that he has gotten off to an inconsistent start in San Antonio, so that proves the point.

 

[flapanthersfan]

there's actually alot of really good defensive defensmen:

Dan Girardi
Alexei Emelin
Brooks Oprik
Willie Mitchell (old, but if healthy hes very good)
Matt Greene

those 5 specifically stand out. all 5 are shut-down types. maybe one could mentor Gudbranson on how to not suck.

I really like Emelin. Might be the best hitter in the league. He's one of my favorite d-men to watch play because of it.

Girardi is probably the one who is most solid. He plays like 25 mins a night.

Orpik is a physical monster, as is Greene.

Very good choices, hopefully a few hit the open market.

 

[Morbo]

What do you guys figure happens to Whitney the rest of the way?

 

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

What do you guys figure happens to Whitney the rest of the way?

He'll stay the 6th/7th dman. Likely be a healthy scratch alot, and will get more time after Weaver's traded (I don't see any way Weaver's not moved at the deadline, as much as I like him). Whitney's situation is unfortunate, he was really good for a couple of years, but that foot injury has clearly had a huge impact on his skating, he can't pivot and has lost so much speed (not that he was ever quick, but still).

 

[Ekblad]

What do you guys figure happens to Whitney the rest of the way?

He will get a few more chances to redeem himself, but if he still can't do well enough to hold the 6th/7th spot I hope they allow tallon to send him down to SA. if we're gonna have to pay him his full contract regardless, we might as well have him down there to mentor kids and show them how to put up numbers in the pro's

 

[Mogo]

I really hope our new owners are for real. I want to see us sign 1-2 real defenders no more scrubs that no1 else wants

Now you really wish had Tallon given bunch of the UFA's we signed to 4 year deals just 3. I know they most likely wouldnt have signed but still

 

[SufferingCatFan]

Eight games into the season, we are giving up about 3.87 goals per game while scoring 2.25 gpg, which explains our 2-6 record. In terms of stats, we have one of the worst defenses in the NHL, which probably comes as no surprise to fans who have watched the games.

 

[IPreferPi]

Yotes fan visiting in peace. What exactly does Florida need to improve their blueline?

 

[Gizmo Tkachuk]

Yotes fan visiting in peace. What exactly does Florida need to improve their blueline?

Better players.

Or at the very least, a more sound defensive strategy. We let too many open shots get to Thomas, it's a miracle we didn't lose 5-2.

 

[hockeydude1]

Yotes fan visiting in peace. What exactly does Florida need to improve their blueline?

We need someone to take Kulikov from us. And play better in our zone.

 

[RainingRats]

We need someone to take Kulikov from us. And play better in our zone.

Yeah, trading one of our better d-men will improve our defense. Makes sense.