Panthers year in review

[yave1964]

PRESEASON OUTLOOK Ok, who couldnt be pumped about the year ahead, Coach Quenneville was brought in, Bobrovsky came aboard to settle the net down and Stralman came in to provide a solid stay at home presence on the back end. Combine that with a ton of young hungry forwards, they looked ready to make a leap.

 

FINAL RECORD 35-28-6 76 points, 5th in Atlantic. Lost in four games to Islanders in qualifying round.

 

HIGH POINT OF THE SEASON They started slow, Bob was out of sorts some said trying too hard, others saying he couldnt figure out the new system but starting in late December they went on a tear, going 12-3-1 to push their record to 28-16-5, 12 games over .500 being their high water point of the year. They culminated this with a six game winning streak.

 

LOW POINT OF THE YEAR From then on. From that point on the team went 7-12-1 falling to fifth in the Division and out of the top eight altogether. 

 

 A quick look at the nice run they were on shows it was an illusion, a product of the schedule as much as anything as they beat up on a lot of weak sisters such as Detroit (twice) Ottawa (also twice) the Wild, Kings, Canadiens and Hawks. As soon as they started facing pushback from better teams they had nothing to fight back with. This was arguably the softest team in the league with a ton of skill but no heart.

 

WHAT WENT RIGHT Huberdeau ages like fine wine leading the team with 78 points appearing in all 69 games. Barkov likewsie was nearly a point a game while being the games top defensive forward. Hoffman and Dadonov were right behind and tied for the teams lead in power play goals. Yandle was brilliant on the back end offensivley although showing signs of slowing a bit defense wise. Ekblad put up a fine season. Vatrana, Accairi and Connolly were among the games best secondary scorers. The quartet of Stralman, Pysyk, Weegar and Matheson on the blueline all contributed nicely. Haula came over late in a trade from Carolina and fit in nicely. As a team they were one of the best faceoff clubs in the game.

 

WHAT WENT WRONG Bobrovsky wasnt just bad, for much of the year he was simply dreadful. His 3.23 goals against was among the worst in hockey among starters. Primary backup Montembeault was even worse. If there is a bigger fan of Vinnie Trocheck than mei have yet to meet them but he was ordinary at best most of the year seeing his ice time drop before being dealt to Carolina. as mentioned they were woefully soft with only six fights all year. They didnt hit much either and although their defense is skilled they are not fans of shotblocking.They were the only team in recent memory who had a forward (acciari) actually lead the team in blocks. No Panther defenseman ranked in the top fifty in blocks, no Panther player finished in the top seventy five in hits. An incredibly soft club.

 

FREE AGENTS They are facing serious problems, Hoffman and Dadonov are both UFA's losing one would be extraordinarily painful, losing both would be catostrophic. Brian Boyle, one of the games top bottom six forwards will be tough to retain. Pysyk is a very underrated if soft defender who they want to keep. 

  On the plus side Bobrovsky has seven more years at ten million per before they have to worry about losing him (ninja!!).

 

OFFSEASON QUESTIONS What the Hell about Bob????? If his goals against doesnt drop by half a goal a game they are likely toast.They simply have to, HAVE TO retain one or both of Hoffman and Dadonov or they are going to slip back as teams such as Montreal and Ottawa improve. They must improve toughness especially on the back end.