Florida Panthers Free Falling Towards Break

The streak is sorrowful.  The numbers are numbing.  The feeling is forlorn.  What else can be said about the state of the Florida Panthers?  Well to start, the facts.  Winless in 4 straight.  13 goals scored in the last 11 games.  Needless to say, the Cats haven’t scored 3 goals in 1 game since January 16^th.  Cutting into the first layer of this tear-jerking onion, the individual streaks are even more depressing.  Stephen Weiss; 1 goal in his last 11 games, 2 goals in his last 19.   Michael Frolik; 0 goals in his last 14, 1 goal in his last 18.  Steven Reinprecht; 0 points in his last 11 games, 0 goals in his last 17.  Obviously, when you score 13 goals in 11 games, the individual numbers will suffer.  But even when the Panthers do score, it’s not the guys you look to for offense.  It’s been Cory Stillman, Radek Dvorak, Shawn Matthias…  Heck, there was 3-game period where not one forward found the back of the net (there were 3 goals scored in that stretch, all be defensemen).

And so we get to the meat of this week’s article.   I feel that I’ve done my best to stay as objective as a fan can be when fulfilling my Hockey Writer’s duty.  I am a fan, first and foremost, but no one wants to hear me ramble on about 3^rd line guys no one north of West Palm Beach has heard of on a team that no one north of Orlando cares about.  So I keep these musings to a minimum, and try to keep the Hockey Writers’ world up to date on the factual happenings in Panther land.  Unfortunately, I can no long hold my tongue (err… typing fingers).

Dear Randy Sexton;  Please ignore that little number under the “Points” column of the latest NHL standings.  Do not believe that we are only 4 points out of the final playoff spot.  Do not look forward to the return of injured Nathan Horton or plan on counting on that as a “trade”, “move”, “improvement”, or any other positive feeling.  Please do not trade draft picks or prospects for a player who will only help us get to the 9^th seed and a mid-level draft pick.  Again.  This is not a piece or 2 away from a playoff run, no matter what the numbers tell you.   Instead, watch the games.  Read the faces on the bench.  Go into the locker room and see if you find any semblance of confidence.  Ask captain Bryan McCabe to give you any sign of life, because I don’t think you’ll find any.  What’s that?  We’ve finally started to drop the gloves, getting into 4 fights in the last 2 games?  Does that count as “signs of life”?  Combined score of those 2 games; 8-3.  It’s time to sell, and sell big.

There are more buyers than ever in this year’s trade market, thanks to the congestion in the standings.  This means more teams in the mix for fewer players, and one would think this would lead to better deals for the few sellers out there.  The Panthers should be one of those sellers.  Dennis Seidenberg and Jordan Leopold are both unrestricted free agents this summer.  Dump ‘em.  Did Jay Bouwmeester teach you nothing?  You have to be able to get at least a roster player or two for them, plus a handful of solid prospects and\or picks.  That should be the easy decision.  The tougher one might be Tomas Vokoun.  Yes, he still has one more year on his heft $6+ million a year contract.  But he’ll never present a better return in your investment than now.  League leader in both save percentage and shutouts and playing some of the best hockey of his career.  The reason he is expendable is playing in Sweden right now.  Last year’s 2^nd round draft pick Jacob Markstrom is the future of this club.  He looks like he should easily be ready to challenge for the starting job next season.  This club is legitimately built for the future.  Nathan Horton, Stephen Weiss, and David Booth have finally grown out of potential and into talent, they make up a great core to build around.  The problem is the gap between those top 3 and our AHL talent.  This team is full of great character and hard working grinders, the kind of guys most teams would love to have to fill out their 4^th line.  Unfortunately, they’re playing on our 2^nd and 3^rd line as well.  Cory Stillman, Radek Dvorak, Dominic Moore, Greg Campbell… it’s not happening.  Our team starts with Horton, Weiss, and Booth.  Michael Frolik and Dmitry Kulikov are off to great starts to their young careers.  Our future is with Markstrom, Michael Repik, Shawn Matthias, Jason Garrison, Victor Oreskovich, Keaton Ellerby, and Evgeni Dadonov.  It’s that middle ground that you, Mr. Sexton, need to address now.  The worst thing that can happen to this team is to trade away any of these prospects or to give away any draft picks for a player who, at the very best, gets into the playoffs to be swept away in the 1^st round and a mid-20’s level draft pick.  Start building now with the pieces we have.

Before any of you diehards start condemning me for throwing in the towel when we’re only 4 points out, believe me when I say that if this team were to make the postseason in April, I would be the first one in line for tickets.  I understand the mentality that when you miss out on the playoffs for 9 seasons, even a 1^st round sweep would be a success.  In no way am I asking this team to pack it in, stop showing up, or lose every game here on out in hopes of “reverse-catching” the Leafs and Oilers and a shot at a top-3 pick.  What I am saying, however, is that this team is not ready.  It might not be ready for another 2 seasons.  But, being the rational fan that I am, understand that.  I see what’s happening in Rochester and get excited.  I see the difference in Weiss and Horton this season from years prior.   I feel like there could be a future for hockey in south Florida.  I’m just begging you not to throw it away for a shot at ending the 10 year-drought via a prayer for a backdoor into the 8^th seed for this and every season for the next 10 years.

Please, prove me wrong.

Posted by Karl Selvig on Feb 9 2010. Filed under Eastern Conference, Florida Panthers, Southeast. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.