Is It Ever Acceptable to Root Against Your Team?

A top 3 pick at the NHL draft is something worth "chasing." (photo: Alaney2k / WikiCommons)

With the season winding down and the list of potential playoff teams dwindles, fans of those teams at the bottom of the standings (like myself) find it harder to find something to root for.  In the case of the Florida Panthers, they find themselves staring at a NHL-record tying 9^th straight season without a postseason berth.  What isn’t so obvious is where they will end up in the NHL draft this summer.  It begs the question, is it OK to hope for losses at the end of a lost season to improve your team’s draft stock?  Or should good fans always hope for more W’s, enjoying the role of spoiler and taking pride in their boys grinding it out to the bitter end?

As it stands now (about noon on Wednesday), the Panthers are 26^th in the league with 72 points, tied with the Islanders and Tampa Bay.  Carolina is 1 point ahead (or is it behind?) at 73.  Toronto is 29^th at 69, while Edmonton will almost assuredly finish in 30^th.

Looking back, the Panthers haven’t had a top 3 pick since 2003, when they took Nathan Horton 3^rd overall.  Horton has been one of the team’s few consistent scoring threats the past couple seasons.  In 2002, Florida took Jay Bouwmeester with the 3^rd pick.  But when the Cats have drafted outside of the top 3, the results have been frustratingly mediocre.  2004 – Rostislav Olesz, 7^th overall, career high 14 goals, 30 points.  2005 – Kenndal McArdle, 20^th overall, has played in just 22 NHL games.  2006 – Michael Frolik, 10^th overall, a decent rookie campaign in 2008-2009, struggled through a mild sophomore slump this season.  2007 – Keaton Ellerby, 10^th overall, finally broke into the NHL lineup late this season after the trades of defensemen Jordan Leopold and Dennis Seidenberg, could be a solid defenseman in seasons to come.  2008 – no first round pick.  2009 – Dmitry Kulikov, 14^th overall, the lone bright spot, made the club out of training camp as a rookie and has held his starting job all season.

Admittedly, the draft is a lottery to begin with.  There are no guarantees that OHL or college numbers will translate to the NHL.  But it is

Dmitry Kulikov has been a rare draft success for the Panthers (photo: Marcusvfx / WikiCommons)

hard to refute the fact that there is a difference between top 3 talent and the top 10-15.  Going back to the first draft post-2004-lockout, the following teams have drafted in the top 3; 2004 – Washington, Pittsburgh, Chicago.  2005 – Pittsburgh, Anaheim, Carolina.  2006 – St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Chicago.  2007 – Chicago, Philadelphia, Phoenix.  2008 – Tampa, Los Angeles, Atlanta.  2009 – New York Islanders, Tampa, Colorado.  What jumps out is that 3 of these teams have won Stanley Cups since their top 3 pick with Anaheim, Carolina, and Pittsburgh.  Washington and Chicago are currently among the favorites to win a Cup this season.  Phoenix and Philadelphia are certainly in the mix, and Los Angeles is set to claim its first post-season berth since before the lockout.

While you can’t necessarily draw a direct link to a top 3 lottery pick to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the results are hard to argue.  Just a small recent sample shows that the draft has been surprisingly top heavy.  It’s safe to say most hockey fans know Jordan Staal and Jonathan Toews (#2 and #3 in 2006), Patrick Kane (#1 in 2007), Steven Stamkos and Drew Doughty (#1 and #2 in 2008), and John Tavares (#1 in 2009).  And they should.  Stamkos is fighting with Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin for the league lead in goals scored.  Toews is the captain of the division leading Blackhawks.  These kids were NHL ready when they were drafted.  Meanwhile, players drafted in the mid-rounds might take a couple years to make their NHL clubs, as is the case with the Panthers.

What all this boils down to, as I try to meander my way back towards the original question, is that there is perfectly logical reasoning to root for your team to finish as far down the table as possible.  The term used most widely is “to tank.”  Now I won’t go so far as to hope the players intentionally throw games.  They are paid professionals and there are paying customers in the stands.  But would I be so upset if the Leafs and Islanders happened to win more down the stretch?  Would it pain me to see the season ending home-and-home series with the Lightning go in favor of the other Florida team?  No, because I know what a Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin could mean to the Panthers’ future.  Or that adding Cam Fowler to our already young-but-potential-filled blue line might just be the final cornerstone to a defensive core for years to come.  Do Alex Burmistrov or Derek Forbort, both projected as mid-round talent, hold the same kind of intrigue?  Not exactly.  Could they pan out in a couple years?  Sure, of course.  But the Panthers are a franchise that has not played an 83^rd game since 2000.  They have had just three 30+ goal scorers since Pavel Bure left in 2001.  There needs to be some sort of spark to ignite the fan base again, and I’m not sure the promise of growing future talent in the farm system is going to get it done.

So while some may snicker or thumb their nose at a “fan” who hopes for losses, or others may claim that a top 3 pick would just be wasted on the Panthers, try to imagine a decade without a single playoff game.  Tonight, Florida takes on Buffalo, and NHL.com’s game preview boldly, tauntingly even, states “Buffalo has not participated in the playoffs since 2007.”  The horror!  The L.A. Kings look like they will breach the postseason for the first time in 5 years.  Cute, but double it.  So am I really out of line hoping for a glimmer of something positive heading into next season?  I’m imagining two legitimate scoring lines of Stephen Weiss, Nathan Horton, Taylor Hall on top, and David Booth, Michael Frolik, and _________(insert offseason acquisition) following.  Why can’t a guy dream?  Or… the Panthers could end up 11^th in the conference, 20th or so overall, get yet another 10-15 level pick, watch him hopefully mature in the AHL for a couple seasons… fun, right?  So forgive me, NHL purists.  Forsake me not, hockey gods.  For while I may be cheering a puck finding its way into a Panthers’ net, I’m really just cheering the future.