Panthers Report - A tale of two extremes
Mar 10, 2018 14:31:03 GMT -5
AvsGM, Philly, and 3 more like this
Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2018 14:31:03 GMT -5
Sunrise, FLA - If you're a Panthers' fan these days, it's a bit difficult to understand the current season of 17-18. Elite up-front talent with the likes of Sid, Ovi, Jumbo Joe and Mr. Pavelski... tack on a fairly impressive 6-man defensive unit as well as a top 5 goalie in the league, which has bested the league in goals allowed thus far. But after that, the holes appear to be wide ranging gaps. The team's bottom six forwards could rival a US college team and some would say that's probably a compliment. All of these ingredients have forced the Panthers' Brass to try to figure out where they sit exactly amongst the league's stature.
For the first time since early in the season, the Panthers currently find themselves slightly out of the playoff picture, an unfamiliar position in the more recent years. Having made the playoffs for 5 consecutive years as part of a slow build and restructure of the roster, GM Kevin Singh admits that missing the playoffs is something that doesn't interest him. "This roster has obviously been built to compete and to win, but we understand the situation we're in and we're looking into all avenues at this point," admitted Singh. The Panthers have a handful of stars all on contract years including Thornton, Pavelski, Suter and Seabrook who you'd have to imagine will be looking for greener pastures next season.
Although the writing may be on the wall for some changes, don't mention that too loudly in the dressing room. "We think we have a great group in here and we've definitely battled adversity before," Crosby retorted when asked about the possibility of changes. "It's just something we're not interested in hearing and the best way to get that stuff to go away is to start putting the puck in the net". Putting the puck in the net would definitely help. Although the Panthers on paper are the best defensive team in the league, they also sit dead last with respect to goals for.
This all leaves the Panthers with huge decisions to make. First in defense, last in offense. The question becomes how to balance the scale and leap frog the teams ahead of them in the Atlantic. They definitely have assets to part with with blue chip prospects including Owen Tippett, Drake Batherson and Henri Jokiharju. They also have valuable draft picks for the next two drafts that can also come in handy, but the decision needs to be made. Do the Panthers push the chips in the middle of the table and go all-in? Stand Pat and let the team guide it's destiny, knowing that anything can happen if they 'just get in'? or do the Panthers start a re-tool or a complete rebuild and add to the future assets that were a productive of an un-precedented off season of offer sheets that saw the Panthers wisely accept compensation to battle cap issues. One thing's for sure, the next few weeks will be telling both on the ice and off of it.