Panthers Beginning

[bthomp05]

Well 3rd time is a charm, I hope. I have decided to attempt one more time at the dynasty thing. Going with the Panthers with some major changes.

Will do a season outlook, trade dealine review, and a season review. Might post some important things along the way, maybe a 5 game report, but don't have ample time to do a game by game.

I will play all home games and sim away. So here goes nothing

[bthomp05]

2009 - 2010 Outlook

With a narrow miss of the playoffs last year (Habs won out on the decider), fans would believe the Panthers would enter the draft, maybe make a few UFA signings and that would be it. Well this offseason was anything but usual.

First off, Panthers traded Vokoun to the islanders (who knows why they wanted another goalie) for their 1st round pick, which intern they used to draft highly skilled center Nathan Thompson (Thompson, a native from Toronto, had sparked league interest way back in midgit hockey. Chimed as the next Gretzky, this playmaker loves to pass but doesn't shy away from putting the puck in the net either. He is quick on his skates and unloads a body check like there was no tomorrow. Could this be the player the Panthers were looking for, only time will tell).

Next, they used thier 13th pick to select heavy weight defensemen Mike Smith. (Standing 6'8", this 255lb Canadian d-man is like a freight train on skates but with the finesse of butterfly. There is nothing this guy can't do; score, set-up plays, hit, protect, you name it he can do it. The Panthers hope this d-man can get it done for them this season and many more.)

With thier 44th pick they selected Russian goalie Ivan Fedorov. (A very agile, stand up goalie, the Panthers hope he can play along side Clemmesen to help fill in the gaping hole left by Voukon.)

To improve thier future (Out with the old, in with the New) the Panthers moved a few players around to get a jump start on next years draft. Moving Ballard to Nashville, Horton to Columbus, and Weiss to Colorado, the Panthers were able to secure three 1st round picks and dump about 11.3 million in Cap. A GM's dream, most would say.

To assist thier newly drafted center, Nathan Thompson, the Panthers went trolling across the pond to hopefully find a suitable winger. Thier journey lead them to the Czech league, where they negotiated a reasonable contract with Coyotes 2001 243th draft pick, Frantisek Lukes. A small, speedy winger, with an accurate shot, had 39 pts in 51 games with Litvinov last year.

It is hoped that with Lukes on the right and Booth on the left of Thompson, this 1st line will help propel the Panthers to new heights. Today and for the future.

Key Additions: Nathan Thompson (C), Mike Smith (D), Ivan Fedorov (G), Frantisek Lukes (RW/LW), Mark Recchi (LW/RW), Ville Pelton (LW)

Key Departures: Tomas Vokoun (G), Keith Ballard (D), Nathan Horton (RW/C), Stephen Weiss (C)

Forwards: Booth (LW), Thompson (C), Lukes (RW), Stillman (LW), Reinprecht (C), Frolik (RW), Olesz (LW), Campbell (C), Recchi (RW), Pelton (LW), Tarnesky (C), Dvorak (RW)

Defencemen: Smith, Seidenberg, McCabe, Allen, Leopold, Koistinen

Goalies: Clemmenson, Fedorov

[bthomp05]

6 Game Recap:



At CHI: 3-2 W
VS CHI: 4-3 OL
AT CAR: 1-3 L
VS NJ: 2-1 OL
AT TB: 2-3 L
VS PHI: 2-3 SW (Thompson with the Shoot Out Goal)

Panthers are 2-2-2 with 6 pts, are 14th in the East
GF: 13 GA: 16 PP: 22.7% PK: 90.3%

Top 5 Scores:
Thompson 2-3-5
Recchi 0-4-4
Lukes 2-1-3
Leopold 0-3-3
Booth 0-3-3

Playing 500 hockey, the Panthers hoped they would have gotten more scoring from thier 2nd line, some better defensive play from the blue line, and some better goaltending.

In an effort to build momentum on the 2nd line, Stillman (pointless so far) will drop down to the 3rd line while Recchi (3 pts in 6 games) will move up to the 2nd. Another minor change is swapping Peltonen and Dvorak from LW and RW. Not a scoring option, but to keep the checking line fresh and attentive (This line has a combined plus 3, best out of all 4 lines).

On defense, Panthers coach has made some big changes, more or less. Seidenberg, a minus 5 (an early experiment to put ODs with DDs) will be domoted to the 3rd def pairing and Koistinen, a plus 2 (3 pts in 6 games) will move up to pair with Smith. McCabe, 2 pts but a minus 4, being the veteran on defense, has not played as well as Leopold or even rookie Smith. To get his attention and focus him, the 34yr old has been put on the block. Not necassary for a trade, but definately a "Hey You, You are Expendable".

Panthers will be watching closely the tandem between Clemmensen and Fedorov, both goalies not particularly playing well. Clemmensen (1-3, 2.69 GAA) and Fedorov (1-1, 2.42 GAA), are not exactly the Stanley Cup contending Goalie team one would want. Expect if this continues that the Panthers might move on a UFA goalie or trade some of their veterans (Stillman, Leopold or McCabe) or possible one of four 1st round picks they hold for one a veteran goalie.

The Panthers hope that a little line switching and a swiff kick in the arse will spark the team to a better record them 500 in the next 5 to 6 games.

[GoldenJet]

Not even gonna ask about the picture. But nice start.

[Bolts_26]

Quote: Originally Posted by GoldenJet

Not even gonna ask about the picture. But nice start.

What GJ said

Good start though, looking forward to more!

[bthomp05]

Its the Panthers Ice girls, thought it would add flavour. Will be posting another update today

[bthomp05]

6 Game Recap:
(Games 7 to 12)

VS BUF: 4-2 W
AT PIT: 5-1 W
AT PHI: 3-2 L
VS OTT: 9-2 W (Thompson had a 5 pt night)
AT DAL: 3-2 W
AT STL: 3-1 L

Panthers are 6-4-2 with 14 pts, are tied for 8th (5 other teams) in the East
GF: 37 GA: 29 PP: 18.4% PK: 87%

Top 5 Scores:
Thompson 9-10-19
Lukes 6-7-13
Booth 4-7-11
Leopold 1-7-8
Smith 1-7-8

Now closer to the 600 level, the Panthers 1st line has been explosive. Combined, Booth-Thompson-Lukes, have 43 pts so far and account for 51% of the goals scored. Thompson, a rookie no less, is 8th in the league with 19 points and is on pace for 129 pt season, hopefully he can keep that up.

"Its been great, but I must say that my linemates, Booth and Lukes, have made it easy for me. I hope we can keep this going." Thompson told reporters earlier this week.

Moving Koistinen to the 1st D pairing has been very beneficial, as the Smith-Koistinen paring have 15 pts combined and are a plus 6 now. Leopold is 4th on the team with 8pts while Seidenberg is still at zero, expect changes if Seidenberg can't perform. (Maybe a call-up).

Fedorov (3-2) has been playing better as of late then his mate, Clemmenson (3-4), but the duel has a combined GAA of 2.42. Not a real concern at this point, but management will watch to see if something needs to be changed.

The Panthers focus will remain the same, aggressive pressure in the O-zone and a mean back-checking in the D-zone.



In other news, a rumor has spured that Panthers management might want to spend some of the war chest and land a big UFA. Possible players on the radar might be Pavel Brundl, Alexander Radulov, or Aleksy Morozov due to all three being excellent marksmen (Maybe a new linemate for Thompson?). But like I said, its a rumor, so who knows. :-)

[bthomp05]

17 Game Recap:
(Games 13 to 29)

VS CAR: 3-2 W
VS WSH: 4-1 W
AT WSH: 3-2 W
AT BOS: 4-1 L
VS NYI: 3-0 W
VS LA: 5-2 W
AT BUF: 4-3 OL
AT DET: 5-1 W
AT NYR: 6-4 L
VS PIT: 3-0 W
VS NYR: 3-2 W
VS TOR: 5-2 W
AT NSH: 3-2 OL
AT ATL: 3-1 L
VS COL: 4-2 W
AT WAS: 5-2 L
VS ATL: 5-1 W

Panthers are 17-8-4 with 38 pts, are 3rd in the East
GF: 93 GA: 69 PP: 17.8% PK: 87.2%

Top 5 Scores:
Thompson 19-31-50
Booth 9-25-34
Lukes 13-14-27
Koistinen 4-19-23
Smith 7-13-20

The last 17 games have been incredible as the Panthers have gone from 8th place to 3rd in the East.

Rookie Thompson has been on fire, he's tied for 1st in the league with Heatley at 50 pts, on pace for 152 pts. Booth and Lukes are right behind with 34 and 27 pts respectively, while the Smith-Koistinen combo has 43 pts combined.

The Panthers Goalie/Dman tandum is 2nd lowest in the league with a GAA of 2.38 and the team as a whole has a +/- rating of 112.

Goalies Clemmensen and Fedorov, have being doing an incredible job posting a GAA of 2.21 and 2.37 respectively with an overall recored of 17-13.

The only downside has been the play of 2 forwards and 1 d-man. Panthers management has not been happy with the play of Reinprecht (2nd line center, 10 pts in 27g but a minus 3, 34% on the faceoff), Stillman (winger in the 3rd line, 3 pts in 27g with a minus 2) and struggling d-man Siedenberg (4 pts in 27g with a minus 2). Expect some immediate action, like a few call ups to help fill those struggling players.

Everyone hopes, me included, that the Panthers can continue thier success. Go Nate Go..


In other news, rumors are still circulating on those 3 UFA and Panthers Management. Eventhough all parties have not commented, it is still thought that the Panthers will move on one before the march deadline especially if they are a Stanley Cup Contender.