[PST] Preliminary Round/Division semi-final: Lightning vs. Panthers---Bolts win series 4-2

[hwy19man]

Originally Posted by Johnny Makarov

No. They can get destroyed by the Canes next round.

The Predators can surprise them too.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

Every team passed on Hunter Smith about NINE times.

We drafted him.

Hunter.
Smith.

TB took Domenik Masin and Jonathon Macleod before they took Point!!

0 combined NHL games.

Anyone can play that silly game.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

I don't mind the overager element. There's been a lot of good value picks over the years by drafting overagers: guys like TJ Oshie, David Perron, Tanner Pearson, Jason Demers, etc. I'm sure I'm missing some. .

Sure. Andrew Mangiapane is another.

But an overager with skill is one thing.

Hunter Smith was a refrigerator. A year after we drafted Kanzig too.

Tall plugs is about the worst value in terms of overagers anyone could imagine.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by transplant99

TB took Domenik Masin and Jonathon Macleod before they took Point!!

0 combined NHL games.

Anyone can play that silly game.

Yep, if they had any idea they would have taken him much sooner...

Brent Krahn was local

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

Sure. Andrew Mangiapane is another.

But an overager with skill is one thing.

Hunter Smith was a refrigerator. A year after we drafted Kanzig too.

Tall plugs is about the worst value in terms of overagers anyone could imagine.

Which is almost exactly what I said but perhaps my wording didn't make it clear that this is WHY I didn't like the pick either:

"Hunter had a great junior year because of his size that he used to overpower his undersized opponents. It was a pick based on old school big=good mentality."

I didn't like either pick. Doesn't mean I think somehow the Flames made a larger error than every other club that also passed over Point. There's no special connection between Point and the Flames.

[tvp2003]

Florida has some good players. Will be interested to see how they do next year.

As for Sam, I think the Panthers are happy to have him. He’s shown he can be a dynamic player given increased minutes and an increased role, albeit a flawed one. He is also able to elevate his game when the stakes are higher, although we’ll see if he can do it consistently (I think he can as long as he stays healthy). I can see Florida giving him a two year deal; after that the cap will have likely gone up if Sam is deserving of a raise.

[dino7c]

Its pretty crazy that one week after the Flames last game

Panthers
Oilers
Pens
Blues
Caps

All eliminated

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

Florida has some good players. Will be interested to see how they do next year.

As for Sam, I think the Panthers are happy to have him. He’s shown he can be a dynamic player given increased minutes and an increased role, albeit a flawed one. He is also able to elevate his game when the stakes are higher, although we’ll see if he can do it consistently (I think he can as long as he stays healthy). I can see Florida giving him a two year deal; after that the cap will have likely gone up if Sam is deserving of a raise.

Sam has arb rights so im not even sure he gets QO'd by Florida.

They either go longer term with him which could be cheaper for them or he tests the market IMO.

Gonna be interesting what they do there...they have an internal cap that they had to blow through this year. Not sure ownership isnt going to purge players moreso than keeping or adding.

[dino7c]

10M 3rd string goalie with a NMC doesn't help

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Sam has arb rights so im not even sure he gets QO'd by Florida.

They either go longer term with him which could be cheaper for them or he tests the market IMO.

Gonna be interesting what they do there...they have an internal cap that they had to blow through this year. Not sure ownership isnt going to purge players moreso than keeping or adding.

I suspect they will present him with a mid to long term deal. Say 4 years. And he will be highly motivated to take that deal as he finally has found a fit in Florida.
Or he could choose a very short-term deal to prove he can do it for 82 games.

I see a 1 year deal at say 3.0, or a 4 year deal at 15.5 or something.

[dino7c]

Would Bennett take a longer term deal under 4M though?

tough call for him, if he is a PPG like some think he should be getting 8M

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Sam has arb rights so im not even sure he gets QO'd by Florida.

They either go longer term with him which could be cheaper for them or he tests the market IMO.

Gonna be interesting what they do there...they have an internal cap that they had to blow through this year. Not sure ownership isnt going to purge players moreso than keeping or adding.

His QO is only $2.55M, no? That’s not much for a guy who was given a ton of minutes, both 5-on-5 and on special teams.

I forgot about his Arb rights, but it’s not like his overall body of work is going to necessarily lead to a big payday. Also, if you’re Sam, you just found yourself in a much better situation after toiling for 6 years in Calgary. I can see him taking less to stay in a place that looks to be a good fit for him...

[Dienasty]

Anyone see Bennett's wicked one timer on the power play?

#1 reason he should not be a shooter on a power play.

[GioforPM]

It’s a super weird negotiation for Sam. His historical production says he wants to avoid arbitration. And testing the market is pretty risky for him.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

Bobrovsky, the $10M goalie having the 2nd worst save % in the playoffs (.841), with only Vanecek .750 in 13 minutes of ice-time was a huge, huge part of this as well. Driedger being 3rd worst at .871 is also pretty damning.

The lack of Ekblad contributes to both of those, but ultimately...yikes. You aren't winning a playoff series with goaltending like that. Hard to say they should have started Knight in game 1, but...he's by far their best goalie.

Florida has to get rid of Yandle and Bobrovsky...somehow.

I agree.

The series was in favor of Florida 5 on 5. The difference was in special teams and goaltending (which has a lot to do with a penalty kill BTW). goalie-bob has not been the free agent signing they were hoping for. Now to be fair the defense was very leaky in the games he played, but still...Vasilevsky was the difference maker in the series. Especially so in this game., but kudos to the bolts for playing an intense defensive playoff game. Their experience showed tonight. They had a mission and they would not be deterred.

So be it. I hope this is a learning experience for a Panthers team ready to break out and become a perennial playoff threat. I think Knight is the real deal, but yeah, as crazy as it sounds, the Panthers need to dump Bobrovsky and Yandle ASAP.




On a side note, I just want to stop and say thank you to all of your for taking interest in this team. I know that purists would rather not acknowledge hockey in the sunbelt, and yet, all of you decided that the Panthers were worthy of acknowledgement. I know how hard that is as a Canadian. Trust me. I used to be that person that dismissed hockey in the south of the U.S. All I can say is: Did you see that crowd tonight? Tampa had a full stadium during the end of a pandemic. Include the big crowds in southern Florida for the Panthers home games and you can see that if you just have a successful team, the fans will show up here.

It's been a surprisingly successful year for the Panthers. I hope they can build on it for next year and take the next step in their progression under coach Q. Maybe they'll win a round or two next season. One dares to dream.

Cheers everyone. Let's go Panthers! Go Flames Go!

[Lanny_McDonald]

How much of Bennett's production in Florida was on him, and how much of it was on Huberdeau? Anthony Duclair was generating a lot too when he was stapled to Huberdeau. The minute Duclair was moved off that line his scoring dried up like the proverbial popcorn fart. Playing with Huberdeau definitely has its advantages. He was the playoff's leading scorer until tonight. His 61 points during the regular season was good for 12th in the league. The guy drives the play and makes everyone he plays with a scoring threat. Florida has to figure out what Sam Bennett is long term.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Sigh... I wish we could watch this series over again, but with Knight starting from the beginning.

This Panthers team is really fun and I'm sad that it's going to be hampered for so long by that Bob contract. That's just an albatross. They're going to have to do something with Knight on his ELC, I guess, or figure out a way to rehabilitate Bobrovsky but that's not looking promising at this point.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by New Era

How much of Bennett's production in Florida was on him, and how much of it was on Huberdeau? Anthony Duclair was generating a lot too when he was stapled to Huberdeau. The minute Duclair was moved off that line his scoring dried up like the proverbial popcorn fart.

Playing with star players improves production.
Playing with replacement level players reduces production.

Shocking Revelation.

Playing with Huberdeau definitely has its advantages.

Obviously.

It also comes with responsibilities.

The question isn't "how much of the production was because Huberdeau is great". It's "Was Huberdeau enabled or was he restricted by the play of his center?"

Over the last handful of years alone, there have been plenty of successful forward pairings where the winger is probably the superior offensive player. To name a few:

Zibanejad and Panarin
Duchene and Panarin
Toews and Kane
Hischier and Hall
Stamkos and Kucherov (and Killorn)
Point and Kucherov (and Palat)
Johnson and Kucherov (and Palat)
Bergeron and Marchand (and a Rocket Richard winning Pastrnak)
Tavares and Marner
Kuznetsov and Ovechkin.
ROR and Tarasenko
Backlund and Tkachuk
Monahan and Gaudreau
Lindholm and Gaudreau/Tkachuk/Mangiapane

What's relevant isn't "would the center have those points driving a pair of no-name scrubs on his wing". It's "is the center doing anything more than just picking up points?" What separates the centers on that list isn't primarily production, since they were all productive with good wingers. It's their ability to excel at everything else.

[Roof-Daddy]

Thank goodness that's over.

I don't mind the Panthers and I'm no Bolt fan, but the last thing I want to have to watch all playoffs is the Flames highest ever pick excel for another team on some long playoff run.

[SeanCharles]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

So be it. I hope this is a learning experience for a Panthers team ready to break out and become a perennial playoff threat. I think Knight is the real deal, but yeah, as crazy as it sounds, the Panthers need to dump Bobrovsky and Yandle ASAP.

Do you think there is any way they can dump Bob?

Serious question cause that has to be the worst contract in the league.