SB Nation - Jeff Taffe

Game 30 Preview: Jackets face Panthers in Columbus

Mike MacLean — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:56:59 -0000

The Jackets have had some time-three full days in fact-to regoup and, as I've said here many times before, right the ship. The team is coming off of two bad losses to the Leafs and Avalanche, two teams the Jackets need to beat. Tonight the Panthers come to town, and this being an out-of-conference matchup it is important to pick up these points. The Jackets have historically played well against the East, and that needs to continue this evening.

Dorsett makes his return to the lineup tonight-the team has missed his energy and forechecking badly. He brings a spark to the team that was obviously missing while he was out with a concussion. This is Murray's second game of the season, and I look for him to have a strong game. The lines have been adjusted quite significantly outside of the top line, with Umby sliding back to center with Jake and Chimmer. Chimmer has been playing very well lately, and I'm hopeful he can build on that given the chance to play with some skilled linemates.

Mase returns to the net, he simply must focus on the game and avoid letting in bad goals. The defense as a whole needs to continue to impove, and if the team continues to avoid playing the style the coaching staff is preaching, the ugly losses will continue to mount. If a team tries to play a skill game, without having the necessary skill to back it up, that's when you can kiss the season good-bye.

The Panthers have some skilled forwards and a decent defense, not to mention Vokoun is a fantastic goaltender. This will be a tough matchup, but one the Jackets can defeat. As far as I'm concerned, this is a must-win. In fact, you can say that about all of the games remaining this month. If they can go on a decent winning streak, they are right back in it.

Fearless Prediction: Victory?

Game Time: 7:00pm ET

Opponent's Blog: Litter Box Cats

Game Page: Panthers vs Blue Jackets Coverage

TV: FSN Ohio

Radio: WBNS-AM (1460); WWCD-FM (101.1)

More after the jump...

From the Columbus Dispatch:

Rule of thumb: He who forechecks, wins. The Blue Jackets have struggled against speedy forechecks this season, and they haven't established much of one lately, either. All that's left for the Panthers from three blockbuster trades (Roberto Luongo, Olli Jokinen and Jay Bouwmeester) are defensemen Keith Ballard, Jordan Leopold and Bryan Allen.

Jackets Links:

Columbus Blue Jackets / Columbus Blue Jackets Schedule

Columbus Blue Jackets Roster / Columbus Blue Jackets Stats

Here are the lineups for tonight's tilt:

Columbus Blue Jackets

Kristian Huselius	Antoine Vermette	Rick Nash
Jason Chimera	R.J. Umberger	Jakub Voracek
Andrew Murray	Samuel Pahlsson	Jared Boll
Raffi Torres	Derick Brassard	Derek Dorsett

Fedor Tyutin	Marc Methot
Mike Commodore	Jan Hejda
Kris Russell	Anton Stralman

Steve Mason

Mathieu Garon

EXTRA: Mike Blunden, Mathieu Roy, Derek MacKenzie

INJURED: Fredrik Modin, Rostislav Klesla

Florida Panthers

Steven Reinprecht	Stephen Weiss	Nathan Horton
Rostislav Olesz	Dominc Moore	Michael Frolik
Shawn Matthias	Jeff Taffe	Radek Dvorak
Victor Oreskovich	Kamil Kreps	Mike Duco

Bryan McCabe	Keith Ballard
Jordan Leopold	Dennis Seidenberg
Bryan Allen	Dmitry Kulikov

Tomas Vokoun

Scott Clemmensen

Panthers - Stars: (Very) Quick notes for Friday

Whale4ever — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:13:16 -0000

More photos » by Lynne Sladky - AP

Browse more photos »

Similar to Nathan above, I've been - in the words of a former supervisor who lacked an elementary grasp on spelling - "supper bussy" over the past few days, but we'll be up and running this evening.

Tonight's game features no fewer question marks than any other from this young season, only insert forward Jeff Taffe and remove C Dominic Moore, who evidently needed surgery to put his nose back in it's correct spot. The haunting of that infamous Philly game continues.

Dallas' Steve Ott (he of 696 career penalty minutes) has been suspended a third time, so we won't be seeing his smiling face. Mike Modano is on the IR, as is Jere Lehtonen, but Modano could return to the ice tonight.

In their last meeting, Florida defeated the Stars 6-3 in late March on the efforts of Cory Stillman's three point-night (1g). These are two very different clubs today, so all bets are off.

The Open Thread goes LIVE at 7:30 EST. Hope to see ya. Have a great Halloween-Eve-Day (?)...

Panthers Camp quick hits: Taffe waived, Skoula signs with Penguins, more

Whale4ever — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:14:20 -0000

Couple of quick notes that I'm getting to rather late:

Center/left wing Jeff Taffe, signed by the Panthers to a two-way deal earlier this summer, has been placed on waivers. Almost certainly a formality, the former point-a-game Baby Pen will most likely begin the season in Rochester unless claimed by another club. This is a guy the organization should wish to hold tightly, if only for the good of the Amerks.
Nine-year veteran and recent Florida tryout Martin Skoula was signed by the Pittsburgh Penguins to a one-year contract. No room with the Cats but essentially walks on to the defending Stanley Cup champions. Don't know if that says more about Florida or Sid's Kids.
On Frozen Pond's Richards on the acquisition of Scott Clemmensen: "Starting with John Vanbiesbrouck, the Panthers have been solid in goal for all but a few seasons. Goalies who have played for the Panthers -- and put up good numbers in doing so -- include Vanbiesbrouck, Roberto Luongo, Trevor Kidd, Mark Fitzpatrick, Mike Vernon, Ed Belfour, Anderson and Vokoun."
Covers.com's Dustin Nielson: "This year’s best under bet: The Florida Panthers will be a team to follow closely on the under this season. Last season, the Panthers finished under the total 43 times including a record of 14-24-2 over/under on home ice. In the offseason, the Panthers lost power-play quarterback Jay Bouwmeester to the Calgary Flame,s which is not good for a team that ranked 24th with the man advantage. They also added Scott Clemensen to back up Tomas Vokoun, which means there will fewer weak nights between the Panthers’ pipes." Punctuation and Craig Anderson bitch-slap courtesy of Covers.com.
The New York Times' Jeff Klein pushes aside some valuable advertising space for a few bloggers to spout grand things about their teams.

~~too many~~

slick.

Dallas Stars Afternoon Update and Game Info

Brandon Worley — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:23:10 -0000

First off, there will be no radio broadcast of the Stars and Panthers game so we won't have a game day thread up tonight. Unless you guys want one to just discuss the live boxscore.

In lieu of a formal preview for the game, here are some quick notes and info for tonight:

Brad will be at the AAC tonight and will have an in depth analysis of the game tomorrow. I'll put up the results of the game as soon as it's over.
The Stars will be putting a pretty decent lineup on the ice tonight, with the Panthers saving their big names for their home game tomorrow. Projected rosters for tonight:

Morrow-Ribeiro-Brunnstrom
Neal-Richards-Eriksson
Sutherby-Modano-Benn
Gazdic-Gagnon-Beaudoin

Grossman-Robidas
Woywitka-Niskanen
Fistric-Hutchinson

Climie
Krahn

Michael Repik, Graham Mink, Jeff Taffe,
Kamil Kreps, Shawn Matthias, Evgeni Dadonov,
Adam Keefe, Victor Oreskovich, Mike Duco,
Kenndal McArdle, Scott Timmins, Rostislav Olesz.

Clay Wilson, Ville Koistenen,
Christian Backman, Keaton Ellerby,
Martin Skoula, Jason Garrison.

Scott Clemmensen,
Alexander Salak

Mike Heika is saying that Matt Niskanen is getting a lot of practice with the first group on the power play next to Brad Richards, something to keep an eye on tonight. Or ear. Or just read about it.
The Texas Stars have opened up their training camp today. You can follow all the news by going to the team site (TexasStarsHockey.com) or at Big D Hockey (BigDHockey.com).
Speaking of which, after the jump you can get your first official glimpse of the Texas Stars sweaters. [H/T to Andrew's Dallas Stars Page]

SB Nation NHL Preview: 2009-10 Florida Panthers

Whale4ever — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 10:00:23 -0000

Cats fans will need their team to tighten up and become "one" as never before, if this is to be a regular fixture at the BankAtlantic Center in 2009-10. And paying the electric bills.

The Cats launched 2008-09 amid a flurry of uncertainty, for a myriad of valid reasons: longtime leading scorer Olli Jokinen dealt at the Entry Draft, GM Jacques Martin forced out of his coaching responsibilities, impending UFA-to-be Jay Bouwmeester re-signed...for one year, winger Richard Zednik attempting to return from hideous injury, the annual chorus of "where's the scoring going to come from?", Nathan Horton moved to center, zero-hour new head coach Peter DeBoer, and on and on.

Though players were initially pleased with the fresh air ushered in by DeBoer, the ingrown Martin Doctrine of "Defense First" made for a painful and difficult transition to an offensive/positionally-responsible strategy in the early going. Wade Belak's departure particularly irked fans, as did the rookie coach's insistance on "wasting" valuable first and second line time on that Michael Frolik kid...the one with 2g (4p) through the end of November.

December was the true birthplace of the club's acceptance of and submission to DeBoer's Terms of Service: 30 wins were to follow. A few maniacally bad stinkers as well, but the seed had been planted. And that Frolik guy finished with 21g-24a-45p. We're not doubting the rookie coach now.

Every hockey fan is aware of Florida's finish: 9th place in the East (93 pts), butted out of the postseason by a secondary tiebreaker vs Montreal. Nobody's crying over it - what could be done? - but a strong scent of "We want more - for real this year!" is wafting through the southeastern Everglades after coming Oh So Close to printing playoff tickets for the first time since 2000. Local media badly needs the opportunity to trot out something other than the tired "they missed it again" line.

No more Bouwmeester drama, Martin has moved on, the defense is as positionally sound as at any point over the past decade, Randy Sexton is providing steady if unexciting guidance from the front office, and young players are finally blooming. Onward...

FORGET ABOUT: Bouwmeester ~~thankfully~~ (trade/CGY), Ville Peltonen (UFA), Zednik (UFA), Nick Boynton (UFA), Steve Eminger (UFA), Jassen Cullimore (UFA), Karlis Skrastins (UFA), Brett McLean (Buyout), Anthony Stewart (UFA), Craig Anderson (UFA)

GET TO KNOW: Steven Reinprecht (UFA), Jordan Leopold (trade/UFA), Scott Clemmensen (UFA), Ville Koistinen (UFA), Dennis Seidenberg (UFA), Jeff Taffe (UFA)

BOYZ II MEN: (F) Michal Repik, Shawn Matthias, Kenndal McArdle, Evgeny Dadonov, Mike Duco. (D) Keaton Ellerby, Jason Garrison, Dmitry Kulikov, Michael Caruso. (G) Realistically no one (due to Vokoun/Clemmensen), but keep an eye on Alexander Salak

GOOD STUFF: Horton's permanently back on the wing, presumably with the 31 goals of David Booth, centered by leading scorer Stephen Weiss (61 pts). Anderson was capably replaced by ~~Newark Man of the Year~~ Clemmensen (a Sexton coup). The Boynton debacle is finis (solidifying DeBoer's position). Reinprecht is a proven commodity in his role. Potential rookie defensemen are on the cusp of cracking the lineup, in the midst of veterans in the mold of Martin Skoula and Christian Backman. An entire year away from Martin's stingy offensive philosophy is that much further behind them. Bryan Allen returns after a season in injury exile. GM JM is no longer a focal point of hatred for the fans.

QUESTIONABLE STUFF: Let's face it: Bouwmeester is indeed a loss. Boynton's signing with Anaheim reduces overall team toughness. Skrastins blocked a helluva lot of shots. Anderson was a known asset (but wanted a starting spot). Peltonen completed a sick third line with Gregory Campbell and Radek Dvorak, and killed penalties on par with anyone in the league. Rusty Olesz is on a seriously short leash. GM JM is no longer a focal point of hatred for the fans.

DEPTH STARS

Center: Weiss, Reinprecht, Campbell, Kamil Kreps
RW: Horton, Frolik, Dvorak, Repik
LW: Booth, Cory Stillman, Olesz, Nick Tarnasky
D: Keith Ballard, Bryan McCabe, Allen, Leopold, Seidenberg, Koistinen, Skoula/Backman, Garrison/Ellerby
G: Tomas Vokoun, Clemmensen, Tyler Plante/Salak

TIME WARP TO APRIL: No single organization in the Southeast held back - for better or worse - more than Florida eventually did over the summer. Everyone has improved. Optimists may claim the Panthers needed the least amount of tweaking, given the strides made in the second half of the 2008-09 season; a few solid "character" acquisitions here, a "complement" to this line there, a rookie hitting his stride at the right time. And a lot of hope for the burgeoning defensive bunch Sexton has assembled.

Gotta make a pick? It depends as much upon the successes and failures of the divisional four the Panthers are in competition with. Let's call it second in the SE, seventh in the Wales. The down days are over.

Poll

Where in the Eastern Conference standings do you think the Florida Panthers will finish in the 2009-2010 season?

1st

3 votes

2nd

2 votes

3rd

3 votes

4th

0 votes

5th

6 votes

6th

6 votes

7th

22 votes

8th

16 votes

9th

4 votes

10th

6 votes

11th

7 votes

12th

4 votes

13th

3 votes

14th

0 votes

15th

2 votes

84 votes | Poll has closed

Five (for Howling) Questions with Litter Box Cats about the Florida Panthers

OdinMercer — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 06:00:13 -0000

More photos » by Steve Mitchell - AP

8 months ago: Florida Panthers goalie Tomas Vokoun (29), of the Czech Republic, is congratulated by defenseman Bryan McCabe (24) and forward Stephen Weiss (9) after the Panthers' 4-2 win in over the Pittsburgh Penguins in an NHL hockey game Sunday, April 5, 2009, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Steve Mitchell)

Browse more photos »

Whale4ever writes about all things Florida Panthers for Litter Box Cats here on SBNation. Be sure to check out his "informative" blog that has lots and lots of pretty pictures for all.

1) The Panthers just missed out on the playoffs last year. What has the team done to hopefully put them over the top this coming season?

Lobbying the league to change the playoff tiebreaker format came to zippo, unfortunately. It appears they'll have to earn a spot in 2010 by gaining more points than the opposition. Strange but true. However, just to be safe, Assistant GM (to noone) Randy Sexton released some parts deemed less than the whole for various reasons (Peltonen, Zednik, Stewart, Anderson, a third of the forever "prospects" in Rochester). Replacing these were Jordan Leopold, Steve Reinprecht, Ville Koistinen, Jeff Taffe, a number of veterans for the Amerks, new members of the training and equipment staffs, a soon-to-be-named goaltending coach, and a Big Fat Contract for one David Booth. At least they weren't staring at replacing a Bouwmeester type. Oh, yeah. That. In all seriousness, the biggest "addition" to the club is not really an addition at all: Coach Peter DeBoer's "systems" are in place and were adhered to (fairly successfully) through the second half of last year. Once the team bought in to DeBoer's strategy, they got much better, and quickly. A whole season of that now awaits.

2) What players on the Panthers are you looking for breakout seasons from?

I've said it elsewhere, and I'll stick by it here: Nathan Horton. Too much raw talent to not improve. He's got a wrist shot second to a select few in the league, and the size to bull his way into - and more importantly, out of - any situation. What's the key? Shoot and shoot often. If that doesn't work? Shoot more.

3) Tomas Vokun did pretty well for you guys last season and now you've brought in Scott Clemmenson to back him up, who did a pretty good job in place of Brodeur in New Jersey last season. Are you feeling pretty good about your goaltending?

Yes, and even the word "comfortable" could be employed here. Craig Anderson (since departed for a starter's position with Colorado) was a dream come true in 2008-09, and often carried the club for long stretches when "T-Vo" didn't appear to have the mental stamina - for whatever reason - to close the deal. Evidently, he's worked tremendously hard this summer to get That Look back in his eye. Clemmensen was a brilliant Plan B (or was he Plan A all along?) when Andy bailed for his greener pastures. As an observer, I'm not sold that Vokoun played better hockey when pushed by Anderson, so it'll be fascinating to watch this play out. The absolute last thing this organization needs right now is a goalie controversy.

4) He has a special place in Coyotes fans hearts soo... Keith Ballard - Awesome Defenseman or the Most Awesome Defenseman?

Oh, you're talking to a fanbase that has adopted him with open arms. He gets people on their feet, his hustle is as good as any member of the team and you simply don't know what he'll do next. He prowls low, taking on the air of a shark seeking prey; your eyes seem to instinctively dart across the ice scanning for his next victim. I was in the BankAtlantic Center for that April 5th game against visiting Pittsburgh when Ballard rearranged a very human Evgeni Malkin into a very human cartwheel; I've never heard the building explode with such a raucus Wall of Sound the way it reacted to that hit. He didn't lose any points with the fans that night.

5) For the uninformed among the fans, what's the deal with the rats? How did they become associated with Florida Panthers hockey?

The good stories never die: During the 1995-96 home opener at Miami Arena against Calgary, a (presumably stray) rat appeared in the Panthers' dressing room before the game commenced. Aspiring exterminator/Florida forward Scott Mellanby did what any self-respecting hockey player would do: a quick wrister with his stick sent the rodent hard against the far wall, ending its unauthorized tour of the facility. That evening he scored two goals in the eventual 4-3 victory over the Flames. Following the game, Panthers' goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck described Mellanby's action as a "Rat Trick".

The story soon made the media rounds; once fans learned of the story, the maniacal rubber-rat tossing began in earnest. First a few, then dozens, ultimately leading to thousands being thrown after the home team scored goals. Every time. By the end of the playoffs that season - Florida's first to the postseason, and last to the Stanley Cup final - the raining rats had become such a time-wasting endeavor for ice crews (and a safety issue as well) that the league banned the act altogether.

Fans have long memories, however: rubber rats were seen hitting the ice in a few road cities when the Panthers put a modest bit of winning together last year. Warms the heart.

Alex Tanguay to Tampa Bay Lightning? Looking highly likely.

Whale4ever — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 20:12:40 -0000

Longtime Bolt Vincent Lecavalier, above, reacts upon hearing of the Tanguay acquisition.

Barring the highly unlikely failure of a team physical early next week, it would appear Tampa Bay has scooped the league by signing left wing Alex Tanguay and his 580 career points to a one-year deal with the Lightning. Sorry, Panthers fans: no Easter Bunny this year.

We're not going to beat up on the Bolts for the ~~many and fun~~ missteps they may have committed in the past 15 months. This is certainly not another misstep. In fact, it makes them appear quite levelheaded: Tanguay's no fool. Right? He must see something positive among the flotsam and jetsam.

The propagation of a modern-day "French Connection" line is an exciting prospect; indeed, who can resist the temptation to Think Big when imagining a first-line trio of Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, and Alex Tanguay (1,734 combined career points)? Forget your loyalties: this is something every hockey fan will enjoy following.

News of Tanguay's signing reached the streets of Sunrise early Saturday.

Many Cat fans are, of course, up in arms over what some see as a failure by management to properly "sell" the team to an in-demand free-agent, others view it as a negative hangover from the *endless* pending sale of the organization, and still more find it to be simply more of the same from a club which will never do the "right thing" (read: $pend) to build a winner. Did he not even peek at the new wing in Coral Springs???

A quick look at comments posted to Facebook this morning testify to the anger among the base, whether justified or not:

"Cohen handcuffs the GMs and doesn't allow them to go after players. This isn't just about the sale of the team, this has been going on for a damn decade."
"...this is further proof that Cohen has handcuffed this team yet again."
"I am frustrated beyond belief. I am really starting to believe that Cohen doesnt want to put any quality on the ice. This is complete bull."
"This franchise would be better run by Leonard Cohen than by Alan Cohen."

And perhaps the best sarcastic rebuttal to all the negativity:

"...what about Matthias/Kreps/Taffe line.. That will counter, NO?"

I'm still of the mindset that Florida is content with their current roster and only a bit of tweaking will be necessary to compete in the division. Whether that means giving the Matthias' and Repik's of the Rochester scene their day to shine, or looting a club who is over the salary cap during training camp, or even yet signing a UFA.

Getting back to the Tanguay thing, the guy is a left wing, who will make a salary reported to be in the $2M range.

Among current Florida left wings, David Booth ($4.25M), Cory Stillman (3.53), Rostislav Olesz (3.13), and Kenndal McArdle (0.85) are the top four on the depth chart (by dollars). Jeff Taffe should probably be included as well (0.55). No one will debate the usefulness of a Tanguay-type, but from a strictly contract-conscious position, who do you bump? Olesz to the fourth line? What NHL club would pay a 4th liner - ANY fourth liner - over three million balloons until 2014? Might be a bargain in the final year, but not even ridiculously ballpark close now.

Just going to have to face the music: improvement must surface from within. For now.

Related: Raw Charge.

Poll

Should the Panthers have pushed harder for Tanguay (leave your solution in the comments)?

Yes...he is just the right style of player for Coach Deboer's system

32 votes

No...recent (cheaper) acquisitions should be given a chance

11 votes

43 votes | Poll has closed

Rangers' Prospal: was he ever in Panthers' crosshairs?

Whale4ever — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:09:58 -0000

Vaclav Prospal

#0 / Left Wing / New York Rangers

Height: 6-2

Weight: 198

Born: Feb 17, 1975

In case you missed it a few days ago, the New York Rangers signed recent Tampa Bay castoff Vinny Prospal - he of 19 goals (seven on the PP) and 45 points last season - for the less-than-princely sum of $1.1M (U.S.) for one single year of service. Maybe it was the -20 rating that dropped his value, or perhaps he took a discount to play for ex-coach John Tortorella. Have I mentioned the -20?

The left wing, who played 34 forgettable games for Florida in 2000-01, was bought out of the remaining three years of his ridiculous four-year, $14M contract with the Lightning, signed prior to the start of last season.

Now reunited with Torts - and hoping his pattern of following dismal years with good ones - he adds another offensive element to a Rangers club which is looking rather serious.

Moving on to the Panthers: could there have been room for the big winger in Sunrise? The dollars certainly make sense, but what of Florida's established(!) left side?

Cats left wings, salaries:

David Booth, 4.25M
Cory Stillman, 3.53M
Rostislav Olesz (C/LW), 3.13M
Kenndal McArdle, 0.85M
Nick Tarnasky (C/LW), 0.55M
Jeff Taffe (C/LW), 0.5M

Realistically, that table only has seating for four. Taffe will battle Tarnasky for - most likely - that final spot. McArdle will require a training camp of truly heroic proportions to grab the position. Olesz, due to Martin-induced dollars, is guaranteed a slot based upon his salary alone. Stillman and Booth are - and just guessing here - secure in their roles.

What would the addition of a Prospal (at the coin the Rangers signed him) do to the Left Wing Depth Chart? The battle for the fourth slot is over. Taffe (minus a center opening), Tarnasky (ditto), and McArdle head to Rochester, without question. The Amerks are suddenly better in a number of offensive categories. Great if you're Benoit Groulx, not so great if your last name is DeBoer.

How does Coach Pete fit him in? Regardless, it's all hypothetical now, but could have been interesting to see if Vinny could have resurrected his career in Sunrise - at $1.1M per. This is a guy who could sleepwalk through the year and handily outscore Rusty Olesz.

A solid signing by Slats and the Rangahs.

The gloriously independent HockeyReference.com plows on

Whale4ever — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 23:41:28 -0000

Cats D-man Bryan McCabe responds to his placement in the current HR sponsorship pricing structure: "Ten bucks? I make that while sneezing during an icing call..."

Been quite a while since The Box last visited the phenomenal HockeyReference.com...so long that a number of the highly-original first round of sponsorships have since expired.

If you hadn't been involved in the initial buzz, HockeyReference appears as - in diluted form - simply another stats database, similar in most every respect to the long-time first-responder on the puck-researcher's "favorites" list: HockeyDB, at least on the surface. Junior-, minor-, and major-league statistics rule the day, most of which can be found in a dozen or more highly reliable locations. Need a stat? They've got it.

Here's where the similarities end: HR allows sponsorship of individual pages, be they team, players, or coaches...for an entire twelve-month period (pending editorial approval of the submission). Yes, the dream is alive: YOU can be the sole proprietor of Nick Tarnasky for One. Full. Year.

So much to see, so many names... Not to fear, however: The Box has been lapping the HR neighborhood in a hot car which doesn't belong to us, seeking out some of the more ~~notorious~~ remarkable characters - as well as a few guys familiar to you and I in PantherLand; follow the All-Your-Base-Are-Belong-to-Me jump-off link below...

As stated, HockeyReference is not collectively any different than other statistics-based outlets; they all perform a fine, well-researched service for anyone scouring the interwebs, brooding over long-forgotten WHA numbers from a by-gone era. It works, and works well.

The concept of calling a player/coach/team your own for a year? That's a new one. Hockey fans the world over found the idea, at the very least, intriguing, forcing untold numbers of wallets out of back-pockets, all for the greater glory of "owning" an NHL player for the equivelent of a couple of cups of cheap java.

Of course, costs are commensurate with a player's marketability; the head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes ranks a tad higher on the dollar-meter than the likes of this dood. Supply and demand, as they say.

Beside the ruthless self-promotion which became a hallmark of such an endeavor, a number of creative strategies were employed in the dog-eat-dog sponsorship game: favorite-player love, arch-enemy hatred (any takers in, oh, Detroit?), and good-natured ribbing (for, well, her pleasure).

Some of the obvious favorites and their "expiration" dates:

Alex Ovechkin: 06/10/2010
Sidney Crosby: 05/14/2010
Pavel Datsyuk: 12/30/2009
Evgeni Malkin: 06/03/2010 (and you knew that was gonna happen)
Jonathon Toews: 07/28/2010 (originally it was Patrick Kane, who called last-minute on Saturday night, claiming to be waiting for a cab to the Litter Box satellite studio in Buffalo. We await his arrival.)
Vincent Lecavalier: 10/22/2009

How do the Panthers fare? Check 'em out (use the search feature at HR for details):

David Booth: 08/15/2010 (modesty forbids me from naming "owners")
Greg Campbell: $5
Radek Dvorak: $10
Michael Frolik: 08/15/2010
Nathan Horton: $10
Kamil Kreps: $5
Rusty Olesz: $5
Steve Reinprecht: $10
Cory Stillman: $10
Stephen Weiss: $10
Bryan Allen: $5
Keith Ballard: $10
Ville Koistinen: $5
Jordan Leopold: $10
Bryan McCabe: $10
Scott Clemmenson $10
Tomas Vokoun: $10

Dog Days 'O Summer, kids...wanna be an "owner"? BTW: Jeff Taffe is still out there...

Poll

Pricewise, the Cats are...

Over-valued...a couple of $10 guys should be a few bucks less

7 votes

Under-valued...the potential involved with a number of players has them "playing" for pennies

6 votes

13 votes | Poll has closed

Florida Panthers up the middle: Center of a troubled universe?

Whale4ever — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:21:49 -0000

Most of the shouting has - thankfully - died down from the fever pitch we saw two weeks ago regarding free agency. The Cats made no significant waves (though I still find myself quietly cheering the Scott Clemmensen signing) beyond getting a decent, albeit late, return on Jay Bouwmeester's rights, locking up center Steven Reinprecht, and making everyone a bit nervous by going long on Jordan Leopold. But it all got done. Not to mention a few modest-though-hopeful draft picks were made by Scott Luce's staff under immense pressure from a front office which could only have been in turmoil, thanks to Montreal's new head coach.

More after the wormhole-of-fun...

Actually, that part makes me the most snickeringly positive about the future of the club. These scouthing guys and gals had to react to a quickly evolving situation. No longer were Jacques Martin's meandering defensive proclivities the order of the day. Want proof? Of the Cats' seven picks, six were forwards; only 14th-overall Dmitry Kulikov (ranked by many as a top-ten prospect) works the blueline. Every fan should sleep a little better.

And so we venture back to free agency, and specifically the center position. For quite some time - the "loss" of Olli Jokinen comes to mind - the Panthers have been jockeying either second-line (sometimes less) centers or transplanted wingers to the meat spot in the top trio sandwich. While this was undoubtedly done out of necessity last year (giving Nathan Horton a shot at his old junior spot was one reason, not blowing out the salary structure being another), the upcoming season has a new set of expectations associated with it. The playoffs are, quite simply, stand back : the only goal. Wash, rinse, repeat. Sounds rather familiar to me as well.

It's safe to assume most Panthers Faithful can be divided into two camps when discussing the situation at Center:

those who are comfortable with where the roster stands now (including prospects from Rochester), hoping for the rapid development of some and serious breakouts from others, while...
...the other contingent wants a splash, the Big Free Agent, some semblence of a newsmaking deal to shake the foundations a bit.

It's really no secret where I stand: building from within is a perfectly respectable strategy. The Cats have been doing it - haphazardly - for years, only that many of the expected pieces either failed to pan out (Anthony Stewart, Branislav Mezei) or were squeezed by the differing strategies of three very dissimilar management staffs in the past six years (Kristian Huselius, Niklas Hagman).

Would I love to see a mammoth move made by Randy Sexton and company to shore up the middle? Of course. But I'm not losing sleep over it. And until a full-time GM is named, don't waste your nights stressing over it either. When the big money is spent, it won't be with an interim's signature on Alan Cohen's check.

I'm perfectly comfortable waiting this out; a successful season - built on the efforts of some long-awaited Big Years by the up-and-comers - is realistic, given the talent within. The club has a solid core in place - finally - at the forward ranks, with a little work remaining at left wing (in this case Alex Tanguay looks oh so tempting), but the conversation always drifts back to center.

Stephen Weiss: A nice season by the perenial number two - he led the team in scoring - may have finally cemented his front-line status. Recent talk of a Booth-Weiss-Horton Sunrise Express reunion (made possible by the addition of Reinprecht) could very well have the center back for good at the top of the positional depth chart.

Steven Reinprecht: A career second-liner, he has produced erratically, though due to various injuries (which in itself is rather terrifying). His point totals have been consistent with games-played. A Cup winner and "character guy" which the Panthers have been in relentless pursuit of in recent days, he has serious potential with a Michael Frolik/Cory Stillman shotgun setup.

Gregory Campbell: One third of the killer "CPR" line is now just about gone (awaiting confirmation on Ville Peltonen's expected departure to Europe), Campbell worked wonders with Radek Dvorak in all defensive situations. In Nick Boynton's absence, "Soup" never hesitated to drop the gloves in defense of a teammate, so his role as third-line center is well-defined and - for the moment - untouchable.

Nick Tarnasky: The return for Wade Belak. Tough dood with sweet hands had some moments in 2008-09, just not many. Sharing ice time was a factor.

Kamil Kreps: Quick but serviceable fourth-liner; his 19 points in 66 games - on very few minutes per night - are actually a revelation. Given real time, who knows? Probably holding the fort for...

Shawn Matthias: Even in the event this kid completely busts, Detroit's Ken Holland will never hear the end of trading his rights for Todd Bertuzzi at the 2007 trade deadline. He won't be a bust, though, even after a rough start in Rochester last year. With a season of pro hockey to his resume, lots of folks are expecting a serious push to make the big club in camp.

Jeff Taffe: Yahoo! and the Panthers official site have him listed at left wing, while ESPN - in all their WWL goodness, pegged him at center. I hate deferring to Bristol's largest tax shelter, but for the purposes of this piece, we'll call him a center as well. Hey...any guy who can produce at better than a point-per-game pace is worth looking at, and I'll be damned if he doesn't create some headaches for everyone under Reinprecht on the depth chart during camp. Those are numbers.

No one else of note down on the farm at this point. Who's available at the Free Agent Center bazaar? Check it out (via Mirtle's most recent Top 100):

Robert Lang: Serious points over the years, and he's played with some top talent. But he's older than I am. That's not a good thing. KHL or bust, baby.
Mats Sundin: Muahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Moving along...
Jason Williams: Decent numbers - in fact, pretty darned good - but his only having played 80 games once in ten years hurts him. Forget that...his next highest total for a single season is 58. Sucks.
Manny Malhotra: No offense, but we're sinking fast. In his defense, Manny has many admirers, and did a lot where few tools were available in Columbus. Going into his 13th season at age 29.
Dominic Moore: Well-travelled and not outstanding in any specific category. Greg Campbell, minus the stability.
Mike Comrie: Surprised he fell this far? Though talented at his trade, yet another victim of games-lost-to-injury.

That's really it, unless Mike Sillinger and Michael Peca can still be summarized as "big names". How much dinero would you throw at any of these guys, and how might they be an improvement on what Florida already holds? Speak!

Poll

Centers: Sign one or stay the course?

Take no prisoners: go for it in the FA marketplace

45 votes

Hang tight: there's enough talent to handle the load

22 votes

67 votes | Poll has closed