SB Nation - Brett McLean

Lightning prospects / system update

John Fontana — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:08:00 -0000

More photos » by Donna McWilliam - AP

Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Jaroslav Janus (37), (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)

It's been over a month since our first prospect update. For regular readers, you'll recall that in November we had posted stats for the majority of the players who had been invited to camp over the summer. Fresh draftees, tenured prospects, camp invitees, and (a single) KHL defectees

Below the fold, you'll find a list of players who didn't make the opening night roster for the Lightning and where they are now and just how they are performing in their current location. Consider this a system update.

Of course, the more complete place to find updates on Lightning prospects and just how they are producing is over at Bolt Prospects. You'll find dao;u updates on more players in the Lightning system, unsigned draftees, college hockey recruits and those playing abroad. For the meantime, here's where things stand with some of the players in the system on December 8th, 2009:

Forwards

Name

Team

League

Goals

Assists

Points

Carter Ashton Lethbridge Hurricanes
WHL-Juniors

13

13

26

Brandon Bochenski Norfolk Admirals
AHL

12

11

23

Ryan Craig*** Norfolk Admirals
AHL

9

6

15

Kyle DeCoste Sault Ste. Marie / Belleville Bulls
(Combined stat total)
OHL - Juniors

9

8

17

Mitch Fadden Norfolk Admirals
AHL

0

0

0

Adam Hall Norfolk Admirals
AHL

4

7

12

Alex Hutchings Barrie Colts
OHL-Juniors

18

20

38

Blair Jones* Norfolk Admirals
AHL

6

13

19

Martins Karsums Norfolk Admirals
AHL

1

4

5

Chris Lawrence Norfolk Admirals
AHL

0

3

3

Richard Panik Windsor Spitfires
OHL-Juniors

7

9

16

Juraj Simek Norfolk Admirals
AHL

4

9

12

Radek Smolenak* Norfolk Admirals
AHL

3

9

12

Matias Sointu Ottawa 67's / Sudbury Wolves
(combined stat total)
OHL-Juniors

4

7

11

Paul Szczechura Norfolk Admirals
AHL

6

8

14

Lauri Tukonen Lukko Rauma
FNL-Europe

5

9

14

Dana Tyrell Norfolk Admirals
AHL

0

9

9

currently with the Lightning
***Has spent time at NHL level this season

Craig, Jones, Smolenak and Szczechura have all spent time in the NHL this season: Szczechura (or "Chewie" for short) is currently with teh Lightning. Jones was with the Lightning last week and Craig the week before. Radek Smolenak had been claimed off waivers by the Chicago Blackhawks and played with the team early in the season until Chicago waived him and the Lightning reclaimed him.

Brett McLean who had been a camp invitee is not included int hese stats this time around. He is playing in Bern, Switzerland and is not Lightning property.

Three of the above forwards that are listed really piqued my curiosity. Richard Panik (who was considered a steal in the draft this June), Dana Tyrell (who put on a show during the Young Guns camp in July) and Mitch Fadden (who has played in only four games and it wasn't clear what the deal was). I contacted Pete Choquette of Bolt Prospects and he lent some insight on the three.

Panik's numbers were quiet low considering the hype around his abilities. Who can forget his pre-season goal against Sarnia of the OHL? Pete explained things:

I don't think you can completely chalk up Panik's slow start to him falling into bad habits (being out of shape/not putting in a full effort), which was the knock that dropped him from being a potential lottery pick to a late 2nd rounder. Windsor's a very deep team offensively and so Panik's not really required to carry the scoring load. He's playing more of a supporting role for them. That said given how well Loktionov scored there last season as an import I definitely did expect better numbers. I still expect him to be signed in the summer. We'll see if he picks it up in the second half and what should be a long Windsor playoff run. He's got elite level talent.

Tyrell's situation seems to be shaking off rust from hsi devestating knee injury suffered last season in juniors, just as much as it's an adjustment year against bigger opponents. Pete expects a stronger second half from Tyrell, but made it a point to point out what's expected out of Dana in the end:

Bear in mind, though, he's not really an elite scoring prospect. He's always projected to be more of a Vermette type pesky 2nd/3rd line guy.

Fadden has been out with an injury since early in the AHL season after taking a shot to hsi lower body. He only started skating again in late November and is not yet back with the Admirals. Pete described Fadden as "a project" who will have to improve upon his soft reputationto make a dent in the forward depth in Norfolk.

Defense

Name	Team	League	Goals	Assists	Points
Mark Barberio	Moncton Wildcats	QMJHL-Juniors	2	20	22
Scott Jackson	Norfolk Admirals	AHL	0	5	5
Matt Lashoff	Norfolk Admirals	AHL	1	2	3
Mike Lundin***	Norfolk Admirals	AHL	2	10	12
Vladmir Mihalik	Norfolk Admirals	AHL	0	8	8
Kevin Quick	Norfolk Admirals	AHL	0	2	2
Ty Wishart	Norfolk Admirals	AHL	3	3	6

***Has spent time at NHL level this season

Statistics that are missing here and important to getting a better idea of how defensemen are performing are average time-on-ice and plus/minus raitings. Unfortunately the stats are not universally presented among junior age players and the AHL, and that's been part of the reason why I have not included it. Admirals players stats are presented with plus/minus ratings, however, so I do encourage you to jump over there if you are curious.

The entire story on the Bolts defensive prospects is thus: With the backlog of defensemen in Tampa, one has to seriously impress to be called up. Mike Lundin achieved that a few weeks ago. Head Coach had nothing but praise for Lundin:

"He's a strong player. He can get underneath people and throw people around. He's chased down some of the best players in the world in (Ilya) Kovalchuk and (Marian) Gaborik. His poke check is as good as (Victor) Hedman. He's got a very good stick. ... He's an NHL defenseman."

But until the defensive backlog in Tampa is cleared out (and we've been waiting for this since last September), Lundin playing in the NHL will continue to be on hold..

Goaltenders

Name	Team	League	Win	Loss	OTL	Save %	GAA
Riku Helenius	Norfolk Admirals	AHL	4	6	0	.909	2.40
Jarsolov Janus	Erie Otters	OHL-Juniors	4	2	1	.915	2.93
Kari Ramo*	Omsk Avangard	KHL	14	10	2	.913	2.03
Dustin Tokarski	Norfolk Admirals	AHL	8	7	0	.911	2.47
Michael Zador	Oshawa Generals	OHL-Juniors	10	9	3	.900	3.23

*Ramo was not in camp, yet this single instance I thought it was appropriate to show how the player is doing, as Ramo is still Lightning property

Janus, who had played the first month or so on a tryout basis with the Admirals, returned to Erie of the OHL where he had played last season... This gets him the minutes he deserves instead of having to sit behind Tokarski and Helenius.

We'll revisit these players in the new year in our next statistics update.

Skatin on blades like Sidney Crosby; Pens down Panthers 3-2 in OT

Hooks Orpik — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:08:26 -0000

More photos » by J Pat Carter - AP

Take note NHL: Noted goal scorer will punch your head in the glass if you mess with Malkin after the whistle.

Browse more photos »

Penguins vs Panthers coverage - Penguins vs Panthers boxscore - SB Nation blog Litter Box Cats

The Penguins may have looked disinterested for much of this game, but the fact is the Florida Panthers just have a way of frustrating Penguin players AND fans. From Sidney Crosby fighting Keith Ballard and Brett McLean last season to Tomas Vokoun playing like Dominik Hasek, the black and gold have had their problems with Florida.

Scoring was started on an awesome play by Stephen Weiss. He drew Sergei Gonchar with him across the ice and pulled Brooks Orpik out of position before firing a perfect pass to a wide open Nathan Horton. Horton received the puck and buried it by Marc-Andre Fleury for the 1-0 lead.

The Panthers would make it 2-0 in the 2nd period when Keith Ballard took a nice pass from Michael Frolik and snapped it past Fleury. Going into the last intermission that was the score, the Pens were showing little signs of life, and what signs they did were extingushed by Tomas Vokoun. The Pens had out-shot Florida 28-10 through two, but it was 2-0 on the only scoreboard that mattered.

Then, luckily Pittsburgh decided to get dirty. Five minutes in Brooks Orpik took a big shot from the point, Pascal Dupuis got in front of the net and deflected the puck that took another bounce off Vokoun and finally in the net. 2-1 Florida.

With less than three minutes left, Craig Adams, Evgeni Malkin and Noted Goal Scorer Mike Rupp had a great shift that culminated in Malkin finding Rupp in front and the noted one finding paydirt. 2-2 going into over-time.

OT saw a somewhat controversial call when Orpik checked Nathan Horton, and on the follow through Horton's stick struck Orpik, drawing blood. The rulebook states a player must always be in control of his stick under all situations, and there's no doubt Horton hit Orpik. A double-minor was assessed and then Malkin and Crosby did their thing. Game on the line, Crosby finished it on a Malkin rebound for the win.

Keith Ballard is one of those guys who always frustrates Crosby and the Pens. He's not the biggest but is a solid all-around defenseman. He should be on Team USA for the Olympics.
Florida debuted their new third jersey for this game. Some people think they look like the University of Maine. They kind of resemble the University of New Hampshire. Or maybe if the Penguins 3rd jersey knocked up the St. Louis Blues 3rd jersey and they had a jersey baby. That's about what it looks like.
Aside from the goal, Mike Rupp earned his bones when he stood up for Evgeni Malkin. Geno was unceremoniously dumped to the ice after the whistle by Bryan Allen. You can't have that, good to see Rupp standing up for a star and fighting Allen. Even better: watch the end of the fight when Allen tries to run away and Rupp punches the back of his head, knocking Allen into the glass.
Eric Godard got a grand total of two shifts and 1:28 of ice-time tonight. Woo!
Only Godard, Mark Eaton and Martin Skoula didn't record shots tonight for the Pens. They threw 45 shots on Vokoun, who once again played amazing against Pittsburgh.
Sergei Gonchar seemed to be quiet; he did look silly on the game's first goal, but at the end of the night he lead all Penguins with 27:48 in ice-time, no small feat when they're playing without three of their best six defensemen.
At the end of the night, after two dirty, ugly goals, the big dogs came through. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin combined for 14 shots on the night, Sid won 12 of his 19 faceoffs and scored the game winner drilling the puck by Vokoun in overtime on the power play.

So when we wake up tomorrow morning, after all the inconsistent play, the injuries and discontent the Penguins are #1 in the East tomorrow morning. They're the two time defending Eastern Conference champions and still on the top of the heap.

The Panthers are always a pesky opponent for Pittsburgh, and they were no less than that tonight. With the firepower the Pens have, a two goal disadvantage doesn't mean anything going into the 3rd period, even with a tough goalie in their way. The Pens got the win and can move forward to a day break before three games in four days this holiday weekend, starting at home with the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.

League Leaders: Wraparounds

Hawerchuk — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:00:35 -0000

More photos » by Carlos Osorio - AP

7 months ago: Detroit Red Wings' Marian Hossa (81), of Slovakia, pushes the puck away from Chicago Blackhawks' Patrick Kane (88) during an attempt at a wraparound in front of goalie Chris Osgood during the second period of Game 2 of the NHL hockey Western Conference finals in Detroit, Tuesday, May 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Browse more photos »

What can you say about wraparounds? You just don't see them very often anymore. As a distinct type of shot, they're by far the least common of those tracked by the NHL. And, as it turns out, they're not a particularly high-percentage play:

	ES	ES		PP	PP
	SOG	G	SPCT	SOG	G	SPCT
Total	3673	197	5.3	407	35	8.4
Home	1905	108	5.7	228	18	7.9
Away	1768	89	5.0	179	16	8.9

So who leads the league in these low-percentage shots? Again, there's somewhat of a bias at some rinks, so let's look at wraparounds on the road since the lockout:

	Wraparounds	Goals
Ryan Smyth	31	2
Eric Staal	25	4
Richard Zednik	23	0
Jason Blake	22	1
Rick Nash	22	1
Tim Taylor	21	0
Brett McLean	21	1
Thomas Vanek	20	0
Michal Handzus	19	1
Marian Hossa	18	0

Smyth is again the league leader, but he hasn't been particularly effective. If we include wraparounds credited to him by his home scorer and his itchy trigger finger, Smyth is just 5-for-89 (5.6%) since the lockout. Zednik is 0-for-40. Bottom line: the wraparound was a cute move in 1980; now everybody knows it's coming.

Poll

Wraparounds - waste of effort?

yes

11 votes

no

10 votes

they worked great for me when I was nine years old

14 votes

35 votes | Poll has closed

2009-10 Tampa Bay Lightning season preview

John Fontana — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 13:00:17 -0000

SB Nation's NHL sites have been showcasing season previews for each of the 30 NHL clubs the past few weeks, leading up to the start of the new NHL season. James Mirtle has also reviewed each team over at From the Rink. Today it's the Tampa Bay Lightning in the spotlight.

Overview:

Upheaval and volatility are the first two words that come to mind when trying to summarize what Tampa Bay Lightning fans witnessed last season. The upheaval started in the forging of the 2008-2009 team by firing John Tortorella and replacing him with Barry Melrose – who hadn’t coached a professional hockey game in well over a decade. Add to it all the additions and subtractions during the 2008 off season, plus the laissez faire preseason and too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen management of the team, and the Bolts were set up to either defy the odds or sink to the bottom of the league.

…And sink they did.

52 players suited up for the Bolts last season in a constant revolving door. Melrose was fired after 16 games and Rick Tocchet was named Interim head coach for the remainder of the season. From that point on, things only got worse as the injury bug was rampant in Tampa as a poorly conditioned squad, due to Melrose’s preseason expectations, was required to play a more physical game under Tocchet. One by one, players dropped like flies, and the only thing that was left was to wonder which of the top three picks they would receive in the June entry draft.

Looking ahead instead of behind, the Lightning’s 2009-2010 campaign is as heavy in promise as it is with caution. Optimism can be had from any number of aspects with this team, but it’s a very cautious optimism as the scars and issues that dogged the franchise last season are still present in one form or another.

Who's In?

The off-season movement for the club started at the NHL Entry Draft where the Bolts selected Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman with the #2 overall pick. To compliment and tutor Hedman, the Lightning have also added fellow Swede and NHL veteran Mattias Ohlund to the defense. Continuing the defense revamp, the Lightning also signed free agents Matt Walker (Chicago) and Kurtis Foster (Minnesota) to further bolster the blueline.

On Offense, the big prize addition is left wing Alex Tanguay (Montreal), who will be paired with Vincent Lecavalier this season. Other offensive additions include Stephane Veilleux (Minnesota), Drew Miller (via trade with Anaheim), and Todd Fedoruk and David Hale (via trade with Phoenix). As of this writing, Brett McLean (Florida) is on the roster as a camp invitee and may be signed with the club.

In the crease, the Lightning added former Flyer goaltender Antero Niittymaki to serve as backup to Mike Smith. Niittymaki certainly brings an interesting dynamic to the Bolts: his indominable record against Southeast Division opponents (record of all clubs, last one is Atlanta). Third in the depth chart at goal is Dustin Tokarski, formerly of the WHL Spokane Chiefs. If any injuries should happen to either goaltender, he would most likely be the first option out of AHL Norfolk.

Of course the fun and games don't stop there! The Lightning hired fromer Dallas Stars associate coach Rick Wilson to their coaching staff in hopes offurther bolstering the defense from the top down.

Who's Out?

Who isn't out? After suiting up 52 different players last season, the Lightning were not going to bring everyone back for this go around. Some of the names that are gone include Evgeny Aryukhin (via trade with Anaheim), Radim Vrbata (not that he played much with the Bolts anyway -- via trade with Phoenix), Matt Pettinger (UFA), Jason Ward (Philadelphia), David Koci (Colorado), Marek Malik (UFA), Josef Melichar (overseas), Cory Murphy (New Jersey), Richard Petiot (Chicago), Mike McKenna (New Jersey) and Noah Welch (Atlanta).

One of the more controversial subtractions from the roster was the departure of left wing and fan favorite Vaclav Prospal, who was bought out by the club in order to clear budget space for the addition of Tanguay. Meanwhile, another loss was goalie Karri Ramo, who joined the KHL. The Lightning still retain his rights in the National Hockey League, however.

Behind the bench, assistant coach Mike Sullivan departed the team and joined the staff of the New York Rangers as well.

Team Strengths:

It's really hard not to look at the Lightning's top lines and be wonderstruck at the possibilities offensively. Team captain Vincent Lecavalier paired with fellow QMJHL alumnus Alex Tanguay leaves one excited. The trio of Ryan Malone, Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis will be paired again on the second line and is equally, if not more, formidable than the Tanguay/Lecavalier line (as of this writing, the role of right wing on the top line was still in question). To round this out, they have a solid 3rd line in Stephane Veilleux, Jeff Halpern and Drew Miller. So now it’s an offense that is capable of hitting you on three of its four lines. That's an aspect the Lightning have been suspect with for the past four seasons, as the Bolts have remained top heavy. Too top heavy, in fact.

Meanwhile, a new found strength is potentially the Lightning defense. With a versed crew of veterans and youngsters rounded out by defensive specialist Rick Wilson on the bench, the Lightning blueline looks to rebound from the troubles it had in 2008-2009 into something much more formidable this time around. The team's depth on the blueline is also an asset – especially for a position that is normally subjected to the bumps and bruises of the season. The Bolts plan on carrying eight defensemen and employing a regular rotation between starters and reserves, with the intention of keeping the lineup fresh.

Between the pipes, goaltender Mike Smith is back, healthy, and now backed up by the very capable Antero Niittymaki. While this may seem pretty ho-hum to many, Smith’s stats (2.68 GAA and a 0.916 save percentage) were great behind a porous defense decimated by trades and injury. Meanwhile Niitymaki’s record versus the Southeast Division (27-6-4 lifetime, including a 13 game winning streak against Atlanta) is quite formidable to say the least. The addition of Niittymaki could prove to be the most overlooked signing in the division this year, particularly if he can keep up his dominance against divisional foes Washington, Carolina, Florida and Atlanta.

For all of the sideshow antics of the ownership fight, General Manager Brian Lawton getting sole say in calling most of the shots for the makeup of the team is paying off. Lawton has shown this off-season that he may be an executive who knows what he is doing. And as long as he continues to be unhindered by too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen ownership meddling, the Bolts are likely to appear to be a much more stable and sane team regarding player personnel moves than they have in the immediate past.

Lastly, let me quote a former Tampa Bay athlete with thus: "I plan to become great, but how can you become great without experiencing the worst?" He’s got a point there, and those still with the club from last two seasons, the nucleus of this club, are well versed in the worst right now. The adversity of the recent past hasn’t killed or ruined talent on the Lightning’s roster, and odds are it could likely prove to be a motivating factor in the season ahead.

Team Weaknesses

The ownership circus is far from being settled. And, in fact, it has transitioned into a new phase as two potential billionaire investors – backed by separate bickering owners – are exploring the idea of buying into the club. What this means for the team when the dust settles is unclear, and should be looked at warily for a franchise that wants to return to respectability and competitiveness.

For all the talent that the Lightning have amassed on forward lines, there is a gaping hole at right wing that has not been sorted out so far this the preseason, and likely will not be settled by the start of the season. Add to the fact that none of the right wingers have really stood out during the preseason, and one has to wonder just how shallow the talent pool for the Lightning is past Martin St. Louis and Adam Hall? While Carter Ashton has stood out at times and impressed coaching, and while Dana Tyrell looks to be a future star – neither are ready to make the jump to the NHL at this time. In fact, Ashton was back to juniors on Friday night. And while Steve Downie had a very productive off-season while also maintaining some very good discipline thus far in the preseason, one has to wonder if he can keep it up all season long? Can he keep up with the likes of Vincent Lecavalier and Alex Tanguay on the top line, and not let his emotions and impulsiveness get the better of him?

Mike Smith has not played a regular season NHL game since January 30th, 2009, due to the lingering effects of post concussion syndrome. Antero Niittymaki also has had several hip surgeries in the past 41 months. Both players are said to be healthy and feeling fine at this point, but it’s still a point of concern as it’s a long NHL season. The Lightning’s most experienced netminder in the system, Riku Helenius, has all of 7 NHL minutes to his name. That’s not an inspiring statistic when questioning durability of the top two goalies with the Lightning. While Dustin Tokarski has done very well this preseason, he is still a prospect directly out of junior.

With all the positive additions on the defensive corps, negatives linger. Defenseman Paul Ranger did not play until Friday night in a scrimmage against their AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals. That makes one wonder if Ranger is too brittle to contribute to this Lightning team. Add to it that Andrej Meszaros is also recovering from a shoulder injury that ended his season prematurely, and you have two liabilities as integral parts of the blueline for the Bolts. And while defensive depth for the Bolts is something that can be crowed about, it’s also very easy to label it a liability as well. With so many warm bodies, there are still only so many roster spots. The team is likely to leave one talent or another off the NHL roster come the start of the season and not have the luxury of recalling said player with thanks to the likelihood someone would snatch him up through recall waivers. Mike Lundin was a victim of that midway through last season.

Then there’s the burden of proof regarding Head Coach Rick Tocchet in Tampa. Despite being more involved with his team and being well liked by his players, he produced a lower winning percentage than Barry Melrose in 66 games. This is his first Head Coaching job in the NHL, so it’s still open for speculation if Tocchet himself has the skill to coach and succeed – particularly with the implosion of the squad under his full control last season. In his favor is the fact he’s in charge of a healthy roster from the very beginning this time around, and instituted a conditioning program at the end of last season to prepare the players for this season. He was the one handing out conditioning assignments for the summer, was in charge of the training camp regimen, and is the one who will ultimately be making decisions regarding the opening night roster. He didn’t have that luxury when he came into the job last November. How much of a difference this makes, however, remains to be seen.

And in a round about way, one of the worst weaknesses that will follow the Lightning around this season is the Olympics. The hype leading up to the Games in Vancouver this February will become a distraction as the season progresses and national rosters are evened out. The Lightning have already had a good contingent of players attending their camps for their respective countries during the summer. Who does or doesn’t make Olympic rosters has all the makings of a grand distraction, especially with Vincent Lecavalier on the bubble to make Team Canada’s squad. Then there are the actual Olympics and the ceasing of league actions for two weeks that could ruin the momentum the Lightning might have going into the final stretch of the season. Which may be a blessing in disguise, depending on the injury situation at that point of the season due to a condensed NHL schedule.

Depth Chart (estimated):

FORWARDS

Alex Tanguay - Vincent Lecavalier - Steve Downie
Ryan Malone - Steven Stamkos - Martin St. Louis
Stephane Veilleux - Jeff Halpern - Drew Miller
Todd Fedoruk - Ryan Craig - Adam Hall
Zenon Konopka OR Brett McLean (reserve)

DEFENSE

Mattias Ohlund | Andrej Meszaros
Kurtis Foster | Victor Hedman
Paul Ranger | Matt Walker
Matt Smaby | Lukas Krajicek (reserves)

GOALTENDERS

Mike Smith
Antero Niittymaki

Predictions

Other Predictions and Previews:

After finishing 30th and 29th the past two seasons respectively, the Lightning should be in store for a rebound this upcoming season... Yet, there is a lingering wait-and-see approach with the team. Fans and media are skeptical because of the sideshow of ownership and the hype of the 2008 off-season was much like the hype of acquisitions from this very off-season.

But is it justified? Specifically the Bolts being looked at firstly for ownership drama when trying to gauge just what the team will do on ice. It’s may be a mistake to overlook the retrofit of this team and the difference from the beginning of last season and this season.

Assuming the injury bug does not decimate the roster (with a total of 305 man games lost), rising in the Southeast Division should be a given. While fairly certain that the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes will be the ones battling for the division title, this Lightning roster could very well be in the hunt for a playoff spot. Things need to jell and distractions need to take a hike... But the team is capable of rising in the East and contending.

(special thanks JD Weakland, who took the Victor Hedman photo used on this preview. View more of his team photography here.)

Poll

Where will the Lightning finish in the Eastern Conference?

15

2 votes

14

3 votes

13

5 votes

12

5 votes

11

1 votes

10

12 votes

9

17 votes

8

26 votes

7

25 votes

6

18 votes

5

7 votes

4

5 votes

3

7 votes

2

5 votes

1

10 votes

148 votes | Poll has closed

2009-10 NHL Season Preview: Florida Panthers

James Mirtle — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 20:00:16 -0000

More photos » by Steve Mitchell - AP

Browse more photos »

Who's in: Scott Clemmensen, Ville Koistinen, Jordan Leopold, Dennis Seidenberg, Steven Reinprecht
Who's out: Craig Anderson, Jay Bouwmeester, Nick Boynton, Jassen Cullimore, Steve Eminger, Brett McLean, Ville Peltonen, Karlis Skrastins, Richard Zednik

Outlook: Life After Jay begins this fall in Florida.

The Panthers swapped out the rights to Jay Bouwmeester to Calgary for a third-rounder and Jordan Leopold, who signed on for a reasonable one-year deal and joins what will likely be a significantly weaker blueline minus a host of serviceable bodies.

Left to man the fort on the backend will be Bryan McCabe, Keith Ballard, Leopold and Bryan Allen, a group that can't reasonably be expected to improve on the team's 17^th place finish in goals against last season. Also troubling on that front is the loss of steady backup Craig Anderson to Colorado via free agency, as his replacement Scott Clemmensen will see far more rubber in his starts than he did last season in New Jersey.

Adding to the exodus was the loss of GM Jacques Martin, who was wooed away to coach the Habs, and his replacement is still yet to be named as the team quietly went through an unsuccessful sale process over the summer.

Where there's reason for optimism is in the goal-scoring department, as Florida finished 17^th last season with one of the league's worst power plays, and there's enough burgeoning firepower here to make the Panthers one of the Eastern Conference's higher scoring teams in the coming seasons. More should be expected from Cory Stillman (who was on pace for 65 points last season), Nathan Horton, Michael Frolik, Rostislav Olesz and newcomer Steve Reinprecht — all relatively unheralded players who nonetheless will be able to hit the 50-point mark. Stephen Weiss and David Booth will go higher than that.

With another strong campaign from Tomas Vokoun in goal, the Panthers are probably, once again, a bubble team.

X-factor: Keith Ballard

For a more in-depth Panthers preview, visit The Litter Box
For more NHL analysis, check out the McKeen's Hockey Yearbook

Poll

Where will the Panthers finish in the Eastern Conference this season?

1

3 votes

2

0 votes

3

2 votes

4

2 votes

5

1 votes

6

6 votes

7

13 votes

8

20 votes

9

18 votes

10

34 votes

11

15 votes

12

27 votes

13

16 votes

14

15 votes

15

12 votes

184 votes | Poll has closed

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

Tracking the NHL's training camp tryouts

James Mirtle — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:03:22 -0000

More photos » by Larry MacDougal - AP

Browse more photos »

Hey James,

Just wanted to suggest a post on what NHL players have accepted training camp tryouts (and where!) and which players are still on the outs. It's a pretty new phenomenon that established NHLers are having now to claw their way back into the league... I know the Canucks want to run a competitive camp and have invited guys... Who else is picking up with what teams? Are they long shots or reasonable bets to get a contract?

Thanks,

Geoff

There are a lot of these guys this year, aren't there? The salary cap crunch is obviously worse than it has been the past few years and many players simply missed out in the game of musical chairs that went on in free agency.

Here's a look at all of the players with NHL experience I could find on tryouts this year, sorted by their likelihood of catching on:

Decent bets:

Petr Sykora, Wild
Blair Betts, Flyers
Brett McLean, Lightning

Healthy scratch or AHL bound:

Theoren Fleury, Flames
Ryan Bayda, Penguins
Mark Parrish, Canucks
Manny Legace, Thrashers
Darryl Sydor, Blues
Mathieu Dandenault, Sharks
Dan Fritsche, Thrashers
Shawn Bates, Avalanche
Martin Skoula, Panthers
Andy Hilbert, Wild
Alexei Semenov, Rangers
Mark Popovic, Thrashers

Long shots to sign:

Andrew Peters, Devils
Jason Allison, Maple Leafs
Kyle Calder, Ducks
Dan Cloutier, Red Wings
Christian Backman, Panthers
Dave Scatchard, Canucks
Mike York, Panthers
Jared Aulin, Blue Jackets
Mark Bell, Flyers
Jassen Cullimore, Ducks

No hope:

Dan Hinote, Sharks
Keith Carney, Canucks (ret.)
Ronald Petrovicky, Canucks

Players without a tryout:

Robert Lang, Manny Malhotra, Dominic Moore, Jassen Cullimore, Miroslav Satan, Michael Peca, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Francis Bouillon, Rob Niedermayer, Bret Hedican, Eric Perrin, Maxim Afinogenov, Mats Sundin, Chris Chelios

2009 Southeast Basement: fertile ground for ex-Panther rebirths?

Whale4ever — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:03:47 -0000

News hit recently that bought-out ex-Cat Brett McLean had landed a tryout in Tampa Bay's camp got me thinking: is the recent spate of former Florida cast-offs landing right back in the Southeast Division a coincidence? Of course it must only be thus, but the numbers are difficult to ignore. It's one of those fun but utterly meaningless points-of-discussion which the sport of hockey tends to specialize in (see Boyle, Dan).

With the McLean invite, the Lightning have now hit a total of four former Panthers up for service in Tampa Bay over the past eight months: McLean, Cory Murphy, Noah Welch, and Lukas Krajicek (five if Len Barrie's name is thrown in...and he could probably use the income right about now; what's his standing with the Players' Association pension fund again?).

Another (lesser) oddity: Atlanta has been not quite stockpiling but no question opening their eyes to the idea of Florida having given up prematurely on a few young Cats, most notably prospect-for-life Anthony Stewart, but also taking a peek at the aforementioned Welch (who I'm personally pulling for, which has nothing to do with my desire for his signature on a particular puck above my desk to rise in value). Maybe it's not quite an oddity; we're only talking two players, but to ignore the innate rubbernecking which Florida fans will inevitably lavish on Stewart after oh-so-many failed starts would be foolish: we'll always have an interest.

Anyone else in recent history come to mind?

Brett McLean invited to Lightning camp

John Fontana — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:21:07 -0000

image via www.thehockeynews.com

Veteran center Brett McLean (last with the Florida Panthers) has been invited to Brandon to participate in pre-camp activities with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

It’s an opportunity and that’s really all I can ask for,’’ he said. "There are no guarantees here and that’s what a tryout, is all about. I know it’s important for me to come out and show what I can do right from the first day, that’s not a lot of room for margin of error.’’

McLean had been placed on waivers/bought out by the Panthers prior to the start of free agency.

With a number of centers already on the roster, this looks like a move made for competition sake, if not extra depth. It's not a signing, of course, but it pushes younger players to step up -- because there's a veteran in camp with a track record of chipping in offensively.

Brett was also famous last season for mixing it up with Sidney Crosby in January 2009:

Panthers Sunrise Massacre: McLean waived; Stewart and Eminger become UFAs

Whale4ever — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 23:42:23 -0000

"And because, in all the galaxy, they had found nothing more precious than Mind, they encouraged its dawning everywhere. They became farmers in the fields of stars; they sowed, and sometimes they reaped. And sometimes, dispassionately, they had to weed"

Arthur C. Clarke, 2001: A Space Odyssey

Blimey...didn't expect all of this. Not when you're used to a wallowing, vanilla Martin Administration. But Rockin' Randy Sexton is making his presence felt, whether he's still here by training camp or not. I'm applauding most of what occured today. Just the fact that hard decisions were made and executions carried out is enough to provide a glimmer of hope for a brighter future.

Let's look at what was done this afternoon at One Panther Parkway:

RFA QUALIFYING OFFERS MADE TO:

David Booth. Duh.
David Brine. Kinda surprised by this one, but someone's got faith in him.

NO QUALIFYING OFFERS MADE TO:

(In English, they're all unrestricted free agents now)

Anthony Stewart. Anyone, anywhere, shocked by this? Tragic that he's always been on the cusp, never really given the opportunity to stick with the big club. He's not off the hook, either.
Steve Eminger. Everyone, everywhere is shocked by this. Probably still sign with the club after Wednesday...if he takes a paycut.
Franklin MacDonald. Fell to the wayside in Rochester.
David Shantz. Saw this coming a year ago. Or was it two?
Tanner Glass. Character guy. He'll be re-upped.
Drew Larman. Stunned. Thought for certain he was a keeper.

PLACED ON WAIVERS:

Brett McLean. He's such a "nice guy" that you hate to say a bad thing about him. He showed up, played hard, and was simply snakebitten the entire season. Just wasn't his year. Hope he lands somewhere that's a better fit ~~after we buy him out~~.

We haven't seen a housecleaning like this within the organization in, well, maybe forever. Do you agree with the moves? Anyone else who should be in the "deadwood" category?