Long gone are the days of 1996, when celebratory rats littered the ice in Florida and the Panthers made their legendary run to the finals. But even with the team missing the playoffs for the last 10 years, at no point has their mediocrity been more evident than on Thursday when they signed enforcer Andrew Peters.
It’s looking more and more like Florida general manager Dale Tallon, who has received a lot of credit for turning the Chicago Blackhawks around, is doing little else but secure the Panther’s long-term standing as the league’s bottom feeders. The signing of Peters only reinforces this notion.
Just look at his renovated roster. Since being hired he’s already managed to dispatch legitimate top-liner Nathan Horton, who at only 25 has potential for superstardom. Also gone is top-pairing defenseman Keith Ballard, whose five remaining years under contract would have provided some semblance of stability on an ailing blue line. Only 28 years old next season and paid a very manageable $4.2 million per year Ballard is key component of any power play.
And all the Panthers got in return for the two stars was, in a word, hope. Hope that defenseman Dennis Wideman (acquired in exchange for Horton along with two draft picks) returns to his 2008-2009 form of 50 points and +/- rating of +32 on a talent-laden Boston Bruins squad.
Hope that Steve Bernier (acquired along with prospect Michael Grabner and a first-round pick) will shed the adhesive label of first-round bust that apparently physically exists and has kept his arms stuck together, hindering his ability to produce for the San Jose Sharks, Buffalo Sabres, and Vancouver Canucks.
Currently, the Panthers have just three legitimate top six forwards in Stephen Weiss, Michael Frolik, and David Booth, whose career will forever be threatened from this point on thanks to the two concussions he sustained last year.
Cory Stillman is getting grey in the tooth and can no longer produce at the pace he once could. Recently signed Chris Higgins may just blissfully look back at his years in Montreal, where he regularly got power-play ice time only to max out at 52 points during his best season, as time well spent. Of course, he’d be conveniently forgetting that he was a throw-in to the Scott Gomez deal with New York only to disguise the Rangers salary dump.
On defense, the Panthers have potential in the recently drafted Erik Gudbranson and Dmitry Kulikov, with the former ready to challenge for a roster spot next season. Meanwhile, youngster Keaton Ellerby still has a lot to prove. Ditto for Bryan McCabe, who has to cope with the fact that he’s only in Florida because the dreadful Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t want him.
The signing of Peters, a two-way deal that could conceivably see the role player spend more time in the American Hockey League, is little more than a band-aid, and a very small one at that It will only give temporary cover to a lull in the Panthers’ off-season activity. All the while, unsung players such as right-winger Lee Stempniak and defenseman Aaron Ward lay in wait for contracts when they could instead be filling huge holes in Florida’s line-up.
There’s a chance Tallon is deliberately gearing Florida to struggle in order to stockpile high draft picks in the coming years, like he did in Chicago. The only difference is the Blackhawks improved every year in the standings from 2005-2006 onward. In contrast, the Panthers are poised to regress for God knows how long.
Clearly, before hiring Tallon, Panthers management should have realized that lightning seldom strikes twice. This season the Panthers can only realistically stand still in the standings or move lower down the food chain. And if so, the one-time symbol of success in Florida, the rat, will be compromised as well. Here’s to further patience in Florida beyond its soon-to-be 11th straight year out of the playoffs. It looks like Panthers fans will need it.
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