“Will the Flyers want to emulate the Panthers’ atypical rebuild model? “. The title of this column from Philadelphia, by Sam Carchidi, makes you smile. Imitate the Florida Panthers? Good luck…
Here are the steps for organizations tempted to follow the path of the Panthers, now one victory away from winning the Stanley Cup after reaching the final last year.
A. You have to be mediocre for at least two or three years. So you can get your hands on your first center, 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, by drafting him second overall. But you also have to come across a great vintage. Especially when the choice in question is the consolation prize after Nathan MacKinnon. (1)
B. Your second center was a fourth overall pick. But you didn’t draft him yourself. His organization won’t want him anymore. Only one season over 30 points in his first six years, never over 36 points. You will have to pay a late second round pick and a B prospect to get it (2)
C. Your top scorer will score 57 goals. He was a second overall pick, like your first center. You’ll get it in a trade, like your second center. You’ll give up a late first-round pick and a promising young goalie, but still drafted 212th overall, to acquire him. (3)
D. One skilled scorer is good, two is better. Your second in this regard will have scored 34 goals in the regular season, and 42 the previous season. He will count you ten in the playoffs in your quest for the Cup, a peak within the team. However, NHL clubs were not rushing to sign him on the free agent market after a season of 13 points in 52 games. You deigned to give him 1 million per year for two years. How kind of you! (4)
E. You have to be on the lookout for waivers. Your professional scouts will have to have a hawk’s eye. You found your number one defenseman under such circumstances. To think that he was still in the American League at 24 years old. He has even become superior to the defenseman you drafted first overall in the draft, the same year as the other one… but 125 spots ahead of him! (5)
F. Your third defenseman had 73 points the previous season. Only Erik Karlsson, Josh Morrissey, Quinn Hughes and Dougie Hamilton had more that year. It was a bit more modest this winter, 33 points in 66 games, 41 points prorated over a full season, but he’ll only cost you a third-round pick, while he’s slogging it out at age 27 in a moribund organization. (6)
G. Your next coach will have a reputation as a loser. But even though in his 22-year career he’s missed the playoffs 14 times, and won only eight rounds, you don’t hesitate to hire him. Who knows, maybe he’ll reach the final in his first two years with you, at 57? (7)
H. The previous administration left you with a mediocre goaltender paid over 10 million a year. You cannot exchange it despite all your good will. You revamp your goalkeeping department by bringing a legendary coach out of retirement to revive this once brilliant goalkeeper. (8)
I. You have the best scorer in the NHL behind Connor McDavid. And he’s only 27. You also have a 26-year-old, 6-foot, 206-pound, 44-point regular-season right-handed defenseman on the top pair. You’re trading both for a young power forward and you’re giving up a first-round pick in the deal. This new player will give you 109 points in his first season and 88 in his second, 90 points more over two years than the second scorer you traded for him, for a million less on payroll. (9)
Good luck to all of the candidates !
(1) Aleksander Barkov was drafted second overall behind Nathan MacKinnon in 2013, and ahead of Jonathan Drouin and Seth Jones. However, you should not expect results in the first year. He had 24 points in 54 games in his first season and 36 in 71 games in his second.
(2) Sam Bennett was acquired from the Calgary Flames on April 12, 2021 for the 61st overall pick and Emil Heineman. He had 12 points, including four goals, in 38 games at the time of the trade. Here he is at 13 points in 15 playoff games this spring, after a season of 41 points in 69 games.
(3) Sam Reinhart was acquired from the Buffalo Sabers on June 24, 2021 for a 2021 first round pick and goaltender Devon Levi.
(4) Carter Verhaeghe reached the NHL at age 24, after being drafted in the third round by Toronto in 2013. He even had to play games in the ECHL. The Panthers were right.
(5) Gustav Forsling had very little chance of breaking through the Hurricanes’ defensive lineup in 2020-2021, especially since he had just spent the previous year in the American League, without the slightest call-up to the NHL. He was sent back to the minors during training camp and the Panthers jumped at the chance to claim him off waivers. GM Bill Zito’s advisor, Rick Dudley, knew him well from his years in Carolina.
(6) Brandon Montour was acquired from the Sabers for a third-round pick in April 2021. He was going around in circles on a moribund team.
(7) Paul Maurice managed the Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, Hurricanes again, then the Winnipeg Jets. Before joining the Jets, a quality club, he had missed the playoffs nine times in thirteen years.
(8) Sergei Bobrovsky had a 23-19-6 record, a 3.23 GAA and a .900 save percentage in his first season in Florida, 2019-20. He was 36-17-4 with a 2.37 GAA and .915 save percentage this season and is a prime candidate for the playoff MVP award… at 35 years old .
(9) Matthew Tkachuk was acquired from the Flames for Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar and a 2025 first round pick (now belonging to CH) in July 2022.
Your top five scorers in the regular season and playoffs still haven’t scored in three games in the final. Your four goals come from defensemen and fourth-line players. Unsurprisingly, the Oilers are on the brink. Hats off to the Panthers for their defensive excellence.
