Panther Parkway Mailbag: Your Florida Panthers’ Questions & My Two Cents!

Panthers
by Frank Rekas

The Florida Panthers will play game two of the four game roadie this afternoon with a 4:00 pm eastern time start against the Edmonton Oilers and Connor McDavid (McJesus).  This will be the first mailbag of the regular season, and after 10 games the fans have some very intriguing questions.

Let’s get started.

Our first question comes from: Alexis Lafrineier @ChrisAGrega:

Do you think that losing 4 out of 5 points in overtime will come back to haunt the Florida Panthers come April? And it certainly would have been nice to bank some points early in the season.  Despite the fact that the Panthers have been accumulating points in each of their last 7 games, it would be much more comforting to have been able to win out in at least two of the overtime/shootout games.  But, after 10 games they have only 2 regulation losses, which is a major accomplishment this early in the season.  The shootout farce is something that I don’t agree with, and they need to get better in that department.  Or rather, maybe close the games out in regulation.  Once they start firing on all cylinders, they’ll be grabbing more of those points that are up for grabs in overtime and the shootout.

Next is HockeyChick6 @Pam_Abrell who wants to know:

Weegar has really upped his game this season, and is flourishing under Q’s tutelage, already scoring 3 goals. How many goals/points do you think he gets this season?  MacKenzie Weegar has likely been the best defenceman so far this season for the Panthers.  Q’s confidence in him shows that he believes that Weegar can a reliable player at both ends of the ice.  Weegar already has 6 points in 10 games, which isn’t a pace that he’ll maintain, but I see him good for 25-30 as a realistic range provided he doesn’t have a lapse in performance.

Next question and I like it is from: Malgin and Tonic@VKS8

What is the argument for playing Pysyk at Forward? 
Yea, this is the maneuver that has basically put social media on fire.  There’s a few reasons, and here’s my thought on the matter.  It’s complicated.  By using Mark Pysyk as a forward, when his natural position is defence is certainly odd.  Yet the demotion of Henrik Borgstrom and the erratic play of Jayce Hawryluk says that Q isn’t happy with them, and isn’t going to just give them an opportunity if he feels that they haven’t earned it.  No call up from Springfield indicates that no one there has earned the promotion.  Putting Pysyk in this role says we need better performance from who we have, and we need players who are going to be productive.  It also might mean that the Panthers need to make a trade for a forward that can play now.  It’s a mixed bag, and it will be interesting to see how this continues.  Pysyk hasn’t been great, but he doesn’t need to be.  He’s been mistake free for the most part, although a little conservative at times, but that’s the defenceman in him.

Next up:Flying Fluffy@FluffyFlying:

At this point he may be.  Besides Anton Stralman, no other Panther defender has been as consistent.  It’s really a very nice surprise to see how well the youngster has played.  His Corsi and Fenwick are good (whatever the hell those things mean), and the fact that he’s averaging over 20 minutes of TOI, it shows that Q has confidence in him.  Having paired with Aaron Ekblad looks to have been a genius move by Quenneville as they are both preforming better than expected.  Weegar’s not perfect by any means. However if he can continue his maturation, limit his mistakes, he could be the surprise player of the year.

Now we hear from: Robin@Panther_Robin:

If Bobrovsky continues to struggle, do you think Monty will see more ice time or do you think coach Q will grind B till he gets into shape?
It’s a well known fact around the league that Sergei Bobrovsky is typically a slow starter.  Many goaltenders are for some reason.  Just like certain pitchers in baseball.  It seems to take about a month to get going.  It’s a position where practice or training camp is nothing at all like the regular season. As long as he doesn’t fall on his face, I don’t see much changing in how they use the goaltenders.  He needs to play so that by November he hits his stride.  He’ll end up very close to 60 regular season games.

Long time follower Jack Greenman@jackgreenman has a good one:

Do .you agree that the only way to really improve the defense is to trade Yandle or Ek or Matty? Given their contracts, do you believe they’re tradeable?
All three players have had their issues that is for sure.  But in order to trade them, they’ll need to find a trade partner willing to take on the salary.  Ekblad and Matheson have a couple years before their NMC kicks in, so if a move were to be made it would be easier within that time frame.  Yandle has a full NMC for the next 2 seasons, then a modified NTC,    Therefore I think that if you can package Pysyk and one of the younger forwards it’s possible to grab a 3-4 defenceman from somewhere.  Depends on what he Panthers want to give up.  Of the three at this moment, Matheson would be the easiest to trade because of money.  But I’m not so sure he’s the one to trade, if you trade any of them.
Jack has another one as well, and it’s a good one, which we might address as well on our next podcast:
Will Tippett or Borgstrom ever be impact NHL players?
They are both the typical example of players who come with a ton of promise, who haven’t delivered.  Yet.  They are still young (20, 22), which is a good thing, but you would have thought that at least one of them would be on the big club at this point.  They are each different players, as Tippett is your goal scorer, and Borgstrom is your play maker with the additional ability of scoring slick goals.  The problem seems to be playing both ends of the ice, playing away from the puck, and driving play.  The Panthers are in a win now mode, so nobody gets a free pass, or an entitlement to the roster.  These two kids should be lighting it up in the AHL if they’re as good as advertised.  If not, then that says something else which I’m sure the natives don’t want to hear, but it could be true.  Let’s see.  There’s no need to rush them.  They have time, the Panthers don’t.
Is Q (perhaps at direction of Dale) going to continue to resist developing our own young players despite being rated amongst best in hockey ?
I don’t thing Quenneville comes here as head coach if he was going to take personnel orders from anyone.  I think that’s very obvious by using Pysyk as a forward.  And just because some of these players are highly rated, that doesn’t always translate into NHL performance.  The Panthers have ruined many a player because the felt the need to rush them.  It’s hindsight now, but what if Erik Gudbranson spent a full year in the AHL?  No one gets special treatment here.  Regardless of money, experience, or future promise.  It’s a new culture.  One that fans wanted, but one that some can’t get used to.

Next question is from: Oh BarkOff My Captain@SuSpence_3895:

 

One comment

  1. dale talon claims this team is much deeper than in the past. how can that be true when they had to use mark psysk
    in place of a forward. looks like Qq is not happy with the bottom forwards on the roster. and no one in springfield
    looks to be nhl ready. looks like Q does not have a full nhl roster. sam

    Reply

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