Commentary on published season previews

Why not give the topic its own thread? :)

So, I'm reading ESPN.com's pre-season power rankings, and the Panthers are waaaayyy down the list, with this note:

"The Panthers are still one of they youngest teams in the league. And while they did well at the draft table, GM Rick Dudley hasn't added any size or veteran presence. All of which means another year of learning the ropes for their highly skilled youngsters and a long season for Roberto Luongo."

Hmmm...how big are NHL players these days if Nathan Horton and Anthony Stewart don't count as adding size, and how many centuries must a player be in the league if Odelein and Hoglund don't count as a veteran presence? The rankings may be out of date, but come on! You don't do a pre-season judgment in July!

Why not give the topic its own thread? :)

So, I'm reading ESPN.com's pre-season power rankings, and the Panthers are waaaayyy down the list, with this note:

"The Panthers are still one of they youngest teams in the league. And while they did well at the draft table, GM Rick Dudley hasn't added any size or veteran presence. All of which means another year of learning the ropes for their highly skilled youngsters and a long season for Roberto Luongo."

Hmmm...how big are NHL players these days if Nathan Horton and Anthony Stewart don't count as adding size, and how many centuries must a player be in the league if Odelein and Hoglund don't count as a veteran presence? The rankings may be out of date, but come on! You don't do a pre-season judgment in July!

The worst preview was in the Sporting News. They picked the Panthers to be worse than the Penguins and 15th in the East. I almost had a spit take when I read that.

From Slam! Sports at Canoe.ca:

5. FLORIDA PANTHERS

*LAST SEASON -- 24-37-13-8, 70 points, 13th in East.

*INSIDER -- Coach Mike Keenan wanted top pick Nathan Horton on the team and GM Rick Dudley fulfilled that wish, signing the rangy forward, who scored three goals and an assist in four pre-season games. Dudley is in hot water with owner Alan Cohen about losing two goalies in the waiver draft.

*SOFT SPOTS -- Size, although the addition of Horton will help.

*KEY ARRIVALS -- C Nathan Horton, RW Valeri Bure, D Lyle Odelein, LW Eric Messier, G Steve Shields.

*DEPARTURES -- G Jani Hurme, G Chris Mason, LW Peter Worrell, D Igor Kravchuk, D Ivan Majesky, LW Stephane Matteau, D Igor Ulanov.

*PROGNOSIS -- One of the youngest, and smallest, teams in the league, will struggle to stay out of Southeast basement.

*PIVOTAL PLAYER -- G Roberto Luongo will be counted on even more this year.

First of all, why is every prediction I'm reading forecasting the Panthers to finish dead last in the division? Do they really think the Thrashers are so good, or that the Hurricanes really will bounce back with Kevin Weekes in net? He's good, but not really on a par with the goalies of every other team in the league.

Also, Florida is NOT one of the smallest teams in the league. It's just that most of their forwards play like they are. The Panthers are actually a pretty big team, all in all, but their big guys tend to be more finesse players who don't take the body as often as they should. If they ever did, they'd probably improve 25 points in the standings and compete for the cup. The improvement Kozlov's game showed in the three games in the middle of last season where he was actually being physical was incredible. He'd be a force to be reckoned with if he'd do it with some consistency. If the whole team did it, few teams could stand up to them. But they don't.

Luongo will not be counted on even more this year. He'll still likely step up his game, but the Panthers defense is threatening to be more aggressive in its own zone with the additions of Messier and Odelein, which will take some pressure off Luongo. From there, it's all up to the forwards.

First of all, why is every prediction I'm reading forecasting the Panthers to finish dead last in the division? Do they really think the Thrashers are so good, or that the Hurricanes really will bounce back with Kevin Weekes in net? He's good, but not really on a par with the goalies of every other team in the league.
A lil FYI. Weekes was one of the best tenders in the league last year, til he went down with a concussion. He didn't recover fully from it and was sorta rushed back with Irbe suckin ass. Carolina also strengthened their week defense with the reacquisition of Wesley and the arrivals of Bob Boughner and Danil Markov. Carolina also Has Radim Vrbata for an entire season, Rod Brindamoor and Erik Cole back from injuries and have added Eric Staal to the line-up as well. The team overall is deeper and more talented. Hell, Vancouver shows how far a marginal goalie can take you every year.

As for the Thrashers, expect them to be playin with a lot of emotion for Snyder, as a lot of their players either knew him from Orlando or Chicago. Emotion can get you a few extra points durin the season, especially for a tragically deceased teammate. We have a better chance of a guarenteed finish ahead of Washington and thier four rookie defensemen than anyone else in the division.

A lil FYI. Weekes was one of the best tenders in the league last year, til he went down with a concussion.

Perhaps...I still can't forget how he wanted a big NHL contract after playing 11 games and winning exactly 0 with a GAA over 3.00. Perhaps it's colored my perception of his game. I know he played well in Carolina's run to the Cup finals two years ago, but that Irbe eventually came back in as he struggled. The question remains whether he's got the fortitude to take a whole season.

And remember, too, that Trevor Kidd was THE best goalie in the league some seasons ago before the injury in the November skills competition. He hasn't even been a good backup since. The jury's going to be out on Weekes, especially since his backup won't really be pushing him.

The 'Canes should have kept Hurme and traded Weekes ;)

Damn, I forgot Hurme went to Atlanta...oh, well, I still don't think their d is going to get it done, and they've (due to the accident) lost a lot of offense up front. Emotion will give them a strong start, perhaps, but it's hard to maintain energy from negative emotion for a long time, and grief is a negative emotion.

This is according to the Yahoo Sports section on our team but these are the stats:

Average: Height: 5.11 Weight: 205.0 Age: 25.1

Most teams I noticed were at least 6.01 so we're still giving up height. In our division alone, only Washington had a shorter average height (5.10) but their players averaged 207 lbs. Boston, Pittsburgh, Calgary & Columbus has about the same averages as us. Its not like those teams are being predicted to do a lot this yr either (with maybe Boston being an exception, depending on if/when they acquire CuJo).

Playing the fewest games of any NHL team in the preseason doesn't give many writers an opportunity to see the team in action. Maybe an extra game or two would've been beneficial for everyone. All the teams in our division alone played 8 games (we played 5). If we kept our pace in preseason of a pt per game, then we'd be 8th overall in preseason in the Eastern Conference (instead we're just one spot ahead of Pittsburgh at 14th).

yesterdays palm beach paper gave all the teams in the league and were 3rd in weight. actually second if you take off Bednar, they had included him. the panthers had 24 players, others had 23. they avergaed 210 lbs.
cant remember who was 1st, philly was sort of tied for second with us. it was neck and neck. thats funny when every preview says were small.

yesterdays palm beach paper gave all the teams in the league and were 3rd in weight. actually second if you take off Bednar, they had included him. the panthers had 24 players, others had 23. they avergaed 210 lbs.
cant remember who was 1st, philly was sort of tied for second with us. it was neck and neck. thats funny when every preview says were small.

I think they're using an old roster ;)

There is no way we are under 6 feet tall in average hight. Biron alone pulls us over 6 feet, LOL. But we have J Bo, Luongo, Jokinen, Kozlov, Horton, Sameulsson, Mezei, Odelein, Messier, VanRyn Huselius, Cullen, etc.. all over 6 feet.

Bure, Hagman and Ritchie are the only ones I can think of under 6 feet.

As far as the writers, see my post about the preview in "The first writer to get it right" thread. I think I covered it all.

BTW, to all of those pro writers, the Panthers are not the same small team from 4 years ago. The rosters have been updated and if Ritchie, McDonald, Odelein, Hagman, and Messier don't provide leadership and grit, than I don't know who does.