3/16/13 - "Isle Have Another!" - Panthers vs Islanders
PANTHERS
The Panthers began what looks to be a busy trade deadline when they acquired TJ Brennan from the
Sabres on Saturday. In return for the 23-year-old defender, the Cats sent a fifth round draft pick
to Buffalo. Brennan is a young player, the first of many that will probably come to South Florida this year
via trades, who has a highly touted shot best utilized on the power play. He also has a reputation for
sticking up for his teammates and isn't afraid to drop the gloves. In the short term, Brennan will allow the
Cats to bolster their power play by utilizing him on the point and he will bring some much needed
aggression to what seems to be a team gone soft, even though it holds the likes of George Parros and
up until recently, the gentle giant Nolan Yonkman (he was sent back to the AHL to make room for
Brennan on the roster). In the future, the still developing Brennan will likely play on one of the Panthers'
bottom two defensive pairings and still be called upon during the man advantage.
When asked about the subject of who he will trade at the deadline, Dale Tallon said, ""I'm listening to
everything from everyone." The Panthers surely have some trade bait that will be attractive to potential
playoff contenders. Despite being under club control as restricted free agents for another year, Peter Mueller and Shawn Matthias have fared well this year and could potentially draw top of the board
draft picks. The oft injured Kris Versteeg who has a 4 year contract at just under $4.5 million a year
could also be a name the Panthers try to move. They will surely be trying to rid themselves of other bad
contracts such as Filip Kuba. Marcel Goc, Jack Skille, and Tomas Kopecky, who have all been playing
well lately, could also draw interest as they would make for solid bottom six forward material. Whoever
they decide to deal, expect the Panthers to be a busy seller at the deadline.
According to George Richards, Panthers captain Ed Jovanovski was a full participant in practice today, an
open to the public practice at the Saveology.com Iceplex and will play tonight against the Islanders. JoVo's
return brings his veteran leadership and locker room presence back to the team. He will likely play
alongside Brian Campbell. Dmitry Kulikov, Scottie Upshall, and Michael Caruso also participated in the
practice but were wearing orange no contact jerseys. The Panthers are hopeful that trio is able to return
soon.
Panthers winger Kris Versteeg was seen walking around the Saveology.com Iceplex this morning wearing a
heavy knee brace. Versteeg is the latest casualty on a long list of casualties this year. He will undergo
season ending knee surgery.
ISLANDERS
On Friday, the Islanders announced they re-signed winger Colin McDonald to a two year contract
worth $600-$675K a year. McDonald has fared pretty well on an Islanders team that has struggled to
score this year, contributing four goals and six assists as a fourth liner barely averaging 10 minutes
a game. He has the reputation among fans as a hard worker with a solid forecheck and a "perfect"
bottom line player.
Islander veteran goalie Evgeni Nabokov will start his ninth straight game between the pipes tonight. After
a rough start, the soon to be 38 year old has been solid in goal for New York lately, picking up four wins in
his last six starts and only allowing more than two goals twice over that span. For the year, he is 12-8-3
with a .902 save percentage and a 2.88 goals allowed average.
Shawn Matthias continues to impress and it appears the 25-year-old has finally fully arrived offensively.
Matthias has a goal in five of his last eight games, the latest of which was a goal of the year candidate against
the Bruins (above). Although he has been slow to develop since first debuting in 2008, Matthias has come on strong
this year. He has been providing solid hands, a great shot, and a fantastic work ethic. If his play continues, Matthias
should and probably will be promoted to a scoring line where his play will be better showcased to potential trade suitors.
Brennan hadnt arrived yet as of this mornings skate so I wouldnt expect him in the lineup tonight unless Jovo cant go. Kuba will be on the ice most likely over Brennan.
Was interesting to hear that Kulikov, Upshall & Caruso were all wearing orange (non-contact) jerseys at practice today. Sounds like those guys are closer to returning then I would've thought. I would bet within 2 weeks those guys are available to play.
Clemmer is back in? LOL why? Markstrom deserves to redeem himself after letting in one bad goal against Tampa. We all know that Clemmer is just going to be sieve again. Oh well, go Isles then!
Keep the tank rolling, for MacKinnon. Hopefully Hubes puts up some points tonight. We some more luck, he could almost have twice as many points as he got now.
Gudbranson has an A? How come? I don't deny he'll earn that eventually but it seems a bit soon. Kopecky more than deserves that. Then I'd say Goc would be next in line. While an A isn't as much responsibility as being captain, I don't think guys so young should be handed that.
__________________
Florida Panthers: 2011-2012 Southeast Division Champions
Gudbranson has an A? How come? I don't deny he'll earn that eventually but it seems a bit soon. Kopecky more than deserves that. Then I'd say Goc would be next in line. While an A isn't as much responsibility as being captain, I don't think guys so young should be handed that.
Gudbranson has an A? How come? I don't deny he'll earn that eventually but it seems a bit soon. Kopecky more than deserves that. Then I'd say Goc would be next in line. While an A isn't as much responsibility as being captain, I don't think guys so young should be handed that.
You know, if Kopecky got the "C" instead of Jovo, we'd all probably be saying that he's playing great this year, because they declared him captain. The added responsibility was the spark that he needed. Just thinking out loud lol.
I hope they decide to put Markstrom in the net instead. I can't stand the feeling of Clemmensen in net. He's too unpredictable and inconsistent. We know what Markstrom is capable of.
I don't know enough about the Colorado situation when it comes to players who could be considered for leadership. Generally I would say to never give a guy so young a captaincy because it's a lot of pressure and while some will blossom with it, others it can hurt. Perhaps he is more than worthy of it, perhaps there's no better choice, I don't know. If he's been a captain at other levels before that helps to make the choice.
Case in point, Ovechkin was given the captaincy and now few believe he deserves it, nor is he really a true leader. That's not a knock on him, it's just not who he is, not every can or should lead.
Again, the A isn't AS big a deal, but we all know there are other guys on this team just as if not more deserving. I'm not knocking Gudbranson and I don't know about his leadership skills, but you can't deny it's hard to tell a vet to follow a kid.
I really am at a loss why clemmer unless he's being shopped?
That has to be the only reason why, but its not like we would net us much at all. I know goalies take a long time to develop, but it just seems like they are just babying Markstrom. He's played up here before, and hes shown he can play, so let the kid play as much as he can and let him get the experience. The season has been lost for a while now, now is the time to play Markstrom as much as you can.
You cant keep playing him for a game, and then sitting him for two, and then sending him down, only to be called up again for two games, and then benched or sent down again. Its time, so let the damn kid play already!
I guarantee Clem will screw us now. Just watch, he'll catch on fire starting tonight and we'll start winning games and collecting points. Then Dineen will ride the hot hand, so Clem will be in net for a while. Some team will then come along, give us a low draft pick for him, we'll take it, but the points that we will gain will move us up a few spots in the standings and not win the lottery because of it. We'll end up at #5 or something.
Its like its always something with this team. Nothing can ever go smoothly for us, theres always a big bump in the road.
. All I ask for is a solid 60 minutes of hockey.
