Horton Hears A Who? This Is Why Florida Won't Trade Nathan

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Despite rumors of the opposite, the Florida Panthers are not yet done and dusted from the playoff map. The win over the Flyers put to an end a four game losing streak, and as the performances are slowly improving; a ray of hope is reemerging in South Florida.

That however doesn’t deter trade murmurs from buzzing around the Panthers camp like voluptuous vultures. Nathan Horton is the latest and oft recurring target.

Nevertheless, I think these rumors are largely based on faulty assumptions. I’ll go on to explain why in a moment, but first a quick elucidation of the Florida Panthers and its methods may be in order to initiate the unacquainted reader...

Florida’s Road Map to Success

The Philadelphia victory, 4-2, was a hard fought win for the Panthers group, a road map if you will, for Florida to follow in their quest for success.

The Florida felines’ team is not the most gifted in the league, in fact, no one star performer has emerged; scoring has come from the collective team effort and the stats clearly show this fact:

Michael Frolik and Stephen Weiss top the point chart with 2 goals and 2 assists each in the opening six games. Three players; Radek Dvorak, Steven Reinprecht, and Dmitry Kulikov, have notched up three points. Six players have two, and of the players that have appeared in more than one game; only Gregory Campbell has yet to snatch a point.

While this says much about the Panthers need for combined scoring, it also highlights the clubs call for greater point production all around.

Each and every one of the current players are required to step up their game and chip in with hard fought goals if the Cats are to have any chance whatsoever.

In the second and third period on Friday, after a stern telling off from the coach, the players managed to do just that and the end result was a much needed win versus the Flyers.

Now the Floridians will have to keep up the pressure in every game, not just once in a blue moon.

Indeed, consistency was the issue throughout all of last season, or rather: the lack thereof. And this time around the Panthers have probably even less room for inconsistency…

Not least after the uninspiring 2-4 start to the campaign.

People outside of South Florida that aren’t necessarily acquainted with the Cats’ brand of hockey sometimes misunderstand the pillars that the team is built around.

Again; there is no star player to lean against for scoring. That is the job and responsibility of the entire team: the defenders as much as the forwards. Hence why we constantly see Panthers’ blueliners pinch-in at the offensive zone and jump into scoring areas at every opportunity.

Coach Peter DeBoer believes in the collective effort. Yet everybody must pull in the same direction for this tactic to be successful, everyone is looked upon to put in sterling, grinding shifts, for the cause. DeBoer will act swiftly if someone is not pulling their load.

Sometimes, fairly and unfairly, Nathan Horton has been pinpointed as one that doesn’t give 100% exertion into all games. However, worth noting is that Peter DeBoer seems to hold Horton’s endeavors in high regard.

Nathan didn’t start the season in the best of fashion, but in the last two games his, and the teams play overall, has made a remarkable upturn.

Next: Why Horton Will Stay Put

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