Bleacher Report - Articles by philip bottfeld

Florida Panthers Playing Tired

philip bottfeld — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:38:28 -0400

Before anything, if you get bored, scroll to the bottom to see the most important info.

Good thing: The Panther's are shooting 31.8 shots on goal per game (ranks fifth in the NHL).

Bad thing: The Panther's are giving up 33 shots on goal per game (ranked 28th in the NHL) and that is not what they intended to do when they acquired the defensemen this summer. I am not saying they are playing bad. In fact, I feel the opposite. The Panthers' defense is playing great, but why are they giving up so many shots?

Here's a few things to look at...

The Panthers are 3-for-27 on the power play and have a total of 36 shots on net (1.333 shots per PP).

Panthers' average 12.7 penalty minutes per game (Ranks sixth in the NHL).

On the PK the Panthers are 22 of 28 and are (ranks 21st in the NHL) giving up a total of 47 shots (1.666 per PP).

The PK is not bad and 1.666 shots per PP in my book is very good.

The PP is terrible. 1.333 shots per PP is horrendous. Two minutes with one less guy in your face and they can only put up a little more than a shot.

But 47 shots is only eight shots per game given up on the PP.

The Panthers average 10 shots in the first period, 12 in the second, and 10 in the third. But, our opponents average eight shots in the first period, 14 shots in the second, and 11 shots in the third.

Total Shots By Period

Florida: Period one—60 shots. Period two—72 shots. Period three—59 shots.

Opponent: Period One—50 shots. Period two—81 shots. Period three—67 shots.

Goals By Period

Panthers: First period (six) Second Period (seven) Third Period (one) Overtime (one)

Opponent: First Period (four) Second Period (eight) Third Period (six) (actually four goals because two were empty net goals) Overtime (zero)

So, if we just go by non empty net goals, the Panthers are +2 in the first period, a -1 in the second, a -3 in the third and a +1 in overtime.

This shows me the team is tired in the second and players lose that burst to finish in the third. That one goal in the third period came in the first game. The Panthers start well, but have trouble finishing. I am sure this will be address by Coach Deboer.

Another One Bites The Dust: Panthers Waive Cory Murphy

philip bottfeld — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:53:34 -0400

Cory Murphy was waived today. If he is not picked up by anyone by noon tomorrow, he will be on his way to Rochester Amerks (the AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers).

Team defense now looks like this

Bouwmeester-McCabe

Ballard-Boynton

Allen-Skrastins

Spare: 1) Welch

2) Cullimore (if signed)

The Future Lines Of The NHL: Team By Team Breakdown

philip bottfeld — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:06:48 -0400

Taking a look at the youth and what is to be expected in the coming years, here is an analysis of the young NHL forward lines of the future

In bold represents a Top 10 line of the future.

Most lines are composed of prospects, but some are of very young players.

Chicago: Patrick Sharp - Jonathan Toews - Patrick Kane

Columbus: Nikita Filatov - Derick Brassard - Jakub Voracek

Detroit: Jan Mursak - Valterri Filppula - Jiri Hudler

Nashville: Patric Hornqvist - Colin Wilson - Alexander Radulov

St.Louis: Lars Eller- Patrick Berglund/T.J. Oshie - David Perron

Calgary: Dustin Boyd - Mikael Backlund - Greg Nemisz

Colorado: Ryan Stoa - T.J. Hensick - Chris Stewart

Edmonton: Sam Gagner - Andrew Cogliano - Ales Hemsky

Minnesota: Benoit Pouliot - James Sheppard - Colton Gillies

Vancouver: Mason Raymond - Cody Hodgson - Jannik Hansen

Anaheim: Logan MacMillian - Eric Tangradi - Bobby Ryan

Dallas: Fabian Brunnstrom - James Neal - Raymond Sawada

Los Angeles: Dustin Brown - Anze Kopitar - Patrick O' Sullivan

Phoenix: Mikkel Boedker - Kyle Turris - Peter Mueller

San Jose: Milan Michalek- Logan Couture - Devin Setoguchi

Boston: Blake Wheeler - David Krejci - Phil Kessel

Buffalo: Tim Kennedy - Clarke MacArthur - Drew Stafford

Montreal: Sergei Kostitsyn - Ben Maxwell - Max Pacioretty

Ottawa: Nick Foligno - Alexander Nikulin - Eric Condra

Toronto: Nikolai Kulemin - Jiri Tlusty - Mikhail Stefanovich

New Jersey: Mattias Tedenby - Petr Vrana - Nicklas Bergfors

New York Islanders: Blake Comeau - Joshua Bailey - Kyle Okposo

New York Rangers: Nigel Dawes - Artem Anisimov - Alexei Cherepanov

Philadelphia: James van Riemsdyk - Steve Downie - Claude Giroux

Pittsburgh: Luca Caputi - Jordan Staal - Tyler Kennedy

Atlanta: Angelo Esposito - Bryan Little - Riley Holzapfel

Carolina: Zach Boychuk - Brandon Sutter - Drayson Bowman

Florida: Michael Frolik - Shawn Matthias - Michal Repik

Tampa Bay: Luca Cunti - Steven Stamkos - Dana Tyrell

Washington: Chris Borque - Mathieu Perrault - Eric Fehr

Florida Panthers Offseason Analysis

philip bottfeld — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 20:21:17 -0400

Florida Panthers General Manager Jacque Martin was very busy this offseason.

Martin traded away the franchise's greatest scorer—Olli Jokinen—to Phoenix after Jokinen ended the year with a sad minus-19 and only 71 points, after putting up an average of 90 points the previous two seasons.

In return, Florida received Keith Ballard, Nick Boynton, and a second-round pick in 2008 (Colby Robak). Ballard is 5'11" and 208 lbs.—but plays like he's 6'3" and weighing 225. Ballard is one tough cookie, and is expected to pair up with Jay Bouwmeester on Florida's top pairing.

Boynton is a veteran who is an average top-four defenseman, and will likely play on the third pairing with Karlis Skrastins. Boynton is a very physical defensemen, and reliable in his own zone.

Martin wasn't done with picking up defensemen. Martin shipped away injury-prone Mike Van Ryn to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Bryan McCabe and a fourth-round pick in 2009. McCabe was hammered by the media for several "bloopers" committed this past year.

McCabe is without question a talented player, and may prosper with a change of scenery. Look for McCabe to bounce back a bit from a not so great 2007-08.

When it comes to forwards other than Jokinen, only Josef Stumpel is gone. Stumpel's final year under contract with the Panthers was bought out for a cap hit of $750,000 over the next two years.

The Panthers brought in veteran Cory Stillman, which will definitely close, but not heal the sting left from Jokinen's departure. Look for stud OHL centermen Shawn Matthias to crack the Panthers' lineup on opening night, centering Stillman and Olesz.

The increased ice time should allow the young guns on the Panthers to produce significantly more than last year. If no improvement occurs, you can expect the Panthers to lose a lot of low scoring games.

Martin was able to sign Rostislav Olesz and Keith Ballard to contract extensions, keeping the two in Panther uniforms until 2014 and 2015, respectively.

In general, the Panthers cleared up their defensive problems, and they will show off a very deep pool of top-six defensemen who will give up less than 2.5 goals per game.

The big question will be the offense—can it put up more than 2.5 goals per game? If players such as Horton, Weiss, Olesz, Kreps, Booth improve, expect the Panthers to be playing some playoff games this year.

Last but not least, the bottom six forwards on the Panthers are Peltonen, Kreps, Dvorak, Belak, Campbell, and Zednik. In all likelihood, Michael Frolik and Shawn Matthias will see plenty of ice time this year, and one of bottom feeders will be sent packing.

Since Belak, Kreps, and Campbell were all signed to contract extensions, the only forwards who should be looking over their shoulders are Peltonen, Dvorak, and Zednik. In my book, Peltonen is gone and Dvorak may be used for trade bait—but his PK skills are very good.

Optimistic Prediction: 42-31-9, 93 points, seventh place in the East and/or division title.

Pessimistic Prediction: 35-35-12, 82 points, 13th place in the East.

Florida Panthers: Free Agent and Coaching Outlook

philip bottfeld — Thu, 22 May 2008 18:29:12 -0400

The Florida Panthers are going into the offseason with some positives. First of all the Panthers recorded the most wins since it made the playoffs eight years ago.

Keeping the Core

Last year, during the offseason, Jacque Martin did a wonderful job of locking up some core players including Nathan Horton(six years, $4mill/yr), Stephen Weiss (six years, $3.1mill/yr) and Bryan Allen (five years, $2.9mill/yr).

Jacque plans to do the same this year, and has already locked up Kamil Kreps, who showed a vast improvement in his point production, as well as Wade Belak, who really made his physical presence known on the ice. Belak's new contract is (two years, 650,000/yr. Jacque has also signed a few players to entry-level contracts including Brady Calla, Luke Beaverson, and Keaton Ellerby.

Time is not on the Panthers side. The deadline for players drafted in the 2006 season to be signed falls on May 31 2008 or else those players are eligible to reenter the NHL Draft.

Two prospects the Panthers would like to have signed by that deadline is flashy Czech Michael Frolik, whom the Panthers drafted 10th overall in the first round of the 2006 draft and is a potential star in the NHL. Frolik recorded 138 points in 97 games with the QMJHL's Rimouski club over the last two years.

The second prospect is the Guelph Storm's defenseman Michael Caruso. He had a breakout year with 10 goals and 24 assists for 34 points. He was an OHL All- Star. Caruso also had a productive playoff, where he recorded two goals and six assists in only 10 games.

Now the other major signings that Martin needs to take care have a deadline that must be met before free agency begins on July 1. The biggest two are luckily restricted free agents: Rostislav Olesz and All-Star defenseman Jay Bouwmeester.

Rumours have been flying that Bouwmeester wants to be back in his home of Alberta, but apparently Martin feels he will be able to sign the great defenseman. If the two are signed, expect Martin to make these long-term contracts. Martin loves Olesz's two-way abilities, so expect Olesz to get a contract around five years, $2-2.5 mill/yr while Bouwmeester should receive around five years, $6-7mill/yr.

Greg Campbell is another of Martin's favourites, because of his character and strong defensive play. Campbell has been the fourth center line the last two years and has done anything Martin has asked. Campbell will sign for a shorter term around two or three years at $850,000/yr.

Restricted free agent Garth Murray will only get signed on a two-way deal, as will Anthony Stewart, unless trade requests are put in, but those are very doubtful as neither has made a major contribution to the team.

The unrestricted free agents are on defense. Branislaz Mezei has been a liability for the Panthers for a while now; he will not be returning to the Panthers.

Steve Montador had a wonderful year, producing well above his normal self, but many don't think his contract will be extended because his asking price will be above the Panthers' purse.

Jasen Cullimore had a nice comeback year, leading the team with a +21 rating, so expect Cullimore to get a short-term contract under a million per year. Last of all is Magnus Johansson, the Swedish defenseman who really lit it up in the World Championships and showed the ability to quarterback the power play. Many are wondering is Johansson will stay, as power play quarterback Cory Murphy is still signed through next year.

Adding to the Team

Martin has addressed the need for a puck-moving defenseman. Expect the Panthers to go after John-Michael Liles of the Colorado Avalanche, who put up similar numbers to those of Mike Van Ryn.

In terms of adding forwards, the only forward expected to come to the club is OHL star Shawn Matthias, who has really taken the Junior hockey level by storm . He scored 79 points in only 53 games. In the Memorial Cup, he has four goals and one assist in only three games. Two of those goals were short-handed.

Coaching Carousel

Martin has looked at the following as candidates for next year's Panther team.

Fired coaches

Ron Wilson (San Jose)

Paul Maurice (Toronto)

Joel Quenneville (Colorado)

Former coaches

Pat Quinn (Toronto)

Pat Burns (New Jersey)

Bob Hartley (Colorado and Atlanta)

Assistant coaches

Perry Pearn (New York Rangers)

Andre Savard(Pittsburgh)

Randy Cunneyworth of the Rochester Americans is also expected to get serious consideration for the job.

Martin has announced no time frame to sign a coach. It could be tomorrow or it could be July. Still, you can expect him to work hard at signing Frolik, Caruso, Bouwmeester and Olesz as soon as possible.

Flordia Panthers: Jacque Martin Out as Head Coach

philip bottfeld — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 07:13:23 -0400

Jacque Martin is not going to be coaching the Florida Panthers next year, but will probably be focusing in on getting the new coach some quality players since he will stay on most likely as GM.

IN-house Coaching options could be Guy Charron or Mike Kitchen.

Will he keep captain Olli Jokinen since we all know the problems they have had this year?

NHL Playoffs: Anaheim Ducks Repeat Is Only a Matter of Time

philip bottfeld — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 18:28:27 -0400

Why will they win again. Let's break it down by each category.

Goaltenders

Jean Sebastien Giguerewho has been his dominate self this season posting a save percentage of 92.2 % and a GAA of 2.12 and 35 wins. His backup Jonas Hillerhas been stellar with a Save percentage of 92.7% and a GAA of 2.06 with 10 wins. Look for Giguere to put forth a conn smyth performance this playoff.

Defense

Led by Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer. Pronger adds the physical presence only Dion Phaneuf and Zdeno Chara have, while Niedermayer can bring the puck up and out of the zone better than most forwards. The second pairing includes a couple of solid defensemen in Francois Beauchemin and Mathieu Schneider who can both put up points with a combined 60 points(14 goals 46 Assists).

Forwards

This team gets scoring from all different players. Look for Ryan Getzlaf to lead the team in scoring through the playoffs. Teemu Selanneonly put up 15 points(5 goals, 10 assists) last year in 21 games, look for that number to go up significantly. Dustin Penner left and Brian Burke brought in Todd Bertuzzi, who is not the same player he was but brings the physical presence and is willing to take a beating in the crease. Corey Perry had his break out year scoring 29 goals and should be joining the club later in the first round of the playoffs. Chris Kunitz added 50 points as well. Doug Weight shouldn't be ruled out as a threat, Weight is career .80 points per game player who can still put the puck in the net.

The way this team looks, taking 4 games out of 7 against this team seems almost impossible.

NHL Draft Order

philip bottfeld — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:27:33 -0400

NHL Draft Order Top Five

1. Tampa Bay Lightning

2. Los Angeles Kings

3. Atlanta Thrashers

4. St.Louis Blues

5. New York Islanders

The Florida Panthers' Offseason Agenda

philip bottfeld — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 13:52:27 -0400

Changes that need to be made for the Florida Panthers to become contenders.

The System

The Florida Panthers need to play a consistent system. Often times the Panthers played a defensive-minded game with little forecheck. How is a team supposed to mesh well in a system when the next night it's an all-out-attack, like we saw the Panthers do in the last 25 games.

The Devils have yet to change the system they have in place in over ten years and it works because everyone knows what is expected of them. If the Panthers are to be successful, they must stick to a balance system including a solid backcheck and forecheck. You can't win if you only score one or two goals, but you can't win either if you give up four or five goals.

Management

Everyone has had doubts about Jacque Martin's future. He may not lead this club to a championship, but getting rid of him and starting a whole new system under someone else is ridiculous and would not solve all the problems. Look for Martin to give up his position as coach or GM, and try to stick to one. Most fans like JM as a GM. Giving away his coaching position will not change the system much...remember, he gets to choose his coach.

Players

Guys Who Aren't Going Anywhere

Booth—Big year for the young fellow. Looks to be a solid second liner with Horton and Weiss for the next few years.

Weiss—Showed leadership throughout the year. Didn't put numbers up he is capable of, but still played good two-way hockey.

Olesz—JM loves this kid, who really showed how well he can play when healthy, and he was tremendous on the PK.

Mclean—Great season. He kept a positive attitude with the media when the team struggled during the season. This guy was absolutely the offensive MVP of the team the second half of the season.

Zednik—Showed what he can do right before he got hurt. Has the ability to be a 20 goal scorer and put up 40-plus points

Kreps—Look to see Kreps improve again next year in numbers. Kreps is a better stick handler than Booth and creates space for himself, but Booth is the guy who can finish, something Kreps needs to work on if he wants to bolster himself in the lineup. Kreps had a really good season ending with 25 points in 76 games, a lot better than last year.

Welch—We didn't see him but for a few games, but scouts say this kid has a solid future on the blueline in the NHL.

Anderson—Anderson proved he has what it takes to be an elite backup and possibly and future starter in the NHL this year, posting ridiculous numbers in the 15-20 games he played in.

Guys Who Probably Won't Be In A Panthers Jersey Next Year

Mezei—Here's a guy who takes too many bad penalties.

Stumpel—Showed major signs of aging this year, being out half the season and not being able to keep up with the rest of the team. Stumpel was exceptionally slow and didn't put up the points he normally does from years past.

Guys Who Wouldn't Be Surprised If They Were Gone

Jokinen—Disappeared the last 25 games and had issues with JM.

Van Rynn—Having wrist problems again and holds a heavy cap space for a team with not a lot of resources.

Murphy—Looked like a future Norris Candidate the first 15 games, but after his injury looked like a typical, nervous rookie in the NHL.

Kilger—Never saw him in a Cats uniform.

Peltonen—Again, similar to Stumpel although not as much is expected of Ville in terms of offense.

Acquisitions To Be Made

If Jokinen stays, a solid first-liner needs to be added to compliment him. Jokinen is a star player who had an off season because he never was given a consistent line. The team needs to add a true center to the team, similar to a Marc Savard or Scott Gomez to open up space for Jokinen who truly has a lethal shot.

Coaches are hoping the minor-league stud, Shawn Matthias, will be this player. But Jokinen's contract is up in two years. Shawn will have to show his ability quick if the Panthers want to keep Jokinen for longer than his current contract. Shawn looked good in four games this year, with two goals.

Prospects

This team has four solid prospects in the deck of cards. They are:

Michael Frolik—Will be a future first-line LW or center. Frolik has great playmaking ability and a decent shot. His biggest problem is consistency, some games he disappears.

Shawn Matthias—The Panthers are hoping this kid will be their next first-line center. At 6'4", 215 lbs, Shawn has the vision and ability to be one of the best in a few years.

Michal Repik—Looks to be a soild RW in the NHL. The guy has a great shot and is a wonderful skater. Shows he can step up in the clutch, leading his Vancouver Giants to the Memorial Cup while leading the team in scoring last year, and is doing the same now this year.

Keaton Ellerby—Ellerby was drafted tenth overall in 2007. As a big, lanky defenseman this kid has tremendous skating ability. Only problem is he's 6'4 and weighs only 190 lbs. He's a twig and at that size, Martin St.Louis would skate right through him.

Ellerby started his 2007-2008 WHL season with the Kamloops Blazers and struggled, three points in 16 games, until he was traded to the Moose Jaw Warriors where we got to see him show a bit of his potential where he played 53 games and had 23 points.

The Panthers are capable of making to the playoffs in 2008-2009. Will they? Stay tuned.