George Richards, FHN Publisher
As the NHL Trade Deadline approaches today at 3, the Florida Panthers are expected to make another move or two.
Even though they have a solid hold on a playoff spot, general manager Bill Zito and the Panthers are looking beyond just making the postseason.
Since winning six consecutive games to take the top spot not only in their division but in the league, the Panthers have lost their past three games.
There may be no panic heading into the deadline but there is definitely room for improvement.
But, after a weekend filled with moves, who is left?
And, what are all the trade shows going to talk about today?
On Sunday night, Boston acquired perhaps the biggest name on the market as it got pending UFA forward Taylor Hall from Buffalo on the cheap.
Well, Hall is owed $2 million for the remainder of the season and it appears, based on what Boston gave up, that the Panthers passed on bringing him in.
This looks like a doable deal if Florida was really interested.
Others to change teams Sunday included Columbus captain Nick Foligno (Toronto) and Los Angeles veteran center Jeff Carter (Pittsburgh).
The Panthers, coming into the week, had a couple of targets including a top-four defenseman, a scoring winger and a center.
So far, Zito has got his defenseman in Brandon Montour (not to mention college free agent Matt Kiersted) and hopes a move to the sunny south pulls some magic out of talented winger Nikita Gusev.
Gusev is a player Florida is getting for as close to nothing as they could in the NHL. He could end up being a dynamic addition. If not, OK.
Those hoping Zito was going to spend a ton of money before the deadline are disappointed right now, although there is time for more moves.
Remember this, though: Zito did not exactly grab big headlines in his first go at free agency in October. Instead, Zito and his front office staff went looking for value.
Almost all of Florida’s signings coming into the season — Radko Gudas, Carter Verhaeghe, Anthony Duclair, Alex Wennberg, etc. — have paid off handsomely for the Panthers.
Detroit center Luke Glendening, who would appear to be a nice fit on Florida’s fourth line, remains available as of Monday morning.
He would not be a headline-grabbing acquisition, either, but he would certainly help the Panthers out.
On Thursday, Zito shed some money by sending Brett Connolly, Riley Stillman and unsigned prospect Henrik Borgstrom to Chicago for two depth players.
BAD WEEK FOR PANTHERS
On the ice, the Panthers have been able to take a breath in North Texas after what was a rough week.
After beating Columbus last Sunday night, Florida had 56 points which was better than the likes of the Lightning, Avalanche and Maple Leafs — all teams which, for good reason, have been dominating hockey talk in this 2021 season.
Social media wasn’t the only ones to notice Florida’s rise.
Their opponents have as well.
Being part of the three-team upper crust of the NHL Central means they hold a solid spot in the playoffs.
Since that six game winning streak, however, the Panthers have not won a game.
Saturday’s 4-1 loss to Dallas was Florida’s third consecutive defeat as they came out listless and sloppy, letting the Stars run right past them.
Dallas jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the midway point of the first. That’s usually enough for Anton Khudobin. It certainly was on Saturday.
“That was definitely not starting on time,” Joel Quenneville said.
“You can’t blame it on anything, not being ready. … It was one of those games, a garbage can game, for me. The first one of the year. Let’s move on.”
The Panthers first test coming off last weekend’s sweep of Columbus was a trip to Carolina.
Florida found the Hurricanes to, as has been the case all year, be up for the challenge.
The Panthers handled their business just fine, going into the third up 2-1 before a power play goal tied things up early in the period.
Florida found itself down a goal midway through the period and couldn’t come back against Petr Mzarek and lost 5-2 as Carolina padded the scoresheet with the empty net.
The following game, Carolina jumped all over the Panthers and rolled to a 3-0 win.
The team flew to Dallas ready to get back on track.
Quenneville even alluded to that in his pregame Zoom chat with the media Saturday afternoon.
”Being ready, games are important to start fresh,” Quenneville said. “That last game was the one all year where I thought we were ordinary. Let’s get back to doing what we do and that’s playing hard.”
Obviously, that didn’t happen.
Whether the Panthers are suffering from a general lack of urgency based on where they’re at in the standings or are really starting to miss not having Aaron Ekblad in the lineup, they need to get out of this funk and fast.
“We didn’t start the way we wanted. They got a couple quick goals and got the lead early,’’ said captain Sasha Barkov, whose goal with 1.5 seconds left in the second period kept his team from being shutout in consecutive games.
“They played confident with that. It wasn’t a good start by us. Obviously, were not happy with the whole game. … We’ve got to find a way to win these types of games.
“These games feel like they’re playoff games. We’ve got to find a way to win these. We’ve got a good chance next game.”
Added Gudas: “We have a few days to regroup and bring a lot more energy into the next game.We want to make sure that we don’t lose like that no more.”
RACE TO THE FINISH
Going back to the past two games, perhaps Florida is in a pre-deadline malaise.
Instead of being worried about leaving as some out-of-it teams suffer from, it’s possible the Panthers are looking too far ahead and not focusing on the business right in front of them.
If that is indeed the case, well, it won’t be for long.
When Florida plays in Dallas on Tuesday, the trade deadline will be in the rearview mirror and the Panthers have 14 games left for the playoffs.
If the team seriously wants to finish up strong, here’s their chance.
This sprint of a season is in its final quarter. Like the final leg in a 4×100 relay, the finish line is in site.
From there, well, anything can happen.
“We want to finish as strong as we can, feel good about ourselves heading into the postseason,” Gudas said.
“These next games, we have things we know we need to work on going into the playoffs. We need to play a solid 60 minutes, add little things and get better as a team.”
ON DECK: PANTHERS AT STARS
When: Tuesday, 8:30
Where: AmericanAirlines Center, Dallas
Season series: Florida leads 4-2
TV/Radio: BSFLA/560-AM