It’s time for the Florida Panthers to panic.
In a year where the margin for error and the leniency for an extended losing streak is zilch, Florida could not be starting worse.
After handily winning their opener over Carolina, the Panthers have been a mess. Now, the season is far from over for them – the Devils started 1995 off on the wrong foot and eventually won the Cup – but this mish-mash team of misfits has the greatest potential to be a one-hit wonder since Psy.
Yes, the Panthers won their division and made the playoffs last season, but that was the result of gaining the upper-hand on a weakened Southeast early and backing in down the stretch. The production they were getting from Kris Versteeg, Tomas Fleischmann and Stephen Weiss was always a house of cards and it eventually collapsed. That shouldn’t have been a surprise for anyone.
And now here we are a year later and a year older for Jose Theodore and Ed Jovanovski; a year closer to the closing of the productive window of opportunity for Weiss and Fleischmann. It was a surprise to see them in the playoffs last season and it should be the same sensation if they make it there again this year.
Jonathan Huberdeau is a nice promotion, but he can’t be counted on to be an offensive leader yet. Alex Kovalev is well past his prime and is just another piece on this Frankenstein’s monster of a hockey squad. There’s a long way to go yet, but the cynicism the Panthers have nurtured around the team for the past decade is back in blossom.