One of my favorite parts in Pumping Iron is when the guy says to Arnold that Lou Ferrigno looks like a legitimate threat to challenge Arnold at the upcoming Mr. Olympia, and suggests that the king of the hill can only go down. To which Arnold calmly argues that the king can also stay up on the hill.
The guy then uses the analogy of the wolf climbing the hill is always hungrier than the wolf on top of the hill, and Arnold responds in the coolest way possible when he says:
“That’s true. He’s not as hungry. But when he wants the food, it’s there.”
Conversation over.
The Panthers have been climbing the hill of this shortened season and now sit in second place, right behind the Lightning, in both the Central Division and league as a whole (!)
It’s a tight race at the top, with the first four teams (TBL,FLA,WSH,NYI) all being tied with 42 points, and CAR nipping at the heels with 41.
It’s interesting to see that three of those five teams come from the Central Division.
Yeah, but, like...is Florida for real?
I think it’s only natural at this point of being a Panthers fan that you’re cynical - err, maybe “skeptical” is the better word (maybe both?) - to any kind of success, because that success has always been so fleeting.
But I think you can look at these guys as the real deal, and you see it every night in their attitude. I know that’s generic sports talk, but it’s real. This is a much more aggressive and fired up team than we’ve seen. I see guys sticking up for each other every night, and they constantly battle back. How about their post-game pressers? These guys are zoned in and laser-focused. Something different in the air in South Florida these days...
For the first time in a long time, I think Florida has one of their best, and most balanced lineups. The obvious would be to look at the year staples like Barky, Huby and Ekblad, etc., are having.
The less obvious is looking at the players that were brought in and the young guys getting a chance. These players help fill gaps the roster had and help make it a more well-rounded and difficult one to play against. Less obvious than even that is the fact that all these guys have bought into Q’s system. Throw into that mix the fact that Bob looks to be finding his game, and this can become a dangerous team.
How dangerous?
There’s an awesome article on
Litter Box Cats that discusses how far away the Cats are from Stanley Cup contention.
As the piece states:
“One way to make this key measurement is to examine Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic’s Stanley Cup checklist. He created this list after examining the past ten Stanley Cup Champions. While the checklist is certainly not perfect, it can be a very informative and evaluative tool.
An average Stanley Cup-winning team has been able to check off 7 out of 10 on the checklist, so we can use that as the mark. I decided it would be a fun exercise to do for the Panthers, especially after the roster turnover this offseason.”
The article breaks down each of the criteria of Luszcyszyn’s checklist in relation to the Panthers roster and then gives them a grade of meeting six of the ten items to be in cup contention.
The only thing I really disagreed with the article about was (5) Top-Line Center, where it reads:
“
Florida Panther: None
After Barkov, the Panthers are thin down the middle. It was a huge mistake to move Vincent Trocheck who is a strong top-six center. The Panthers could really use him right now and it would ultimately make them an immediate, dangerous contender. Regardless, I still think the Panthers are contenders, but a player of Trocheck’s caliber would have provided a huge boost offensively.
This blurb benefits from hindsight in the sense that it looks at how well Torcheck has played this season for Carolina, but kind of discounts where Trocheck was at the end of his time with the Panthers. At the time of his trade, Trocheck wasn’t doing much for the Panthers. Injuries took their toll and it often looked like he had lost his fire. The trade made sense for both sides. It allowed Florida to move Trocheck’s contract, while simultaneously giving him a fresh start - one that he has run with.
So, yes, it would be great to have him on the team for production/depth down the middle, playing the way he is now, but the reality is that he was not playing that way for a long stretch at the end of his Florida tenure.
I had one more point about one of the items, but I’ll let you guys read the article so I don’t spoil too much.
If you read it, what did you agree or disagree on?
___________________________
The fellas have an opportunity tonight to keep up the momentum going, and get closer to that #1 spot, as they take on the 12-16-1 Nashville Predators - who are currently second to last in the Central.
Let’s have some catfish for dinner tonight!
Go Panthers!
Florida Panthers Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»