Things have slowed way down in the league in terms of news of signings, etc., only coming in here and there. The big announcement yesterday was the postponement of the 2021 Winter Classic and 2021 All-Star game - which Florida would have hosted.
NBC Sports said,“The league said both events could return to the respective cities “in the near future.” Minnesota could host the Winter Classic for New Year’s Day 2022, if possible. But a 2022 All-Star Game would be unlikely. Participation in the 2022 Beijing Olympics would mean no midseason classic until at least 2023.”
I think the league is trimming the fat with the uncertainty that COVID presents and focusing on a plan for the regular season (the most important thing). I remember Bettman saying during the draft that the league is looking to start on 1-1-21, which would make sense to do without the WC this year since there’s no way all those fans would be allowed in. Just my thought.
Back to the Cats...
Zito made some serious waves earlier in the week when he landed Scott Wilson on a one-year, two-way contract...just joking. Wilson played six games with the Sabres in 2019-20, where he produced one goal and an assist.
He has a total of 193 NHL games (PIT, DET, BUF) and 51 points (20G, 31A) and 23 postseason games. He also has 144 games in the AHL with 106 points (55G, 51A).
Seems like a depth signing that will have Wilson serving the majority of his tenure in Charolette - with chances to come up when needed or rewarded.
If Zito is done - or close to it - it’s probably safe to say the last blog was accurate to what we think his plan is: no big splashes, but, rather, get cost-effective guys that round out the lineup (or have the potential to round out the lineup). In my opinion, the Panthers have been an organization with a “run-and-gun” mentality. No real gameplan or vision. Just sign guys and see what happens - throw it at the wall and see what sticks. Zito seems to be looking to develop a DNA and actual plan for the organization. Let’s not just throw a bunch of money around, but, instead, let’s build a base and bring in guys that actually fill needs we have.
Despite what a lot of folks say, I think this is an improved team from the recent years of complacency. Couple guys on “prove it” deals, couple tougher guys, some eager rookies mixed in, and this could be a very hungry team.
Ryan Lomberg is ready to "run through a wall" for Bill Zito. 💪
But enough about that for this week, let’s have some fun...
Poking around the endless void of YouTube, I came across a Panthers promo from 2006’ish. Some of you may remember it (wish it wasn’t so blurry).
This bad boy has everything: a terrible cover of Genesis’ “In the Air Tonight,” a funny setting, awful fashion, brutal acting, and Todd Bertuzzi playing the piano for some reason...
This is one of those things that’s so bad, it’s good. The level of cheese in it is unreal - I absolutely love it. Martin Gelinas having a great time, then going stone face when he gets the nod from Jokinen is hilarious. You think these guys watched this and were like, “Oh yeah, this is sick!” Or they knew it was ridiculous?
At the end of the day, if you’re not rounding up the boys at the bar for your men’s league game like this, you’re doing something wrong.
Would love to see the current Panthers do something similar, or a parody of this. Have some fun and get silly with it. Anything that gets some laughs and people writing in the comments (like this video’s), “WTF did I just watch?” is OK with me.
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It seems like that rumor of Matt Dumba linked to Florida wants to keep floating around. We’ll see what happens...
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