Matt Ross: Living in the Past: 2014-2016

The Panthers first year under Gallant was fun to watch. They played together and were making strides towards becoming a good team. You could see the potential for what could be. When Jagr was added at the TDL it was magical, it was like adding rocket fuel to a smoldering fire. That was a memorable late season push to make the playoffs, even though they fell just short, it was amazing to watch. Tallon bringing Jagr in was probably the best move he made as GM, he really helped accelerate the development of Barkov and Huberdeau into the players they are today.

The Panthers first year under Gallant was fun to watch. They played together and were making strides towards becoming a good team. You could see the potential for what could be. When Jagr was added at the TDL it was magical, it was like adding rocket fuel to a smoldering fire. That was a memorable late season push to make the playoffs, even though they fell just short, it was amazing to watch. Tallon bringing Jagr in was probably the best move he made as GM, he really helped accelerate the development of Barkov and Huberdeau into the players they are today.
- Ratsreign

Great points, particularly the one about Jagr helping to excel the development of Barky and Huby. I had never thought about that.

Hey, that’s certainly one of the ideas of bringing Thornton in. The young guys should soak up a lot of knowledge from him.

Can’t wait for this season to get started.

Shortest offseason ever and still taking too long

I was wondering where this ear worm came from earlier today, lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmPwYhHX_jY

I kinda remembered to watch the rookie game today. Although not til halfway through period 2. Score 6 to 4 Panthers and i only seen 1 goal....

I kinda remembered to watch the rookie game today. Although not til halfway through period 2. Score 6 to 4 Panthers and i only seen 1 goal....
- Shynes57

Anybody stand out today from what you did see of the game?

Anybody stand out today from what you did see of the game?
- Ratsreign

I was out of town and not able to watch the games. I had the same question.

How was the watch/entertainment value overall, Shynes?

It was no NHL thats for sure and of course no instant replay so the goals were kind of guessing game as to where and how it went in. Couple of hits couple of penalties. 1 cat penalty was taken during the only powerplay that i saw so that was short lived. This Sourdif character seems alright but very confusing to hear. It was always "backhander Sourdif" and im all dumb thinking how do you sort of backhand???
Denisenko was decent. Noel is a nice big body seemed to do some damage.

It was no NHL thats for sure and of course no instant replay so the goals were kind of guessing game as to where and how it went in. Couple of hits couple of penalties. 1 cat penalty was taken during the only powerplay that i saw so that was short lived. This Sourdif character seems alright but very confusing to hear. It was always "backhander Sourdif" and im all dumb thinking how do you sort of backhand???
Denisenko was decent. Noel is a nice big body seemed to do some damage.
- Shynes57

Thanks for the insight, Shynes. How did Lundell look? Was he in?

Also…

AZ announced today they have made the Kachina their primary logo as they rebrand. Hoping their front office can talk to Florida’s about the leaping cat…hey, a guy can dream!

Yes he played. Top line c with denisenko and hutsko. I seen him get the puck enough with some shots but he failed to pick any corners or anything out of this world. 1 real nice faceoff win but lost more than i seen him win. Again i really only saw half the game and only 35 seconds of PP time.

Training camp starts Thursday

I felt better about that team under Gallant than this one. That team was built from the ground up and on the rise with a core not mature yet. And a distinct defensive style of play (that's the biggest difference between the current team and Gallant's tenure).
This team to me is more like NHL 21 played in real life. It may appeal to today's fan in that way, but the tangible results might not be as good as a lot of people are assuming. Hope I'm wrong.