Fantasy hockey preview: Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers continued to struggle last season, finishing near the bottom of the Eastern Conference once again. However, the Panthers have started to make moves in the right direction.
The club acquired former Chicago Blackhawks general manager Dale Talon, who continued to move Florida towards development through prospects and the draft. Although the Panthers are not expected to make the play-offs again in 2010-11 they are certainly improving.
In fantasy leagues, the Panthers do not provide you with a great deal of top-end talent. However, like so many young teams, there is a great deal of break out potential in Florida’s line-up.
Forward
Up front the Panthers are very young and look to have a plethora of youngsters prepared to break out once the puck is dropped in October.
Although the club lacks the talent to have any forwards taken in the top three rounds, they do fill a void in the middle rounds. Centre Stephen Weiss is your best bet when drafting a Panther. Weiss managed 28 goals and 60 points last season, while notching
12 power play goals (PP).
After Weiss, the Panthers have several youngsters who could be ready to contribute next year. At the top of the list is Michael Frolik. Frolik tallied 21 goals and 43 points last season. However, with the departure of Nathan Horton he is expected to see more
ice time and with plenty of potential could be a solid late pick. Rostislav Olesz is another youngster that could be ready to have a strong season in 2010-11. Olesz recorded 14 goals and 29 points last season, but is expected to see more time on special teams
next year.
Defence
At the back end, the Panthers are extremely slim. The club parted ways with Keith Ballard and Dennis Seidenberg, and in doing so lost two of their top three point-getters on defence.
The Panthers' offence at the blue line is still led by Bryan McCabe, who will be back again next season after notching 43 points and 83 penalty minutes (PIMs) in 2009-10. McCabe is a great pick in points pools, but is not suited to rotisserie pools as he struggles
with plus-minus.
If you are willing to take a big risk late in the draft, youngster Dmitry Kulikov should be on your radar. At only 19 years old Kulikov has a tremendous amount of potential and is expected to play with McCabe again this season. The native of Russia is at least
worth keeping an eye on.
Goaltending
The Panthers are supported by all-star net-minder Tomas Vokoun. Vokoun may not post impressive win totals, but he does have tremendous stats for a Panthers tender. Last season the veteran managed a 2.55 goals-against-average and a .925 save-percentage. Vokoun
tends to slip in drafts because he has trouble managing over 25 wins with a poor Florida side.
However, this is the final year of his contract and unless the veteran is not keen on winning a Stanley Cup before he retires, it is likely he will be traded at the trade deadline or earlier. If Vokoun was to be moved to a contender at some point in the
season, he would have to be considered among the elite net-minders in fantasy hockey. Nevertheless, as it stands right now Vokoun is a solid number two goalie.
Backing up Vokoun will be journeyman Scott Clemmensen. Clemmensen is a competent back up, but will not see a great deal more than 20 games next year. Moreover, with only nine wins last year the former New Jersey Devil is worth leaving in the waiver.
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