Dale Tallon and the new-look Florida Panthers
During the Florida Panthers’ introductory press conference last week newly-acquired forwardKris Versteeg was asked if he noticed any similarities between his time with Dale Tallon in Chicago and his current experience with the general manager now in Florida.
“It was pretty crazy. When I was 21, we were all in the room [in Chicago] and this team [was] in last place the year prior, and he makes a speech and tells us that were going to walk that Stanley Cup down Michigan Avenue,” said Versteeg. “This guy’s nuts.”
There is no questioning Tallon’s formula for success this time around as he has recently embarked upon a new challenge of elevating a perennial bottom feeder into a young, up-tempo team that makes noise in the playoffs year after year – something he successfully accomplished with the Blackhawks.
While this new club has a long way to go before being considered a legitimate contender, Tallon, and his right hand man, assistant general manager Mike Santos, added several interesting players through free agency to complement Florida’s already impressive young nucleus.
Led by third-overall pick Jonathan Huberdeau and last year’s top selection defenseman Erik Gudbranson, the Panthers have a plethora of teenagers looking to crack their lineup come fall.
Harvey Fialkov, a long time sports writer for the Florida Sun-Sentinel, has been pleasantly surprised by the general manger’s ability to attract, not just talent, but high profile free agents to South Florida.
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“Yes and no. Yes, [I was surprised] because of the amount of quality players he was able to lure to a non-hockey market with a franchise that has been a disaster for more than 10 years. No, because he has credibility, a proven track record, charisma and a salesman-like personality.”
Others, like Frank Rekas of Fansided‘s Florida Panthers blog The Rat Trick, are just happy that Tallon has been able to successfully take the next step in what has been a lengthy rebuilding process.
“He set this up from last season’s trade deadline to put himself and the Panthers in the position to be buyers. The salary dumping of players such as Bryan Allen, Bryan McCabe, and prior to that defenseman Keith Ballard, were all constructed with the idea of rebuilding this franchise and pointing it in a new direction,” said Rekas.
“Also, having to spend $24 million just to get to the salary cap floor also made it obvious that we would have to be active.”
Amongst the most notable signings is Scottie Upshall, a speedy top-six winger strong with and without the puck, and a force not afraid to mix it up in the corners.
The aforementioned Versteeg, Tomas Fleischmann and Sean Bergenheim are all valuable additions to the top-nine as well, while Tomas Kopecky, Marcel Goc and Matt Bradley look as though they’re primed to effectively anchor the penalty kill and provide physicality.
“Versteeg and Fleischmann are potential 30-goal guys if they could stay healthy,” said Fialkov. “They haven’t reached their prime yet but are proven 20-goal forwards. Most underrated could be Tomas Kopecky, who will fill a huge void on power play with those garbage rebound goals that every team gets against the Panthers.”
If that didn’t seem like enough, the Panthers went out and grabbed Brian Campbell in a trade with the Blackhawks. They also welcomed back Ed Jovanovski to provide veteran leadership for young Dmitry Kulikov and Keaton Ellerby.
Both Campbell and Jovanovski will bring much needed experience to a ripe Panthers defense, which, for the most part, is fairly unproven.
Jose Theodore, arguably past his prime but a respectable goaltender, will also be a useful addition to mentor the organization’s future No. 1 netminder, Jacob Markstrom.
“At 35 years old, he’s far from finished, and will be the perfect bridge to young goalie Jacob Markstrom who is the Panthers goalie of the future,” Rekas said.
According to Fialkov, Panthers assistant general manager Mike Santos played a large role in luring all of these free agents.
“Santos and Tallon complement each other like ketchup and fries”, he said. “Santos is the nuts and bolts guy, the salary cap guru but also has an excellent eye for young talent. He had the history with Upshall and Goc, so they’re his guys.”
One of the primary concerns heading into the 2011-12 season pertains to a potential issue of chemistry and whether a synergetic relationship will form between the roster holdovers from last season and players who were acquired over the summer.
Tallon acknowledged the concern in the introductory press conference, made available on the Panther’s official website, but felt that it wouldn’t be an issue with his team because they will play all their preseason games stateside, unlike last year when they travelled to Europe.
“We have a lot of time here in training camp”, Tallon said. “We’re not all over the world traveling to play games. Well be in Florida the whole time so that will give us an opportunity for this team to get together quickly.”
It’s safe to say Tallon has changed the culture in the organization and attitude amongst the players. Once the puck drops in September for preseason action, this team will be back to having fun, which should lead to success on and off the ice.
Fialkov, however, remains well aware of just how far the club has to go before it can be considered championship caliber.
“It’s tough to go from last in the Eastern Conference to hoisting the Cup, but this team has greatly enhanced their chances of going deep into the playoffs, not just making them,” he said.
Donny Rivette, the managing editor of Litter Box Cats, the Panthers blog in the SB Nationnetwork, summed up the Panthers overhaul quite nicely.
“We just witnessed the Florida Panthers’ second expansion draft. It’s a nice core with likable personalities who appear to want to play hard and have a good time doing it. Whether that results in a championship is yet to be seen, but it’s tough to bet against Tallon.”
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