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Game 3 @ Philadelphia Oct 8Game three of the season opening road trip, one more at Tampa Bay, then back to Sunrise for a couple games in the friendly confines... As agreed at the morning skate Coach Ramsey wanted to dress LW Jesse Winchester (6.5a/6.5a) in place of LW Sean Bergenheim (6.5a/6.5a)to see if the defense was any better from that position. Obviously unhappy Sean Bergenheim just shrugged and said he was a professional and just needed to work harder to gain our trust. Jesse Winchester was obviously delighted and had a noticeable jump in his stride at practice. The first period was a lot of middle ice play by both teams, until a quick line change called by Coach Ramsey caught the Flyers with only one defenseman back and RW Bobby Butler scored his first goal of the season. Only 38 seconds later another quick line change and a great clearing pass by D Eric Gudbranson led to a tic-tac-toe goal by Butler with his linemates again picking up the assists. That quieted the Wells Fargo Center and the normally boisterous crowd never got back in the game. The final score was 4 -0 and First Star G Tim Thomas turned away all 28 shots. LW Jonathan Huberdeau scored the Panthers first short handed tally this season late in the third period and the Panthers peppered Flyers starter G Steve Mason with 44 shots.

Oct 8th - Trade InterestFLA- I'm talking game planning against Philly tonight with the coaches over coffee in the hotel restaurant, when my cell phone rings and it's Jo (the shapely and attractive office assistant back in Sunrise), who after a few questions then tells me a man named MacTavish called and he just wants to talk. I quickly excuse myself and go back into my hotel room, knowing its Craig MacTavish and he is Edmonton's GM. Maybe my first trade offer? I have put feelers out and something is coming back a week later? Excellent!!! After greetings and salutations, Craig (he told me to call him that...) says he hears I'm unhappy with a few players on my team and he's is in a similar position. I ask who and he coyly replies "I called you to find out who you have available..." I see..." is my non-witty reply (wishing I didn't sound like a kid asking for his first date...) Finally I figure enough of this and just tell him that I was considering Captain Brian Campbell and Scottie Upshall, but I now am keeping Campbell as he has proved himself worthy of his contract. Craig replies asking if there is anybody else and I tell him everyone is available for the right price... The call concludes with him e-mailing his NHL list of players available to my phone and asking for the same from me. I return to the meeting and tell the coaches and immediately Coach Ramsay blurts "Hemsky!". After a few seconds both Coach McCabe and Coach Pauwelyn are agreeing we could/should pursue this opportunity to upgrade our offense. I assign Coach Pauwelyn and call scout Frank Mahavolich to look at Hemsky and report back ASAP. Since I figure MacTavish is going to try to take advantage of the new guy, I call the owner and tell him I want to make a trade offer of Upshall for Hemsky. Of course the first question is "how much more is Hemsky?" I didn't do that homework (BAD GM!!!) and I tell him its around a million point five, but I would have to check. (luckily I hit the number on the head, thank you lucky stars!) Surprising me the owner tells me as long as I don't CAP out the budget and call him before making the trade, he's ok with it just as long as I don't give up any draft picks... I agree and hang up. As I leave the room I send the e-mail to MacTavish asking if he will take Upshall for Hemsky straight up. There has been no reply and its just before game time

Oct 7th 2013SCORES NJD - 2 EDM - 4 The Oilers opened with 3 ES goals in the first period. RW Nail Yakupov scored his second goal of the game in the second period and LW Linus Omark had a goal and an assist as Edmonton proceeded to hold off the Devils despite giving up 2 third period goals and 31 shots overall. NYR - 0 LAK - 2 The Rangers traveled west to meet the Kings at Staples Center and entered the game undefeated. They left with a .500 record. Kings G Ben Scrivens backstopped the Kings, stopping all 23 shots and first period goals by RW Jeff Carter and RW Dustin Brown would be all the offense Los Angeles needed tonight. In Other News TOR - The Maple Leafs continue wheeling and dealing and this time their dance partner was the Ottawa Senators. Promising blueliner D Jake Gardinier (6.5b/7.5b) and C Tony Cameranesi (4.0e/6.0e) are headed to Ottawa in exchange for seasoned greybeard 36 y/o D Joe Corvo (6.5b/6.5b) and college prospect LW Jeff Costello (5.0e/6.0e). There are widely varying opinions blasting out of both towns sports radio stations. Gardinier,a former first round pick certainly has the pedigree to make this a steal of a deal. Both Corvo and Gardinier are in the last year of approximately $900K deals DAL - Reports this morning put 21 y/o D Patrick Nemeth (6.5d/7.5d) on the shelf up to a week after getting injured in practice. Nemeth has not seen game action yet for the Stars, so no roster moves are expected.

Panthers results week 1In the weekly call to the owner Coach Bonehead Moore stresses the positives of the dominating win over Dallas and the close late loss in St.Louis, Mr Viner however is neutral saying only the team is what it is - .a 500 winning percentage and he expects better results as the season progresses. The coaching staff also meets and there is nothing surprising, everyone reports progress and satisfaction with the team at this point. Stats and results posted below; Additional infoI am adding the additional Skater 2 & Skater 3 .jpg's if anyone enjoys the nuts n bolts of statistics.

Oct 6th, 2013SCORES PHI - 1 CAR - 2 G Cam Ward was stellar tonight with 45 saves, and LW Jiri Tlusty got the GWG in the third period to beat the Flyers. ANA - 4 WPG - 3 13 penalties were handed out and the Jets could only convert on one PP opportunity out of nine given them. Ducks RW Andrew Cogliano scored two goals, including the game winner in the second period. VAN - 4 CAL - 3 The Flames suffered their second loss of the young season, and LW Daniel Sedin and C Henrik Sedin both scored and were +3 on the night for the Canucks.

Oct 5th 2013SCORES DET -1 BOS - 3 LW Milan Lucic scored twice and G Tukka Rask stopped 35 shots in a sloppy, penalty filled game at TD Garden. CLB - 5 NYI - 2 D Fedor Tyutin had a goal and an assist and four other players all scored ES tallies as the visiting Blue Jackets bombarded the Isles with 51 shots in an easy victory. EDM - 4 VAN - 0 G Devan Dubnyk turned away all 32 shots and D Andrew Ference scored twice to even the Oilers record at 1 -1. OTT - 6 TOR - 5 After a relatively quiet first period with no goals, both teams exploded for seven goals in the second period, and four more in the third providing an exciting finish Leafs. C Jay McClement scored twice, before LW Milan Michalek's second tally with 1:44 left in the game gave him a four point night and broke the hearts of the over 19 thousand Leafs fans who cheered valiantly all night. BUF - 3 PIT - 1 Visiting Buffalo used two PP goals in a three goal first period to defeat the winless Penguins. Pens D Matt Niskanen may face additional discipline after a 5 minute illegal check to the head is reviewed. WAS - 1 DAL - 6 RW Valeri Nichushkin lit the lamp twice and Dallas added three PP goals as the Stars easily handled the Capitals in a penalty filled game. ARZ - 1 SJS - 2 C Andrew Desjardins had the GWG and the Sharks poured 41 shots on net but only escaped in a 2 - 1 victory at home. PHI - 3 MTL - 4 LW Alex Galchenyuk scored his second goal of the game with 1:10 remaining to lift the hometown Hab's to victory. G Steve Mason handled 36 of 40 Montreal shots in the close loss TBY - 2 CHI - 5 RW Patrick Kane scored twice and added an assist at home, as the Lightning stayed winless this season. ANA - 3 MIN - 2 For the second straight game it took the shootout to decide the winner at the Excel Energy Center. This time the Wild C Kyle Brodziak missed the shootout net and Ducks LW Matt Beleskey went five hole on G Josh Harding for the win. In Other News - MIN - RW Jason Pominville did not return from the locker room after the first period in the game and there is no report on any injury at this time. MIN - C Mikko Koivu was on the injury list after the game and upper body injury is the report with no timetable for return. MIN - As the few remaining beat writers in the press room were pounding away on their laptops finishing the storylines, an unidentified staffer poked his head in the door and whispered "you guys should get up to the GM's office". A few took him up on the offer and quickly discovered that something WAS happening. An hour later the news was revealed that the Wild had traded 35 y/o G Niklas Backstrom (7.0d/7.0d) to the Toronto Maple Leafs for 30 y/o C Jay McClement (6.5c/6.5c) and 19 y/o C Dominic Toninato (4.0e/6.0e). One beat writer scouring the internet noted McClement's two goal performance tonight and quipped "Talk about selling high!" The players should be with their respective teams sometime tomorrow after passing routine physicals.

Game Two @ St. Louis Oct 5Scottrade Center is where the 1 - 0 Panthers are set to take on the 1 - 0 Blues! A good game was expected by coach Bonehead Moore and didn't disappoint with the Panthers coming out flying against the Blues outshooting them 15 - 7, but once again going into the locker room down 1 - 0 after one period of play. The second period was much more equal and the Panthers knotted it up on a C Scott Gomez ES tally. Shots were 27 - 17 after two periods. The third period had the Panthers dancing on the ropes, as the Blues outshot them 14 - 5, but G Tim Thomas and the defense hung tough finally allowing the go ahead goal by RW Vladimir Tarasenko with only 3:28 left in the period. Shots ended up virtually even 32 - 31 for the Panthers. In a postgame interview Coach Moore was questioned about the ice time of D pair Gudbranson and Weaver who only played shy of 13 minutes each. Coach Moore replied "It was part of the gameplan, we held them in check for the most part and were rolling all four lines, those two are our strongest defenders and we wanted them fresh if we took a lot of penalties". The followup question was about the 0 -6 PP performance and he joked " Thats what tomorrow's practice will address" Summary and stats below

Oct 4 2013SCORES OTT - 4 BUF - 1 LW Milan Michalek scored twice and G Craig Anderson turned away 27 of 28 shots as the Senators easily disposed of the Sabres. CGY - 1 CLB - 5 RW Cam Atkinson scored twice and the Blue Jackets also tallied three PP markers as they swept aside the Flames. NYI - 4 NJD - 3 RW Kyle Okposo netted his second goal of the game with 1:33 left in the third lifting his Islanders to the season opening win in Newark. Devils C Adam Henrique also scored twice and his second goal tied the game early in the third period before Okposo closed the scoring out. LAK - 4 WPG -2 C Anze Kopitar scored once and had two helpers to lead the Kings, who shook off last nights tough loss in Minnesota by making the MTS Centre look like a shooting gallery, firing 41 shots and burying the puck 4 times behind G Ondrej Pavelec. DET - 2 CAR - 1 The Red Wings G Jimmy Howard ruined the Hurricanes home opener by turning away 37 of 38 shots in the win. Henrik Zetterberg paced the offense with a PP goal and PP assist. NSH - 2 COL - 5 Five different players all scored ES goals to pace the Av's to their second straight win. G Semyon Varlamov allowed 2 goals on 34 shots. Other News - MTL - RW Tomas Plekanec did not dress or practice today and the Montreal coach said he was experiencing some back soreness and had the day off. It's unknown if this is an injury or just a smokescreen, as the Montreal organization rarely releases injury information. TOR - C Tyler Bozak left practice early holding a towel to his neck after colliding and tumbling to the ice with fellow C Nikolai Kulemin. No report was forthcoming from the Leaf's front office about any possible injury. CHI - D Niklas Hjalmarsson was the subject of injury talk today and the Blackhawks front office didn't deny or confirm the the rumors, just Hjalmarsson will be out for an extended time. No questions of any roster moves were answered NJD - C Jacob Josefson was placed on IR today with the mysterious "Upper Body Injury" Devils exec's were tight lipped about the injury and no updated roster information was shared. * Late breaking news * The Dallas Stars and New Jersey Devils have just filed paperwork with the league office for a trade and reports are saying that 35 y/o C Shawn Horcoff (6.5a/6.5a) is headed to NJ for 23 y/o C Andrei Loktionov (6.5d/7.0d) Expert analysts are baffled as the Devils just lost backup C Josefson to injury, and Loktionov was considered to have a bright future in Newark...But time will tell just how this trade works out.

Oct 3 2013SCORES TAM -1 BOS - 3 RW Jarome Iginla netted the game winner early in the third and C Chris Kelly provided the insurance marker against the Bolts. NAS - 0 STL - 4 RW TJ Oshie got a short handed tally to start the Blues to a 4-0 drubbing of the visiting Predators. G Jaroslav Halak stopped 35 shots for his first SO of the 2013 season. NYR - 2 ARZ - 1 The visiting Rangers scored twice in the opening stanza, then G Henrik Lundqvist held off the Coyotes, only allowing a PP goal by RW Radim Vrbata in the third period for the first win of the season. NJD - 4 PIT - 2 A packed house at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh saw two goals by RW James Neal fall short of defeating the Devils. The Devils G Cory Schneider shut the door allowing only those two goals on 29 shots before leaving with an injury. LAK - 5 MIN - 6 A shootout finish provided a thrilling end to a "Wild" 65 minutes of action. Kings C Mike Richards scored two PP goals in this seasons first hat trick performance, but it was not enough as the Wild stormed back in the third period from a four goal deficit. Two late goals from RW Nino Niederreiter were just enough to send it into overtime. No scoring in OT led to the shootout where RW Charlie Coyle's score was the shootout winner after D Drew Doughty missed his shot. VAN - 9 SJS - 6 Another high scoring Western Conference affair ended with two more hat tricks scored, One by Canuck's RW David Booth and the other by Sharks LW Patrick Marleau. LW Henrik Sedin also tallied two goals in the win. Sharks G Antti Niemi surrendered all nine goals, and should probably file suit for lack of support by his teammates. C Joe Thornton, LW Joe Pavelski, and RW Brent Burns were all -4 plus minus, and Pavelski left the game late with an undisclosed injury. CAL - 4 WAS - 2 Calgary Flames peppered Capitals G Braden Holtby with 36 shots, while scoring four times to pace the win. Other news NJD - unconfirmed reports out of the locker room say G Cory Schneider has an upper body injury and its significant. No timetable set for the injury as of now. SJS - LW Joe Pavelski is out indefinitely with a upper body injury, also no timetable on his return. PHI - Team officials held a press conference where they announced that C Claude Giroux has a strained rib cage muscle and would be out approximately 4 weeks. Roster moves are forthcoming per the announcement.

Game One @ Dallas Stars Oct 3rd 16,796 came to American Airlines Center to see the season opener between the visiting Florida Panthers and the hometown Dallas Stars. The opening period had the Panthers outshooting the Stars 13-7 but trailing on the ES goal by RW Alex Chiasson. The second period was totally reversed but bountiful for the Panthers.The Stars had 18 shots and one goal while the Panthers could only manage 10 shots, while making the most of it by scoring four times! The shell-shocked Stars and streaking Panthers traded nine shots in the third period and one goal each, making Bonehead Moore's coaching debut a successful one. Summary and stats are below.

2013 Tactics I KNEW I was forgetting something! Here's how I plan to play with this team - and its time to put it to the test!

Oct 2 2013SCORES TOR - 4 PHI - 1 Perhaps stinging from yesterday's loss at Montreal, the Leafs came out flying peppering the Philly goal with 40 shots. After falling behind early on RW Jakub Voracek's goal, the leafs used a goal from Phil Kessel to even it up in the first. Jake Gardiner's tally in the second, Tyler Bozak and David Clarkson scoring in the third was the rest of the story for the 1 - 1 Maple Leafs. BUF -1 DET - 0 In an early season surprise to many, Buffalo weathered 33 shots on goal at Joe Louis arena, newcomer Jaromir Jagr notched his first goal of the season for Buffalo and G Jonas Enroth gets his first SO of the season. ANA - 1 COL - 2 The Western Conference opened play at Denver's Pepsi Center, where LW Gabriel Landeskog scored the difference maker midway through the third period to lift the Avalanche to their first victory Around the NHL - Carolina Hurricanes have announced that D Ron Hainsey has an upper body injury - no specifics are available and he finished the last practice without difficulty according to team beat writers.

Oct 1st - Opening DayScores TOR -1 MTL -5 Max Pacioretty tallies twice at home as the Habs easily dispose of the hated rival Leafs. WSH - 3 CHI - 5 Marian Hossa also scores twice at home, as the Caps nearly come back in the third before Hawks C Michal Handzus restores the two goal cushion with just over 5 mins remaining. EDM - 2 WPG - 6 Newcomer Kyle Chipchura scored as the Jets scored 2 PP goals and used a 4 goal third period to blow open a close game. NYI D Kyle Burroughs will likely miss three weeks after suffering a lower body injury. Onlookers reported it seemed his ankle twisted and he quickly went down and slowly made his way to the bench then locker room. BOS D Dougie Hamilton left practice early with what appeared to be an upper body injury, Team officials are not saying, but insiders privately say its broken ribs and he will be put on IR. Expect a roster move soon if rumors are true.

Opening Day LineupAnd here are your 2013 Opening Day FLORIDA PANNTTHHEERRSSS!!!!! I will post the screenshot showing the defense too. Opening day roster - defensehere it is... and we are moving on to Oct 1st for the first games...

Sept. Development ReportThis is a cut and paste job - my apologies for failing art school... On one hand its nice to see a lot of players improving vs. declining, on the other hand there isn't anybody with any big jumps. Coaches your on notice!

2013 NHL Preview And the pundits say...

Scouting wiped out? I was getting curious why there have been no scouting reports - and when I looked all the jobs assigned were gone. An entire scouting office sitting with its thumb up it's caboose! We CANNOT have that! I re-assigned the scouts and will keep a close eye on the slackers from now on!

Week six 9/23 - 9/30Locally - No news and the rumbling quickly died down. Only a few die hard fans have shown up to the two a day practices. I'm working the bottom feeders hard and I explained to the team that I expect the veterans to get themselves ready for the seasons start. Captain Brian Campbell really stepped up and took the leadership reigns on this team and even has the veterans showing up for extra practice time. Marcel Goc is providing good leadership to the young players and acting like another assistant coach on the ice during practice. Only Scottie Upshall has been a poor showing and not a team player this week, perhaps due to the trade rumors of last week. He denies any problems and quickly deflects the conversation to other things. Around the NHL - TOR - Colton Orr is out for 3 weeks after developing shoulder soreness. NYI - Matt Moulson had to be helped off the ice after apparently suffering a ankle sprain. He is estimated to be out three to four weeks. WIN - Paul Postma made news for all the wrong reasons this week, he had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher after hitting the boards during skating drills. He is believed to suffered a back injury and trainers think he will be out for three weeks. ARZ has made trade news, this time swapping with EDM. The Oilers are sending 24 y/o RW Antti Tyrvainen (6.0e/6.5e) to the Coyotes for 31 y/o RD Rostislav Klesla (6.0d/6.0d) Analysts are calling this an even swap, only providing CAP relief to ARZ as Klesla was carrying a S2.975M salary anchor around his neck.

Week Five 9/16 - 9-23Locally - Some rumblings in the Sunrise FL. newspapers from "leaks" reporting that fan favorites are possibly packing their bags for out of town. There are a few threatening phone calls fielded from players agents warning its not a good idea to start off my career angering the locals. I assure everyone that the rumors are exactly that, but if an offer comes in I will listen to everything offered since I WAS brought in to improve the team. The owner approves my tactics in his weekly phone call. I momentarily wonder why the owner isn't coming to oversee his teams training camp, but figure he's letting me run the team to see how I do. This week in the NHL - Winnipeg continues its wheeling and dealing this time with the Arizona Coyotes. The Jets have dealt 30 y/o RW Chris Thorburn (6.5c/6.5c) a well known tough guy, and 25 y/o LW Nicholas Tremblay (4.5e/5.5e) and in exchange will receive 27 y/o C Kyle Chipchura (6.5d/6.5d) EDM LW Taylor Hall will miss two weeks with a shoulder strain. MIN D Jonas Brodin will miss a week with a neck laceration. New Jersey and Buffalo have joined the trading ranks with the Sabres sending top prospect 19 y/o D Jake McCabe (5.5e/8.0e) to New Jersey for venerable scoring threat 41 y/o RW Jaromir Jagr (8.0b/8.0b) There is some surprise expressed over Buffalo giving up a top prospect for Jagr since they are not expected to contend this season. New Jersey fans seemed generally pleased with the deal, although some discontent was heard.

Trade Bait - dangledAfter some thought generated by itsmb8 about what I'm going to do with the Panthers. I figure I will offer the following players to the Trade List. (G)Scott Clemmensen (D)Brian Campbell © (RW)Tomas Kopecky (RW) Scottie Upshall We will see what offers get generated and how they stack up to my wish list.

Quote: Originally Posted by itsmb8 One basic question comes to mind, which is, how do you plan on rebuilding them? Draft? Free Agency right away? Excellent question! I'm struggling to do this dynasty the right way and not rip off the AI, as it's become so easy to do. (read just about any dynasty posts or read any of the chronic complainers...) The real challenge is to do it as realistically as possible, while not getting fired! What I consider the most likely scenario is I will play a defensive minded game with the Panthers this year. My goals are; 1) Searching for a goalie in their middle 20's, a 7.0-7.5 talent range to replace Clemmensen now and challenge for the starting job vs. Markstrom next year. 2) Adding a couple of good defensemen, again in the 7.0-7.5 range that I can sign to 3-5 year deals to stabilize the blueline 3) Unload my overpriced RW's even if its for prospects, because I can sign 6.5 talent for a LOT less than $3M or more per year. Above all win enough games to not get fired - this owner thinks his club is in the playoff race!

Training Camp - Right WingsScottie Upshall (6.5a/6.5a) A 29 y/o player who is accomplished at all three forward positions RW(20)/LW(19)/C(17). Scottie shows very good puckhandling and hockey sense, and is a good skater and faceoff man. Coaches have been telling Scottie to improve his shooting and playmaking, but to no avail... The 2002 sixth overall pick for Nashville has two years remaining on a $3.5M per year contract. My opinion is Scottie is too highly paid for just a 6.5 rating - trade bait! Tomas Kopecky (6.5a/6.5a) The 31 y/o RW(20)/LW(19)/C(15) is coming off a 47 game season where his stat line was 15/12/27 -8. Kopecky's not particularly very good at anything but faceoffs (16), he is good at puckhandling and above average in defending, skating and playmaking. His contract is for two years $3.0M this year and declining to $2.85M next year. Also trade bait! Brad Boyes (6.5a/6.5a) This 31 y/o is a former St.Louis sniper who has both a +40 and a +30 goal season in his resume but not since the 08/09 season. Can I restore him to his former glory? Or is he a washed up has-been?. Brad's skating and conditioning is very good. He is capable of playing all three positions RW(20)/LW(19)/C(15) and is above average in playmaking, defending and faceoffs. Brad is in a one year $1.0M deal. I think he can do it again. Bobby Butler (6.0a/6.5a) A 26 y/o RW(20)/LW(19) Bobby is a good puckhandler and skater who shows good hockey smarts. He is not very physical and only an average playmaker and defender. Definitely 3rd line material. Bobby is here on a two year split contract $600K/$125K Krys Barch (6.0a/6.0a) A 33 y/o back for his second tour with the Panthers, Krys only has one NHL trait apparent from his skills - enforcer. Not happy that his conditioning is poor, and no other redeeming qualities make him expendable. He is on a one year $750K deal. Logan Shaw (5.5a/6.5a) A 20 y/o RW(20)/LW(14) Logan is merely average in most areas and slightly above average in defending and puckhandling. This 2011 2rd round pick by the Panthers is on a three year split contract $665K/$67.5K this year, $665K/$70K, next year and $692.5K/$70K for the third year. Shaw may end up making a contribution somewhere down the road, but I'm definitely not impressed with what I see so far. Luciani and Hazen are fodder at this point. RW is in serious need of an upgrade by trade, free agent, or waiver wire!

Training Camp - CentersMarcel Goc (7.0a/7.5a) a 30 y/o high class hockey man. Really good at faceoffs, Good at skating and defense, Marcel's biggest weakness is his shooting and playmaking which make him a natural defender. Goc is a bargain at $1.7M but is in his last year and likely won't come cheap again. Nick Bjugstad (6.5a/8.0a) A 21 y/o budding superstar. Nick shows amazing hockey sense for someone so young, and his skill at the draw is marvelous. Bjugstad's skating and playmaking are good and his puckhandling is coming along nicely, Nick is normal is most other areas but shows great promise. Best of all, he is under a two way contract for three more years at $900K/$67.5K. Shawn Mattias (6.5a/6.5a) A burly 6'3" 25 y/o Shawn plays all three forward positions well C(20)/LW(19)/RW(18). Defense, faceoffs and puckhandling are all good traits and Shawns skating and hockey sense are above average. Shawn was originally a 2006 2nd round Detroit draft pick and was acquired that year by Florida. Shawn has two more years on his contract at $1.75M each Aleksander Barkov (6.0a/8.0a) The second overall pick in this years draft, 18 y/o Barkov shows great hockey sense as well as faceoff skills, His puckhandling, playmaking, and skating skills are good by NHL standards and as can be expected his physicality and defending skills would be put to the test and improvement is expected in those areas. He is under a three year split contract $925K/$70K so some seasoning may be in order for this first year player. Drew Shore (6.0a/7.0a) A 22 y/o C(20)/RW(16) is a good skater and faceoff man. The 2009 2nd round pick is considered a good puckhandler and has good hockey sense. Playmaking and shooting are areas he needs to work on, but he is average at least. Drew is still locked up for two years on a split contract $900K/$67.5K Scott Gomez (6.0a/6.0a) This 33 y/o wily veteran is excellent at playmaking and puckhandling and very good at faceoffs and hockey sense. These attributes help hide his deficiencies like his poor conditioning and average skating. Gomez can still play but his lack of conditioning makes him a worrisome first or second liner durability wise. Scott is here on a one year $900K contract. Vincent Trocheck (5.5a/7.5a) is the dark horse here and should probably be rated higher. Rallo, Matsumoto and McFarland are nothing special.

Training camp Left WingsJonathan Huberdeau (7.0a/8.5a) A 20 y/o youngster whose multi position talents LW(20)/C(17)/RW(19) are complemented by superior puckhandling and skating skills. His other skills are good and as the scouts say "a clear cut first line forward". Under contract for two more years at absurd prices - under $900K. one of the upcoming franchise forwards to sign at nearly any cost. Tomas Fleischmann (7.5a/7.5a) A highly intelligent 29 y/o whose skating and puckhandling skills are great, but so far has not turned into regular production for the Panthers. Can play any position LW(20)/C(14)/RW(16) but is most comfortable at LW. Two contract years left at a decent $4.5M per. Kris Versteeg (7.5a/7.5a) A 27 y/o offensive minded player who has good playmaking, puckhandling and skating skills. He only played in ten games last year after posting 23/31/54 in 71 games the year before. Has three years left on his contract paying him $4.6M/$4.7M/$4.7M. I view him as possible trade bait. Sean Bergenheim (6.5a/6.5a) A 29 y/o defensive specialist who playsLW(20)/RW(17)has good skating and above average puckhandling skills. He played 62 games last year, posting a 17/6/23 stat sheet and a -5 plus minus. Sean is under contract for three more years at $2.75M Quinton Howden (6.0a/7.5a) Howden is knocking on the NHL's door this year after only playing 18 games for the Panthers last year. A good puckhandler, Quinton needs to improve his other offensive skills, An average skater and defender and conditioning is in line with his age. His contract is a split one for the next two years, but inexplicably goes down from $900K/$67.5K this year to $810K/$67.5K the second year. Is this some kind of warning? Jesse Winchester (6.5a/6.5a) A 29 y/o coming over from the Ottawa Senators, where he played 32 games and posted a pedestrian 2/6/8 +2 stat line. besides liking the Winchester name, Jesse brings versatility to the lineup playing all three positions well LW(20)/C(19)/RW(18). Jesse is a remarkable draw in the circles and a good puckhandler, but average across the board otherwise. Jesse is here on a one year split deal of $600K/$125K. Joey Crabb, makes an interesting dark horse as a LW(20)/RW(19). The others are simply AHL or ECHL fodder.

Training Camp - ForwardsHere is where I feel the need to explain my "system" for this to make any sense at all. My forwards are a split group the top six are generally offensive minded, and the bottom six are generally defensive minded. Is it that easy? N E V E R!!! Theoretically my system is based off the 8 shots allowed per period. if my goalie stops 90% of those 24 shots, then 2.2 GAA is the supposed result and if I can score three goals per game, I should win 66% of the time per the law of averages. Now my history with the game says this system does work,only just the small problem of staff and players buying into the system... To counteract the high flying offensive teams my D must have some skating ability as well as good checking skills. My forwards will play a more defensive game against these teams and we hope to get a one or two goal cushion and hang on for the end! Against grinding teams I tend to equalize my ice time to all four lines and wear them out skating. The middle of the pack teams I just hope to win more than I lose. Anyway after posting the four forward screens I will break down by position of the top six at each position and my thoughts.