Every Thursday, TSS will be discussing 5 different topics that are currently on our mind regarding the state of the Florida Panthers.
1. Season Tickets
As of yesterday, I am officially a Florida Panthers Season Seat Owner. My family, who collectively have missed less than 10 home games, were able to afford the remainder of this season as well as tickets for next season on a fair payment plan. There are, of course, some nice perks – parking passes, 20% off at Pantherland, 15% off concessions, and private events like the holiday skate at the BB&T Center. Personally, I think the Panthers organization has done a lot of work to make season tickets worth it, namely by cutting back on heavily discounted tickets and open, public events like signings, to make SSOs feel more like the VIPs. I imagine any long-term SSO has looked back on past seasons and seen the positive changes made this year.
2. Dan Ellis and the Ripple Effect
You have to be impressed with what Dan Ellis has done in Luongo’s absence. Although his numbers (.900 sv%) aren’t anything to write home about, he’s helped Florida stay in the playoff race going 2-0-1 and picking up 5 out of a possible 6 points. The additional benefit of Ellis being called up is that it has allowed Michael Houser to take over for the San Antonio Rampage. Since Ellis’ departure, Houser is 3-0-1 with a .942 sv% for the Rampage which is absolutely stellar. As long as Ellis stays up, this gives the Panthers organization the ability to take a long look at Houser and see where he is at in his development. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Houser eventually become the 1G for the San Antonio Rampage.
3. Kulikov’s Big Game
In his meeting against the Stars, who were not quite quiet about looking for revenge for the Seguin hit, Dmitry Kulikov had a great game. The first period finished off with his 4th career fight. On his way out of the penalty box in the second, he scored the game-tying goal on a breakaway with an assist from Jokinen. He went on to assist on Huberdeau’s goal, pulling the Cats up by one. He finished up the game with a TOI of 20:36, a +1 rating, a Gordie Howe hat trick, and the 1st Star of the game.
4. Playoff Push
With 16 games left, the Panthers are in the midst of the playoff push. It won’t be easy on them – coming up back-to-back they’ll be facing off with the Canadiens, Red Wings, Bruins and Lightning, all of whom can easily be the Panthers kryptonite to their playoff chances. Now, sitting at 72 points, the Cats will need several big wins if they want to knock the Bruins and their 78 points out of the race. Having Mitchell and, hopefully, Luongo, healthy and back on the roster, I believe we could definitely be a sleeper agent in the playoff race.
5. Contract Negotiations
With Nick Bjugstad’s six-year, $24.6 million extension, the Panthers managed to secure a core part of their franchise at a very appealing cap hit. This summer, FLA will have to work some magic again as Jimmy Hayes and Jonathan Huberdeau are both restricted free agents. Fortunately, the Bjugstad contract sets a precedent for these contracts so FLA will have the upper hand when it comes to negotiations. With Huberdeau, it’ll be interesting to see what route the team takes. Do you offer him a bridge contract and save some short-term money? Or do you give him the big, multi-year extension similar to Bjugstad? Currently, Huberdeau’s production is similar to Bjugstad’s but there are some interesting facets. Huberdeau is a year younger than Bjugstad and also has the pedigree of winning the Calder Trophy but his second season left a lot to be desired. Combine that with his hip injury and you could see the negotiations becoming very tricky. When it comes to Hayes, he’s a bit older than both players and this season could possible be an outlier. You almost hope he finishes the season with 19 Goals because “20 Goal Scorer” will definitely inflate the price of any player in contract negotiations.
Devon can be reached for contact on Twitter.
