For a guy who has three 20-goal seasons on his resume, it’s hard to believe that Florida Panthers forward Kris Versteeg has been traded four times through the first four years of his NHL career, including three times in a span of just over a year.
For some people, that would already fit the definition of a journeyman. But Versteeg is tired of unpacking his bags, and he’s hoping that he can call Sunrise, Florida his home for many years to come.
Dale Tallon has done it again.
The Florida Panthers GM, who was arguably the busiest general manager during this past offseason, has made another savvy pickup by signing veteran center John Madden to a one-year contract.
Rumors of the signing surfaced last week, but Wednesday brought confirmation that Madden would in fact be taking part in NHL action for the first time this season. The 38-year-old power forward will be entering his 12th NHL season. Madden has played in 867 games split between his time with New Jersey, Chicago and Minnesota. Madden not only brings a strong veteran presence to a young Panthers team, his three Stanley Cups (two with the Devils and one with the Blackhawks) prove that he has plenty of playoff experience, something the Panthers are hoping will come in handy at the conclusion of the regular season.
With the first quarter of the 2011-12 NHL season now in the books, there have been plenty of surprises. However, there are a fair share of players who have had great starts to the season that have yet to be recognized for their contributions to their respective teams.
Here are the five most underrated players of the season thus far.
In the post-lockout NHL, having a solid netminder is a must. However, especially in recent years, backup goaltenders are becoming just as valuable of a commodity. Wins are hard to come by in this league, and if a team’s No. 1 guy in the crease goes down with an injury or just needs a break, it’s important that teams have a dependable backup to fill the void.
Here is a list of five backup goalies who have not only proved their worth thus far, but in some instances, have actually taken over the starting role.
Jacob Markstrom, Florida Panthers
If there was one theme in the month of October in the NHL, it was to expect the unexpected.
With that in mind, as hard as it may be to believe, the current NHL standings are in fact correct.
So, where to begin?
How about over in the Northeast Division, where the last team you would expect to be at the top would be the Toronto Maple Leafs (7-3-1). However, the only thing that might be more surprising within that division is that the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins are dead last (4-7-0)—not only in the division, but in the entire Eastern Conference.
It’s hard to believe, but the Winnipeg Jets and Philadelphia Flyers combined for more goals (17) in their game Thursday night than the the Seattle Seahawks and Cleveland Browns were able to combine for points (9) during their matchup last Sunday.
In a game that had to be an absolute nightmare for Winnipeg head coach Claude Noel and Philadelphia head coach Peter Laviolette, the Jets twice surrendered four-goal leads in the final two periods, but Andrew Ladd’s goal with 1:06 in regulation gave them a 9-8 victory in the highest-scoring NHL game in 15 years.
Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon just can’t manage to sit still.
Coming off of the busiest offseason in franchise history, one that saw them acquire 11 new players via trade and free agency, Tallon has continued to tweak with his ever-changing roster.
With his latest shakeup, the Panthers sent left wing David Booth, center Steve Reinprecht and a third-round pick in 2013 to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday in exchange for veteran forwards Mikael Samuelsson and Marco Sturm.
This is a pretty big trade considering we are only two weeks into the season, but Tallon wasn’t too happy with his team’s back-to-back shutout losses.
You know things aren’t going well for your franchise when people around the NHL refer to you as “that other team in Florida.”
It probably didn’t help that last season the Tampa Bay Lightning, under first-year GM Steve Yzerman, put together such a spectacular season.
But this is the stigma that has been attached to the Florida Panthers, a team that has made the playoffs just three times in their 17 seasons, and hasn’t reached the postseason since 2000, the longest drought in League history.
After more than a decade of playoff-less hockey, general manager Dale Tallon has had enough.
With as many teams as there were participating in Friday’s free-agent frenzy, it’s hard to keep track of where everyone went, let alone pick a team that stood out among the rest. And while a lot of people are talking about the Philadelphia Flyers and their signing of Jaromir Jagr or the New York Rangers and their potential signing of Brad Richards, the Florida Panthers—yes, the other team in Florida—were the organization that made the most noise.
With the Philadelphia Flyers signing of Ilya Bryzgalov to a huge nine-year, $51 million contract, it’s important to keep in mind that there are still plenty of talented goaltenders available on the free-agent market. Here are the top five.
1. Tomas Vokoun
It’s no secret that Vokoun wants out of Florida. The 35-year-old netminder is nearing the end of his career and he seems pretty hellbent on only playing for a contender. He has already been offered a deal from Avangard Omsk of the KHL over in Russia, so unless a Cup contender comes to the table (ahem, the Washington Capitals), we may have seen the last of Vokoun in the NHL.
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