Peps if I have to watch the same crud I watched this year with the same result then Tallon has not earned his money. I can guarantee I will not be wasting my money to watch the poor performance I saw this year. They can keep the same management and players just don't expect me to pay to watch the product. They keep it up I won't even waste my time watching them on TV. I am giving Tallon a pass on last year because the players were not prepared to play. There is no lockout excuse this year. If the team and the roster is not upgraded and we get the same result then I have to question Tallon's job. He has had time to make improvements it is time for results not talk.

I am not saying cut the Panthers as in players slack, the players that were out of shape should be traded or bought out. Upshall, Weaver, Parros, etc. should be sent packing they wanted the money but didn't live up to their contract by showing up completely out of shape. "They play under the same rules!!" Yes but many teams did not have players show up injured and out of shape, those teams had an advantage. Tallon gets pass by me for this year however I expect to see many of the under performing players jettisoned out of town. He won't get a pass next year. If you keep a guy like Upshall on your team and each year he does as poorly as the last then clearly there is something wrong with the decisions being made. If you can't trade him buy him out. Players like him won't get you any wins. Tallon needs to make some tough decisions because there will be no free pass next year. I am tired of watching slackers and players not ready for the NHL playing in Panthers jerseys.

LOBSTAHMAN in a normal year I might agree with you but this was not a normal year. This was a lockout year and many teams had the same problems the Panthers had just not to the same extent. The lockout ended and players had a week to get to camp and a week of training camp with no games. These million dollar athletes showed up injured from playing in Europe or out of shape and not ready to play. When the games started many of the out of shape pulled muscles and also got injured. Others kept playing but at a subpar level. Parros was sitting in an office negotiating for the PA and when it was time to play he was far below the standard for a pro athlete and the on ice performance showed. Weaver is slow on his best night but when the season started the guy was winded after five minutes of game time. The whole team went in the tank because 90% of the players showed up injured or out of shape. The players are the reason the Panthers stunk. Dale Tallon couldn't predict that some of his players would get injured in Europe and the others would not be ready to play. Many teams had similar problems and this was due to the lockout. Dale Tallon has done a decent job. My prediction many of the teams that did bad this year will rebound next year with a normal training camp. Panthers, Flyers, Canes, Lightning, Preds will all have good seasons next because this last season's disaster was due to the lockout more than any other thing. So I would cut Tallon some slack on this season same for the coach.

Nathan MacKinnon may be a better centermen than all those mentioned. Good chance Bjugstad plays in San Antonio. Howden is a winger, Huberdeau and Mueller are better suited at wing. Shore, Goc, Mathias and Weiss if he returns and the possibility that they wait another year for MacKinnon to play. That is why they have training camp, to see who is ready to play. Those that are not ready are either sent down to AHL, traded or moved to wing. You can never have too many good centers, just look at Pittsburgh. Panthers should have such problems.

I am with Peps on this one. I am tired of going to 1 - nothing games where Panthers are the nothing. Panthers need help all over but Panthers really need some goal scoring. The stands have less and less people in them because there is nothing to cheer for, no goals makes for a very boring game and people stay home. I remember watching Pavel Bure, every time he had the puck people were standing up with anticipation to see what he was going to do. It has been a decade since Panthers had a regular goal scoring threat. There is no more boring game in the world than watching Boston get a 1 goal lead and go into trap mode and watching a bunch of average Panthers try and get the puck into there zone and when they do it is a missed opportunity and you watch another 5 minutes of trying to get into the offensive zone. When you play trap teams you need players that can score when they get the chance to force the other team to make an effort to try and get another goal if not they bore the crowd to sleep. Once you break the trap you have to score and apply pressure, Panthers need players that can do that. It is not entertaining to watch all game long broken plays across the blueline. Certainly not worth paying money to watch. A goal scorer is a must for Panthers. The last decade has been hard to watch. Please enough with 1-0 games.

Like Hertz says it is good to be number two. Avs get local product Seth Jones and Panthers get the needed talented scoring center Nathan MacKinnon. Perfect.

Weiss didn't have a good year but it appears he may have been playing injured although I have no way of knowing. When he is playing his normal game he makes the Panthers so much better it would be very dangerous to let him move on and I could see the Devils getting him to center Kovalchuk, the Devils coach would like him unless of course they fire him for the losing season. With Versteeg out until November Panthers could be out of the playoff race before Versteeg gets back. They cannot afford to lose Weiss. There is a huge shortage of goal scoring and as great as all the young guys are they are still a few years away from making an impact with the exception of Huberdeau but you need more than one guy scoring to win and you can't rely on the hope of Matthias and Kopecky repeating this year's scoring. Panthers are in dire need of goal scoring, letting Weiss go would make scoring even tougher... I don't like the Panthers chances for next year without Weiss and Versteeg out until November at best. Tallon has his work cut out for him this summer. No golf for you Dale.

This a strong draft so this might be the year to be bad if you have to have one but that said Panthers had the chance to pick top players in the past and passed on Rick Nash and Eric Staal instead picking Boumeester and Horton. Everyone was raving about Boumeester much like today they rave about Jones and Panthers dropped down to take him instead of taking Nash and for all the great things you can say (or not) about Boumeester the Panthers never scored enough goals to win. Defense is great but winning requires goal scoring and it is a lot more exciting watching goals being scored than 1-0 games. Remember the excitement Pavel Bure brought to Sunrise. It was electric! Panthers need a scoring centerman. Somebody tell Dale Tallon how great it was watching Bure every time he had the puck he was a threat, Panthers haven't had that type of excitement since he was traded to Rangers. That is why the there are less people in the arena. People want to see goals scored and stand up and cheer and there hasn't been enough of that in the last decade of failure.

Thanks George for the coverage. Hopefully next year you get a better Panthers team to cover. Puckbubba ps No need to grade we all know their grades.

The only thing that actually improved this year was Billy Lindsey, his color commentary was pretty good this year...Hopefully Tallon cleans out the garbage players who didn't earn their paychecks... I went to one game after the lockout (VS Montreal) and the quality of the game was so bad I felt I got ripped-off. After a ticket, parking and terrible uncooked delvecchios pizza for a hundred bucks I never went back. Not worth the long drive to the arena even for free. Least amount of games I have gone to since the Panthers came into the league. I got better places to spend my money. There better be some changes because I have watched a losing team for too long and I am no longer going to pay to watch them lose.

Agreed that is stupid. Howden should take Upshall's spot. He is faster and can do the same job for less money and probably would play more games in a season. Bjugstad is just learning the pro game he is only playing because Panthers are so far out of the picture and whether he plays next year on Panthers or Rampage will be determined in training camp. Gudbranson is still young and came into the season injured. Tallon has done a decent job he can't control players getting injured in Europe or on a lake or the several that came into the season totally out of shape. He can however replace those he feels has not lived up to their contracts. The only mistakes Tallon made were Upshall and Kuba both have been disappointments. The one thing that is clear is Panthers need scoring and I hope he remembers that on draft day.

Come draft day it will be a tough choice since Panthers need defense and offense. However if you tie a record for least shots in a period then maybe you go with the all-star center. The choice of Seth Jones, Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin is like deciding do you want Nicklas Lidström, Sidney Crosby or Martin St. Louis. I think I go with the top center but I can see people going with the top D. Panthers have had a history of not being able to score, time to get some scoring. I heard it before you need the defenseman and they took Jay Bouwmeester over Rick Nash. In retrospect they should have taken Nash. Maybe they need to take Nathan MacKinnon this time.

Someone needs to tell Bjugstad no blind backward passes entering the opponent's zone. There was no way Petrovic could get that pass, it was way behind him and that led to the goal. Pass forward not blindly behind. Terrible rookie mistake.

You can't really blame Markstrom, the defense in front of him has been really bad. There needs to be a major upgrade to the defense if this team wants to win next year. I like what Campbell and Brennan bring to the game. Gudbranson has his moments and I assume will get better, it was a rough year for him. He better train this summer and stay away from water games. Kulikov needs to make better decisions the jury is still out on him. Strachan, Weaver and Kuba are not that good and if basically the same defense is in the line-up next year the season will be another stinker. And for the record this team needs more than a Seth Jones to improve on D.

Funny comment coming from Cooke...The sooner this season is over the better...There needs to be an overhaul, especially with defense. Guys are too slow physically and mentally...Upshall is more than a work in progress he is a huge disappointment; after two years we have seen what he brings to a team and it is time to give the roster spot to a younger player who can surely match his point totals over two seasons.

I should add that only happens on this site.

Peps - for some reason when I sign in through Yahoo it signs me as that. I have no control over that. Puckbubba

Upshall has 4 goals and 8 points in 44 games over two seasons and makes $3.5 million per year. He is made of clay and when he is playing he usually takes a bad penalty. I would rather have Howden in the line-up than Upshall. Trade or buyout Upshall, he is the worst UFA signing, worse than the signing of Esa Tikkanen. If Bergenheim is healthy I would keep him, he was good last year, part of the problem this year was his absence. Goc is okay I would keep him. Bring back Mueller, he has been very good. With a healthy Vertseeg and Weiss this is a different team.

Peps- Tallon has already addressed it sending Smithson to Edmonton and Santorelli on waivers. Panthers have young players that can fill the roles previously held by vets. It has taken time for the players to find chemistry but the last few games show a sign of development. Add Vertseeg and Weiss and Panthers are a much more potent team. Next training camp I hope Tallon and Dineen crack the whip, guys that are not in shape are traded, cut, sent to minors or bought out before the season starts....There are guys like Upshall who are not worth the money they make and the team would be better served with a younger player on the roster. Same goes for Weaver. I trust Tallon and Dineen to get the slugs out of the line-up and put a real team on the ice next year. This year's team that showed up was not ready for primetime and the standings proves it. Get rid of the slackers and guys who are not earning their salary and add some youth.

I agree with Chris. NHL referees/linesmen are absolutely terrible. I watch NHL CenterIce and as easy is it to feel they have something against the Panthers, the truth is they are just plain bad or are betting on games because they are too bad in too many games with too many teams not just the Panthers. Whomever is in charge of referees & linesmen should be fired and a replaced. The refs are a joke and every GM in the league knows it, now they need to insist on doing something about it.

Have to give Panthers credit they could have folded and given up but came back in the third with a strong effort and 3 goals. Tomas Kopecky has really picked up the slack. Every game he comes to play. Bjugstad should watch Kopecky to see how to play in the NHL.

Peps, the key is the depth as we found out this year injuries require team depth. Hopefully Panthers don't have another year where most of the top 2 lines are out of the line-up with injuries and the players show up in shape. The lockout had most of these guys not ready to play and those that played in Europe came back injured. Panthers never had a chance after game one. The thing that gives me hope is Dale Tallon. He seems to make the right moves. Getting Brennan is huge. A shot from the point that is actually on net, haven't had that since Garrison. He fits right in with Campbell. A good draft this year and a fresh start next year. There is hope.

Nice win and great that the TV cameras went back to the normal location so I could enjoy the game. Moving them made no sense, it is so much better low down. Puckbubba

George, know you don't watch games on TV but there seems to be a change for the worse on the cameras. The shot is from high in the catwalks really terrible to watch. The TV was good so leave it to the Panthers to ruin the TV cameras too make a bad team even less enjoyable to watch. Can you investigate why they changed the camera shots to such a high location as now even with my 48 inch screen it is hard to watch. Thanks. Puckbubba

Eric -I hear Goldie on it quite often, they mix it up... As much as I would have prefered the Panthers and Tampa would be in the conference/division with the Rangers next year the advantage of being with three Canadian teams is Panthers will get more coverage in general and on the NHL Network because it has more Canadian content due to its ties with TSN.