Panthers close in on culture change
PHILADELPHIA — The Florida Panthers might just be the little chemistry experiment that could this season.
Injuries that caused last year’s squad to use 37 players in a 48-game season have healed. Veterans like Ryan Whitney, Scott Gomez and Brad Boyes have replaced call-ups that likely weren’t ready for the NHL. And the addition of Tim Thomas has rectified an unstable situation in net.
Sure, expectations outside the locker room remain low. But inside? Improving on a league-worst 36-point season isn’t enough.
“I don’t think it’s competing for a playoff spot, I think it would be a disappointment if we didn’t make it,” defenseman Erik Gudbranson said. “In this room, we set our expectations high. We want to compete. We want to a win a Stanley Cup this year. At the end of the day, that’s what we’re going for.
“Just because people don’t speak too highly of us doesn’t mean that’s not what we want in this dressing room. That’s what we have set in stone in our mind, and we’re going to work extremely hard to get to that point.”
A Stanley Cup appears a tall task for a team that scraped together only 15 wins last year and a franchise that’s mustered only one playoff berth in the last 12 seasons. But whether it be the veteran players or the young core the organization has slowly built around, there was a common theme to why they believe this will be their year.
“I just think we have better chemistry,” said forward Jonathan Huberdeau, who won the Calder Trophy last year as the league’s top rookie. “Last year was hard with all the injuries to build chemistry. Guys were going out, new guys were coming in and it was hard to build that. ... It’s 82 games, so it’s important that we’re all together.”
But what you can’t do, especially this early in the season, is force that camaraderie.
“It’s not something where you can say, ‘OK, you see chemistry with these guys,’” head coach Kevin Dineen said. “It comes through time and, in all honesty, success. When players have success together, it’s amazing how, ‘Oh, we’re reading off each other well.’ It’s a mixture of those two things, and I think it’s something that’s still a work in progress.”
That’s where the veteran free agent signings come in. Sure, the Panthers can get players like Whitney, Boyes, Gomez and Thomas under “reclamation project” type of conditions. But it’s indisputable that, if the younger players are open to it, there can be incredible value to their collective presence.
“I learned from some Hall of Famers that were incredible to me when I was younger,” said Gomez, who won two Stanley Cups with the Devils. “It’s not me telling guys to do something, it’s what was told to me. That’s just what’s passed down in our game. You’d have to be a real jerk not to care and help the young guys out. But you have to still contribute and show them the work habits and what was taught.”
Ultimately, it comes down to execution. That’s sorely been lacking in past Panthers teams, and you could throw in this year’s team, as well. After a solid effort in a season-opening win against Dallas, the Panthers were shellacked, 7-0, at the hands of the Blues in their second outing.
Gudbranson remained realistic, acknowledging that Florida is far from the most talented team in the league. But as long as the team plays within its system, works hard and avoids outside distractions from those pesky media folk, he says that goal of a Stanley Cup might not be as laughable as it may seem.
“I don’t really think anybody cares about what’s said about us in the media or anywhere outside of this dressing room,” he said. “Our success is going to come from within, and that’s how we’re going to be a good team this year.”