Panthers. Should He Stay Or Should He Go?

With the Olympic break upon us I thought it was time to make a statement of the current players on the Florida Panther’s roster and give my opinion regarding keeping said player, or trading said player.

Would love to see your comments about this.

Defenceman:

Bryan Allen:  Stay.  He’d be hard to trade since his knee injury, and is still somewhat serviceable, although he’s slowed down considerably.  He needs to play tougher and can.

Keith Ballard:  He was quickly given a contract that he didn’t deserve yet.  Wouldn’t miss him, as he’s been pretty inconsistent.

Dmitry Kulikov:  Stay.  He has a ton of potential and we’d be foolish to move him.

Jordan Leopold:  Except for the fact that every time I see him I’m reminded of the Jay Bow trade, we could probably hold onto him.  However, if he’s not interested in staying, then move him now.

Bryan McCabe:  We got our money’s worth last year.  This year with his being named captain, I’m not so sure.  While I’d like to keep him, I’m thinking that he’s expendable only because of his contract.

Dennis Seidenberg:  Stay.  He’s been very solid all season.  Sign him to a three year deal before the season’s over.

Forwards:

David Booth:  Stay.  Would be a public relations blunder if he was traded.  Not a  reason to keep him, but, the backlash would be outrageous.  Very good second line winger that plays hard every night.  Need his energy on this club.

Gregory Campbell:  Go.  For anything.  Or release him.

Radek Dvorak:  Stay.  Good third liner with speed and excellent penalty killer.

Michael Frolik:  Sophmore slump has defintely hit him hard.  This is a tough call as he does have potential, but for the right price he could be moved.

Nathan Horton:  Hard to trade a player coming back from a broken leg, but if you find a taker for the right price, do it. He’s not lived up to his potential and while many nights this year has looked very good, one thing keeps him on my shit list: He won’t get his nose dirty.  Oh, and he passes too much.

Kamil Kreps:  See Gregory Campbell.

Shawn Matthias:  An unknown commodity.  DeBoer and Martin have misused this kid as they have done with others.  We may never know what he’s about so at this point another player that I wouldn’t miss.

Rostislav Olesz:  Trade immediately if not sooner.  I have no friggin’  idea what Jacques Martin saw in this guy to grant him the contract he did, but he’s defintely an underacheiver.

Victor Oreskovich:  Stay.  He’s a fourth liner who knows and plays his role well.  Provides energy and hits everything in site.  His lack of goals make me question this, but let’s be realistic, at least he’s working.

Steven Reinprecht:  Didn’t know he was still on the team.  Trade him as he has pretty much fallen off the map and has been lost for a month or longer.

Cory Stillman:  Go.  He’s lost a step, and he was already slow before that.  We need to get younger.

Jeff Taffe:  See Gregory Campbell.

Nick Tarnasky:  Goodbye. Nuff said.

Stephen Weiss:  AKA the Little Weasel, Stevie Wonder, Stevie.  You all know how I feel about him.  Eight fucking years this organization had been shoving this guy down our throats as the second coming of Steve Yzerman.  Forget it. I’ve seen enough. When we need him to step up, he steps back, or he gets that god damn yeast infection lower body injury again.  He’d make a nice number two or number three center, somewhere else.  Time to move on.  He’s not a player you build around.  He’s too fragile, and too soft.  TSN credits him with 37 hits this year.  Impossible, unless they’re counting the times he falls down on his tushy.

Goaltending:

Tomas Vokoun:  He deserves better and I compliment him on his play this year, but he’s one of the only assets we can use to get something back with.  So, if not at the deadline, then in the offseason we need to move him.  I thank him for his service while he was here, and wish him the best, but if we go into next season with him, he’ll lose value.

Scott Clemmensen:  A very expensive doorman wearing a baseball cap.  Would probably be hard to trade because of his lack of playing time, so I guess we’re stuck with him.

There you have it.  My .02 for the players on the roster currently with exception to Nathan Horton who’s injured.  My bottom line is basically everyone with the exception of Booth and Kuilkov is available.  There are defintely players that I would trade before others, but I’m not manning the phones and putting these deals together.

Good luck Randy.  You have your work cut out for you.

Thanks for reading.

Cheers