April 17, 2012; Newark, NJ, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Sean Bergenheim (20) celebrates his goal on New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur (30) during the first period of game three of the 2012 Eastern Conference quarterfinals at the Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-US PRESSWIRE

When you look at every team in not only the NHL, but all other professional sports, they all have that one special player that just seems to make everything click. For the Penguins it’s Sidney Crosby, for the Caps its Alex Ovechkin. That player is called an X factor. If you look up the word X factor on dictionary.com the definition is, “a hard to describe influence or quality; an important element with unknown consequences.” If you look at the example that is given, “The new center on the basketball team is the X factor.”

Last year if you brought up the argument on who was the X factor for the Florida Panthers, the list of possible candidates could be quite long. It could be Brian Campbell, the quarterback of the team, or Jose Theodore, without his great play in the net the Panthers might not have been where they ended up, or you could even say Fleischmann who provided the team with an offensive spark that helped ignite their run for the cup. This year it will be no different, a long list of possible candidates that can play the role of the X factor. The Florida Panthers don’t exactly have a big time name in their lineups, so any player can step in and take over the team at any time. For me, it was hard to pick one person to be the X factor, but when it came down to it, I realized that the Panthers have a special player. He isn’t on the first line for offense or defense and he isn’t a goalie. Instead of going with a more popular choice of Stephen Weiss or Kris Versteeg, my choice is, Sean Bergenheim.

You could try to convince me otherwise that Bergenheim is just a 20 point player, but I believe differently. If you take a look back to his career, he has been a consistent 20 point player. Despite being an above average role player for a couple of years, he was still overlooked. It wasn’t until two years ago when he went for eleven points in the postseason with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Even after coming off of a strong performance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Panthers were being highly criticized for signing Bergenheim to a four year contract. Before the season began, other writers scattered throughout the nation were saying that what he accomplished in the playoffs was just a fluke and that the Panthers were being tricked into believing he could be worth the money he was giving. Despite all the negative attention being brought to Sean, he still went out last season and had arguably his best season as a pro. Yes, he did miss 20 games due to injury, but if you look at his numbers from his previous seasons and compared them to last years, last years seemed to be his best year in the NHL.

In his five years in the NHL, Bergenheim’s career best for total points after a season is 29. In that year he also played 80 games. If you look at last year’s point total for Sean it was 23, which he achieved in on 62 games. If he was able to stay healthy last year, he could have easily surpassed his career high of 29 points. After doing some research on Bergenheim’s season, I also came across that he shot the puck a career high 185 times. With his added offensive aggressiveness he helped lead the Panthers offense. He also showed up again in the playoffs, scoring six points in the seven games that he played in.

But that was then. Coming into this season Bergenheim has to work on trying to stay healthy. If he could stay healthy, his point total could easily be somewhere up in the 50’s and the Panthers offense would run so much more fluently. Coming into this season it is imperative that he stays healthy. Bergenheim possess a great sense of awareness while out on the ice. Although he might not be the best player on this team, he is easily one of the most important players. You guys might not agree with me, but Bergenheim has the opportunity to do something real special here in South Florida. The Panthers NEED his offensive ability night in and night out. The only question remaining with Berg is his health. Other than that, look for him to do big things next season with the Panthers!

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Feb 27, 2012; Winnipeg, MB, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93) prior to the game against the Winnipeg Jets at the MTS Centre. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-US PRESSWIRE

 There are always certain times when teams will go out and try to gain a certain players services. Whether it’s on the trade deadline, draft day or free agency, teams are also out trying to find a way to make their team better than it already is. Last season right before the trade deadline struck, the Florida Panthers went out and traded for forwards Wojtek Wolski and Jerred Smithson. The year before that, the Panthers made a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on draft day sending Rostislav Olesz to Chicago for All-Star Brian Campbell. And I really don’t think I need to get started on what the Panthers did prior to last season during free agency.

It is without question that the Panthers have done a great job acquiring and signing different players in the league. Their commitment to winning showed off last season as the team was able to make it back into the postseason, while securing their first division title.

While the Panthers are a much improved team from previous seasons, there is still work to be done. Yes, the Panthers did go out and sign a couple of players this offseason with the expectation that they will fit right in with the team and help us continue being successful. Although I’m sure the players signed in the offseason will help us improve both offensively and defensively, there are still some holes that could affect this team down the road.

This article that I am writing is to explain who the one player in the league that I would want the Panthers to acquire. No, it’s not Sidney Crosby or Alex Ovechkin and its not even Steven Stamkos. While most of you are probably going to be shocked at my selection, I believe this player would significantly improve our team. Just to make sure we’re all on the same page, the player that I am going to say is not on the Panthers radar, there are NO trade possibilities for this player, just clarifying so no rumors are started; it is just the one player that I would like to see in a Panthers uniform.

Now that that is all cleared up, the player that I would most want to see in a Panthers uniform is, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Yes, you read that correctly, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is the player that I would want to see most on the Panthers and I’ll explain why.

The Panthers need help offensively, it’s obvious. Even though they were able to make the playoffs, last season the Panthers finished 27^th in the league in goals scored per game. Coming into this season, the only real added offensive threat has been Peter Mueller and he is a huge question mark due to injury issues. Not only has there not been done much offensively to this team, but the Panthers also lost their leading goal scorer defensively, Jason Garrison. My biggest fear with this team coming into next season is still their offense. After the first line offensively there aren’t exactly many threats to score goals. Although he was just a rookie last season, Nugent-Hopkins was third on the Edmonton Oilers in total points scored. After putting on an impressive display of speed, quickness and ability to score, it wasn’t a surprise to anyone that Hopkins was nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy (rookie of the year award). Despite not winning the award, Hopkins future is as bright as anyone’s in the entire league.

You might be asking yourself why not an offensive superstar such as Crosby or Ovechkin? Well for one, have you seen their contracts? Ovechkin signed an extension after his rookie season worth $124 million and just over a month ago Crosby signed an extension for $104.4 million. Oh and if you take the years on the contracts and add them together, you would get 25 years. No thanks, not only would we have to give up basically every threat on this team now, but the Panthers would also be taking in either a 12 year contract (Crosby) or a 13 year contract (Ovechkin). Those contracts are never a good thing and in almost every case it favors the players. I’d much rather the Panthers take all that money that could go to those players and spread it out over multiple players.

Ok, if not a superstar, why not a goaltender or a defensive player? The answer to that is simple; we don’t need a goalie or another defensive player. For the past couple of years, the Panthers have been developing young goaltender Jacob Markstrom in the AHL. If the Panthers go out and get a big time goalie such as Roberto Luongo, they would again be taking in an unnecessary contract and at the same time they would be giving up on their project goalie that hasn’t even played in ten NHL games. That’s not the only reason a goalie didn’t wasn’t selected. We currently have Jose Theodore. Yes, Theodore isn’t the best goaltender in the world, there is no denying that. But Theodore was good enough to help the Panthers make the playoffs last year and you can be sure that he will be again this year and he will be good enough for the Panthers until Markstrom takes over which should be after this season. Oh and the NHL is a business, and at a cheap 1.5 million dollars, Theo is the best business choice as well.

Defensively the Panthers are pretty much set for both now and the future. For now we have veterans such as Brian Campbell and Ed Jovanovski. To go along with the old vets are young guys Erik Gudbranson and Dmitry Kulikov. At the moment, there is no need to go out and get a big name defender. What the Panthers are doing is working. Patiently waiting for their players to mature and grow. If they go out and get a big time defender, the growing process of the younger guys could be affected and not in a positive way.

Dec. 13, 2011: Sunrise, FL, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Tomas Fleischmann (14) controls the puck during overtime against he New Jersey Devils at the BankAtlantic Center. The New Jersey Devils won 3-2. in a shootout. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

Hopkins isn’t the best player in the league, he might not even be in the top 20, but he is also a 19 year old stud who is just completing his rookie season. Last year for the Panthers the leading scorer was Tomas Fleischmann. In a total of 82 games Flesichmann scored 61 points. Hopkins missed the first 20 games last season, playing in 62 games. In those 62 games he scored 52 points, 9 less than Flesichmann. If Hopkins played those extra 20 games we could have easily seen his point total in the low to mid 70’s. The Oilers are lucky that they have Hopkins. He is a real threat to score the puck at any time and he is also a great skater and not only can he score the puck, but he is also great at getting the puck to other players and giving them an opportunity to score. What fan wouldn’t want a 19 year old player who can do that?

Once again, just to clarify things, this is the one player in the league that I would want the Panthers to get, doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.

Thanks For Reading!

Want More Hockey News? Follow The Rat Pack on Twitter! Me: @justenrosenberg, Frank Rekas: @TheRatTrick Josh Luecht: @joshluecht, Patrick McLaughlin: @PatrickRattrick, Scott Mullin: @GreatScottsman, David Rodriguez: @davidbub_2, Paige Lewis: @peejlewiz, Adam Reid: @AdamReid_, Gabby Kiger: @gabbykiger, Chrissy Parente: @Chrissaay44, and Amanda Land: @HockeyGirl2530. Also, please visit our Facebook Fan Page and like us! Share comments, photos, anything Panthers related!

Nov 15, 2011; Dallas, TX, USA; Florida Panthers goalie Scott Clemmensen (30) makes a save on a Dallas Stars shot during the second period at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

Over the coming days, The Rat Trick will take a look back at the 10 regular season wins that played the biggest part in shaping the 2011-12 Florida Panthers season. There were many moments over 82 regular season games that stand out but, in our estimation, these wins played the biggest part in reviving a franchise that had been given up for dead by many. And if you agree or disagree with the choices, one thing the entire Panthers fan base can agree that it is much more fun looking back on a season that ended with a playoff berth than the past 11 years without one.

Before the beginning of their annual Thanksgiving Feast Week, the Panthers went on a quick two-game Western Conference trip to Dallas and St Louis. First up were the surprising Dallas Stars who, despite ownership uncertainty and poor early season attendance, possessed the second best record in the conference thanks to the strong play of Keri Lehtonen in goal (whose play declined as the season wore on but was healthy and sharp on this date).

In the other net, Scott Clemmensen was seeing his first action after recovering from off season knee surgery. There was some sentiment among the fans that maybe the Cats would be better off with Jacob Markstrom, who played well in his five appearances subbing for Clemmensen, backing up starter Jose Theodore. All Clemmensen did was go out and pitch a 25 save shutout en route to a dominating 6-0 win over the Stars, quieting the call for the popular rookie Markstrom to stay in Sunrise.

Offensively, it didn’t get better for the Panthers in the regular season. Dmitry Kulikov finally scored his first goal of the season while Jason Garrison continued his surprising season as he rocketed home his seventh, giving Florida a 2-0 lead after one.

From there, it was the forwards turn to shine, specifically the Flashmob line. Tomas Fleischmann produced this magnificent piece of skill late in the second period, reminding why the Panthers were willing to sign him to a four year deal in the offseason.

Stephen Weiss and Kris Versteeg would add highlight reel goals of their own to turn this one in a rare easy night for the Panthers. A ricochet off of Evgenii Dadonov make it an even half-dozen making it one of the most complete efforts in the whole season.

While I was always optimistic that they Panthers could make the playoffs, it was this night that I really began to believe they would. This was a good Dallas team they simply just ran over and made me believe this team would simply just fade away after an early season run. Dale Tallon wanted to raise the skill level of this club prior to the season and this result had to make him and assistant GM Mike Santos flash a Texas-sized smile.

This was my reaction to the game the following morning.

If you have the time, enjoy every goal and some other highlights from this game.

The countdown so far:

Game #10: 10/8/11 vs NY Islanders
Game #9: 10/15/11 vs Tampa Bay
Game #8: 3/17/12 vs Buffalo

Thanks for reading! Any and all comments are greatly appreciated.

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Want to talk more hockey? Then you can follow The Rat Pack on Twitter! Me: @davidlasster, Frank Rekas: @TheRatTrick Josh Luecht: @joshluecht, Patrick McLaughlin: @PatrickRattrick Scott Mullin @GreatScottsman, David Rodriguez @davidbub_2, Paige Lewis @RatTrickLewiz, Adam Reid @AdamReid_, Gabby Kiger @gabbykiger Chrissy Parente @Chrissaay44, Amanda Land @HockeyGirl2530, Justen Rosenberg, @justinrosenberg and Kris Eberwein @KrisEberwein. Also, please visit our Facebook Fan Page and like us! Share comments, photos, anything Panthers related!