Florida Panthers’ Tomas Fleischmann Elevating His Game At Right Time

During Tomas Fleischmann‘s first two seasons in a Panthers uniform, he was arguably the Florida Panthers best all-around player, posting 96 points in 130 games.

Since then, he had endured an offensive slump that surrounded him throughout all of the 2013-14 season and the beginning of the 2014-15 season. But, something that fans did not expect occurred.

The man known as “The Flash” has returned to his dominant offensive form.

At the most opportune time where his team has needed an offensive boost, Fleischmann has broken out of his scoring slump. Since December, he has played in 29 games, scoring six goals and tallying 17 points.

This month he has scored seven points in nine games, which included two goals. While Fleischmann has always played more of a play-making role for the team, he has always had the ability to score throughout the most timely situations. After all, he did lead the team with 27 goals back in 2011-12 when the Panthers made the playoffs.

Take for instance, Thursday night against the Montreal Canadians. A huge game against a division opponent and one of the top teams in the league, the Panthers needed to earn themselves two point in any fashion to bring themselves within one point of the second wild-card spot that was occupied by the Boston Bruins.

That night, Fleischmann brought his A-game and scored two points (one goal, one assist) when the team was losing 2-0 to propel the team to a 3-2 shootout decision. 

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After the game, Tomas’ teammate Steven Kampfer (who combined with Fleischmann to produce a goal) credited his teammate for helping him score his first goal since March 24th, 2012. “[Credit] goes to Flash,” Kampfer said of the setup. “The play that he had, taking it behind the net and giving me a couple of extra seconds to get into position to shoot was huge. Definitely the whole play goes to him” (MiamiHerald.com).

When Fleischmann isn’t on the score-sheet, he is making his presence known with other facets of his game. He has always been one of the best defensive forwards on the team, as he currently leads the team in with a plus/minus of +12. His eight penalty minutes rank as the fourth lowest total on the team, and his 98 shots on net rank as the sixth best total on the team. Long story short, while he has had his fair share of critics offensively, he has always made an impact off of the score-sheet night in and night out.

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While he does lots of good things on the ice, his biggest attribute that many forget about is his ability to play through his serious medical condition.

In 2011, while playing for the Colorado Avalanche, he was diagnosed with pulmonary embolism, which is a blocking of the lung’s main artery. A life-threatening injury, in which some of the symptoms include chest pain, rapid breathing, and a rapid heart rate, Fleischmann was forced to shut himself down for the remainder of the 2010-11 season.

While many thought that he would never play an NHL game again, Fleischmann’s pure character and his passion for the game propelled him to gain medical clearance from doctors to play the game that he loved once again.

As a reward for his hard work, Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon decided to take a gamble on Fleischmann, awarding him a 4-year, $18M deal. “We are excited to welcome Tomas Fleischmann to the Florida Panthers organization,” said Tallon. “Tomas is a big, hard-working winger that can play a variety of roles for our team and will add depth at the forward position” (NHL.com). 

Fleischmann has always been a huge part of the Florida Panthers throughout his time in South Florida. Whether it be on the score-sheet or off the ice, Fleischmann has led the Panthers offensively and defensively while he was forced to take care of his medical condition on and off the ice. It’s that last fact alone why the media and fans have often called Fleischmann “one of the good guys”.

I know that I do, anyways.

What part of Tomas Fleischmann’s game do you appreciate the most? Let us know in the comments below as your input is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading.