Florida Panthers: Choosing not to re-sign Michael Sgarbossa could prove to be costly

Following his brief, yet successful stint in a Florida Panthers’ uniform, Michael Sgarbossa ultimately decided to move in another direction via Free Agency.

“Captain Barbossa”, as Panthers’ faithful normally referred to him as, unexpectedly signed with the Winnipeg Jets on an inexpensive one-year contract. Michael’s subsequent departure was certainly a shocking, although overlooked and barely discussed headline during the free agency period. An abundance of fans anticipated Dale Tallon to retain his services, however, Dale surprisingly chose to move in the opposite direction.

The Florida Panthers previously acquired the natural Centerman from the offensive juggernaut Anaheim Ducks in exchange for severely struggling, underachieving forward Logan Shaw, during the 2016-17 season. After being traded to FLA, the Cats immediately sent him to the minors in order to further polish his game. Following injuries to some of the forwards, the Cats called up the talented, smooth skating Sgarbossa to the big leagues. He proved to be deserving of the promotion because he produced an impressive slash line of 4G and 8A for 12 points, in 14 games for the Springfield Thunderbirds.

Michael Sgarbossa wound up participating in 27 regular season games for the Cats; producing a respectable line of 2G and 5A for 7 points. His contributions certainly weren’t impressive simply by viewing the stat sheet. However, I personally had the opportunity to watch the playing style of Michael throughout the course of the previous season. Unfortunately for Sgarbossa’s case, he more than likely would’ve accumulated more points if quality coaching was in place.

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Unsuccessful HC Tom Rowe typically misused and underutilized the incredibly swift, dynamic Sgarbossa in the miserable 2016-17 campaign. Rowe occasionally handed Sgarbossa 3rd line minutes (often placed on the 4th line), thus limiting the impact that Michael could’ve potentially had while on the ice.

Sgarbossa’s blazing quickness, relentless motor, phenomenal skill set, competitive drive and outstanding work ethic are all practical reasons in regards to enabling Michael to play alongside talented players for a greater amount of time. Sgarbossa embodies a valiant warrior when relied upon to accomplish a certain task on the ice against the opposition (e.g. taking countless face-offs).

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Personally, I truly admire Michael Sgarbossa as a professional; which ultimately explains why I’m relatively puzzled at the fact that Dale didn’t explore the possibility of retaining Michael. He hardly received the chance to shine in a Florida Panthers’ jersey; so I wish him nothing short of excellence while competing in his home country for the promising Jets team.