When the Florida Panthers open their season in Tampa Bay on October 6th, they will look for all of their defensemen to play good solid defense. One particular defenseman, Jason Demers, will try to prove to the Florida Panthers that he deserves to be here.
When the Panthers decided to basically change their entire defensive unit, Jason Demers was one of the desired defensemen that the Panthers decided to sign. Demers had just come off a solid year with the Dallas Stars and the Cats thought that Demers would nicely slide into their top 4 as a solid two-way d-man. While the Panthers certainly saw the offensive side of Jason’s game, to their dismay, Demers most of the time proved to be a liability on defense. He finished the season with 28 points, but with a terrible -14 rating.
After the season ended, the Panthers once again swapped out their GM and put Dale Tallon back. Because Tallon likes his defensemen to be strong and physical, it seemed as if Jason Demers was not the type of player he wanted on his roster anymore. This turned out to be exactly right; multiple sources noted that Tallon had actually put in a trade that would send Demers to the Vancouver Canucks and bring back former 3rd overall pick, Erik Gudbranson.
Hearing that Jason Demers, via his modified NTC, nixed a trade to Vancouver
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) July 1, 2017
Luckily, for all Panthers fans, Demers declined the trade and therefore prohibited the Panthers from losing a talented offensive defenseman and bringing back a physical d-man who has no offensive game. While many Panthers’ fans will argue that Demers has no place here in Florida, here’s why they are all wrong.
Demers’ offensive ability is something that the Panthers need in their defensive core. Because their offensive firepower is unknown at the moment, the Panthers can use all the offensive help they can get. Demers scored nine goals last year which probably would have been more if the Panthers as a team had not played so poorly near the end of the season.
If the coaching staff this year will give Demers top 4 minutes, his offensive numbers will only increase. Pairing him with a defenseman like Pysyk could help his game even more as he can take more risks offensively knowing that he has a backup in Pysyk to cover him.
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While Jason’s defensive game was horrid last year, this does not mean that he can not improve from that. Last year with the Panthers, Demers was often caught on the ice when the opponent put the puck in the back of the net. Most fans will immediately blame Demers for this, but part of the blame can be blamed on the infamous Tom Rowe. Demers was often placed with offensive defensemen last year which contributed to his poor defensive play. If Demers gets a partner like Mark Pysyk, his offensive game and defensive game will thrive.
When Jason played with the Stars in the 2015-16 season, he had a +16 rating. Why? Because former Stars coach, Lindy Ruff knew what he was doing! He paired Demers with the steady defensive defenseman, Johnny Oduya. Oduya helped Demers out defensively, and Demers helped Oduya have his best season offensively since the 08-09 season. Playing Demers with the right partner is key to his success.
Finally, by not trading Demers, the Panthers avoid yet another change to their defensive landscape. Last year the Panthers had a total of four new defensemen in their opening lineup! When the Panthers had their extremely successful season in 2015-16, those same six guys had played together for two years. They knew how they played, and what their identity was. Now that the Panthers will have the same six returning from last year, fans can expect a much better defensive and offensive game from both Demers and the entire defensive crew.
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Fortunately, for the entire organization, Jason Demers will most likely be a Panther for this year and hopefully for the foreseeable future. He not only has the possibility to have solid offensive seasons, but if paired with the right partner, can dominate defensively as well. Fans should enjoy seeing Demers have a very successful season this year.