Florida Panthers: The Rat Trick’s End of Season Awards

Disappointment of the Season

Danny Janicas: Radim Vrbata

Kevin Fielder: James Reimer

Sam Golub: Radim Vrbata

Jacob Langsam: Aaron Ekblad

Kirby Lupul: Derek MacKenzie

Luke Kendall: Radim Vrbata

Jonathan Reichenberger: Radim Vrbata

T.J. Peterson: Radim Vrbata

Cal Friedman: Alexander Petrovic

Jake Tucker: Radim Vrbata

"“We signed Radim Vrbata right after he played a season In Arizona (worst team in NHL) where he had 20 goals and 35 assists and was a power play threat. With high expectations, he had such a disappointing season, only notching 5 goals and 9 assists, where arguably he could’ve hopped up to 25-30 goals playing alongside Vinnie Trocheck.” – Jake Tucker"

"“It isn’t necessarily that James Reimer was the most disappointing player on the team, he was just the most disappointing for me. I didn’t have high hopes for Vrbata, so choosing him wouldn’t count. Reimer had a disappointing season for Reimer standards, including his worst save percentage since 2014-15 (.913%) and his worst goals against average since the same 2014-15 season (.99). Frankly, tweet me [@kevyfielder] with your displeasure of this pick, my notifications are open.” – Kevin Fielder"

"“[MacKenzie’s] become the whipping boy to fans, but to me I’ve always liked his intensity and fire on the ice. This was the first year where his body started to slow down, and where he struggled to excel in past areas he used to be an asset (.e. the PK).” – Kirby Lupul"

"“In a contact year, most players step up their game in search of attracting the most interest in free agency. Even though he is only an RFA, Alexander Petrovic didn’t show any signs of improvement, regardless of whether he was looking for a payday or not. All of our defensemen have an identity, you know what you’re going to get out of them, whether it’s the goal threat of Ekblad, the sturdiness of Pysyk, or the speed of Matheson. “Petrovic brings nothing to the table anymore; he’s got absolutely zero goal-scoring ability, he took a career high in penalty minutes (98), his worst +/- in 4 years (-2), and he doesn’t even have the excuse of youth anymore.” – Cal Friedman"

"“Ekblad, for the third year in a row, fell short of his points total from his Calder-winning rookie season. His skating ability has seemed to diminish as he has added muscle mass and weight to his 6-foot-4 frame, which has negatively impacted his ability to backcheck and led to several odd-man rushes and scoring chances for opponents. He is getting smarter and better with his play in the offensive zone, but his defensive play is not following suit at the same rate.” – Jacob Langsam"