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Florida Panthers: Top Five Worst Moves Made by Dale Tallon

By Cal Friedman

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JUNE 28: Dale Tallon, General Manager of the Florida Panthers, speaks on the phone on Day Two of the 2014 NHL Draft at the Wells Fargo Center on June 28, 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JUNE 28: Dale Tallon, General Manager of the Florida Panthers, speaks on the phone on Day Two of the 2014 NHL Draft at the Wells Fargo Center on June 28, 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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#4: Drafting Lawson Crouse

SUNRISE, FL – JUNE 26: Lawson Crouse, 11th overall selection by the Florida Panthers, is given a Panthers hat onstage during Round One of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center on June 26, 2015 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images)
SUNRISE, FL – JUNE 26: Lawson Crouse, 11th overall selection by the Florida Panthers, is given a Panthers hat onstage during Round One of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center on June 26, 2015 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images) /

The date is June 26th, the first night of the 2015 NHL Draft being hosted in Sunrise. The Panthers are fresh off an encouraging 2014-15 season and need just that one more playmaker to become a stable playoff contender for years to come.

That playmaker did not come with the 11th pick, as the Panthers selected Kingston Frontenacs left winger Lawson Crouse.

It seemed to be a good moment in Panthers history, a 6’3″ forward who would go on to contribute 62 points in 49 games that next season being cheered on by his future fans inside of what he hoped was his future home. This future did not happen…

Crouse is traded the following offseason to Arizona, in an effort to rid the Cats of Dave Bolland’s contract. The Panthers received two second-round picks to get Bolland’s contract off the table.

Crouse’s time in the NHL so far hasn’t been worth Bolland’s contract. Crouse has just 38 points (17G & 21A) in 164 games for Arizona; however, is still only 21-years-old. The issue with this selection for Florida lies with what could’ve been, not with what happened.

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The Florida Panthers, with selecting Crouse, passed on two all-star forwards, Mathew Barzal and Brock Boeser. Both Barzal and Boeser were taken 12 picks within the Panthers’ selection and both have turned into world-class NHL talents.

Barzal led the Islanders to the playoffs this past season as their first-line center, while Boeser already has 116 points across 140 NHL games.

To go along with those two, the Panthers also passed on two talented wingers on playoff teams. Jake DeBrusk, to the surprise of many, would go just two picks later to Boston. DeBrusk has 85 points across 135 NHL games and is a key part of the Bruins.

Kyle Connor would go six picks later to the Winnipeg Jets, where he has 128 points in 178 games and looks ready to receive a hefty payday from Winnipeg this offseason.

So, if the Panthers could’ve had at least Kyle Connor these past two seasons over Denis Malgin or Jamie McGinn, the team could’ve made a return to the playoffs earlier than in reality.

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