#1: The 2010 NHL Draft
While all the other items on this list have been singular events, this entire draft deserves to be at No. 1 on this list. The Florida Panthers had three first-round picks in the 2010 NHL Draft and not one of those players is on the Panthers’ current roster.
This draft seemed to be an optimistic one for Panthers’ expectations. This was Tallon’s first draft as GM and the Panthers held the third overall pick, which they could use to draft a transcendent talent as the face of Dale Tallon’s Florida Panthers.
They would be missing out on Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin, who were the unanimous top 2 picks amongst major mock drafts, but these same mock drafts had the Panthers with the chance to draft solid forwards such as Ryan Johansen, Jeff Skinner, or Mikael Granlund – all projected to go top 10.
The Panthers, however, were content with their forward core, and looked to draft defense. Surely the Panthers would take Cam Fowler, a sturdy, all-star caliber defenseman, capable of leading a defensive core to the playoffs. Nope, the Panthers would use the third overall pick on Erik Gudbranson.
Gudbranson, a fan favorite for his grit and big hits may have been apart of both playoff teams this decade, but that only papers over his cracks.
At his best, Gudbranson is a rotational defenseman best used as the sixth best option or a healthy scratch. He doesn’t have the offensive talent to make up for his defensive errors, and in term, is now playing for his third NHL team in the last four seasons. The pick has been an absolute flop, and arguably one of the worst draft picks in the last decade.
The Panthers then moved down five spots from 14 to 19 after Los Angeles sent their first and second-round picks to Florida. The Panthers now looked to go with a forward, and lucky for them, plenty of top-tier talent were still available.
Kevin Hayes, Charlie Coyle, and Evgeny Kuznetsov were all still available at 19; surely Tallon secures one of them? Nope, in term, Tallon selects Minnesota native Nick Bjugstad.
Florida Panthers
The pick wasn’t awful as Bjugstad’s draft stock had actually slipped a few picks and he turned out better than the two forwards chosen immediately after Bjugstad: Beau Bennett and Riley Sheahan.
Still, Bjugstad hasn’t lived up to the hype of a first-round pick, with an average 191 points in 394 games for Florida before being traded to Pittsburgh.
Just when they were seemingly done, the Panthers traded back into the first round, securing the 25th pick from Vancouver. Hayes is gone, but surely now Tallon selects Kuznetsov or Coyle as future faces of the franchise…
The Panthers select Quinton Howden. Howden spends just three seasons with the Panthers and scores just 17 points in 92 games.
To this day, Howden recorded more penalty minutes than points in the NHL. This season, Kuznetsov scored 17 points in the month of February alone. Kuznetsov is taken with the very next pick and goes on to win a Stanley Cup with the Capitals.
As if it couldn’t get any worse after that, the Panthers have two picks inside the opening five picks of the second round. Tallon passes up on Justin Faulk twice to draft John McFarland and Alexander Petrovic.
To recap, the Panthers could’ve selected Mikael Granlund, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Charlie Coyle, and Justin Faulk in the same draft, and instead wound up with five players who aren’t even on the roster anymore.
Looking back at all 13 selections made back in 2010, in hindsight, the Panthers’ best selection was made in the fifth round. This player was Zach Hyman. Tallon, this was not your prettiest moment…