Florida Panthers Need Defensive Help Urgently

After their ugly defeat to the Philadelphia Flyers, it’s clear that the Florida Panthers need help in the defensive department, and fast!

Last Thursday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers really shined a light on what the Florida Panthers have lacked for so long. Of course, none of this really comes as a surprise, but rather, it serves as a nuisance in a year where the playoffs are a must.

For too long has the blue line been left unaddressed, exposing a massive hole for opponents to exploit. What the Flyers did to the Cats last game wasn’t anything special, nor difficult to prevent. Philly just jumped over the Panthers’ turnovers, poor positioning, and lack of personal drive.

The D core, as is, is simply not good enough and even Joel Quenneville himself is having a hard time trying to bring the best out of that group. It’s clear that reinforcements are needed, and with the trade deadline coming up – with some defensemen headlining the top of the trade list – GM Dale Tallon will be forced to roll the dice and acquire at least one to provide some relief.

Whether or not he decides to take the risk for a rental or a player with some term left on his deal is a question that’s yet to be answered. In the past, Tallon has never been known for swinging blockbuster deals and rather prefers to play the field safely on the biggest day of the season.

This time around, that can’t happen, and with the team hungrier than ever to book a spot for the Stanley Cup dance, Tallon is going to have to get uncomfortable in order to improve this team.

The current D core isn’t good enough to hold up until April, and it has already started to implode. Not only have the defensive efforts been atrocious as of late (along for much of the season), but it’s also affected Sergei Bobrovsky greatly. Bobrovsky hasn’t experienced a very fruitful season this year and that’s largely because of his defense in front of him.

Fixing the defense is not only essential to making the postseason, but it’s essential to eliminating another problem it’s created. There’s no reason why Bobrovsky should be playing the way he has – and while he hasn’t been at his personal best – the D holds a large amount of the blame for why he’s performing the way he is.

With the trade deadline less than ten days away, Tallon is hopefully going to be preoccupied working the phones, attempting to shore up on some defense to help bring playoff hockey back to South Florida.