As GM Dale Tallon continued to overhaul this roster last year, he signed Filip Kuba to an alarming deal worth $8 million over two years. It was obvious right away that he wasn't playing with Erik Karlsson any more, and his production showed it.
While he improved gradually as the season went along, he was obviously one of the slowest players on the ice, and did not provide much offensively with one goal and nine assists in 44 games. But the bigger reason he will be looking for other employment tomorrow is his -18 rating for the season. Compare these numbers to his six goals, 26 assists, and +26 rating two years ago playing with Karlsson in Ottawa, and you can see why he received the bloated contract.
Mercifully for Panther fans, Tallon bought him out(non-compliance), and Kuba will count $1.2 million against the cap this year and $1.4 million next year. This is obviously a smart move for the franchise both on the ice and financially, especially with players like Robak and Petrovic ready to take over this year, and Mike Matheson likely to arrive in two years.
The other glaring mistake of a contract is Ed Jovanovski at $4.125 million for the next two years. We shall see what comes of that situation. Even though he has started skating again after a season in which he had to shut it down because of a lower body injury, there were also hints at retirement for the grizzled veteran. Regardless, that salary is a bit of a shackle around the neck of a frugal franchise.
Is Tallon freeing up space simply to save money? Or is he creating some room to bring back Stephen Weiss? He has already stated the Panthers will not be overly active in free agency, and by the looks of things that is the right move considering they never had a chance to let their division-winning roster from two years ago do its thing because of a wrath of injuries.
The sense amongst Panther fans is one of frustration. They can see the wallet closing and what we see as the current roster is what we get. However, last season was in no way indicative of what this team can do. There are budding stars in Markstrom and Huberdeau. Barkov will likely be the center of the future, and the defense is getting younger, stronger, and faster over time.
But the sting that is this last season is a tough feeling to get rid of, no matter what it netted in talent in the Draft.
Tallon said on arrival it was a 5 year blueprint to be perennial contenders. By the looks of things he is right on track, regardless of the the majority of complainers have to say.
Dan Spiegel...
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