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Florida Panthers Blogger •
Nathan Horton or Tomas Vokoun?
Many Panther fans would say both. Horton has become a whipping boy in many circles for being lazy and underachieving since his rookie year in 2003. His highest points total is 62, which he did twice. Hardly impressive for a third-overall pick who just played his fifth season.
The plus side for Horton is he just turned 24, and optimists would say his best days are ahead of him. When he turns on the mean streak he is a joy to watch, and he possesses all the skills to be a superstar. However, Panther fans have to question if he ever wants to be just that.
Others would say that he can't be what he can be until he has a bonafide number one center on his line. I agree with that to a point, but Stephen Weiss is coming into his own, and I feel the other winger on their line is more important to it's success than Horton or Weiss. Not that this would happen due to money, but a Horton-Weiss-Heatley (or similar player) line would be very dangerous and especially beneficial to Horton.
At $4 million a year through 2013, he may be worth it for another team to give him the good ole "change of scenery" experiment. But because of his current deserved reputation, buyers have to be hesitant.
If he were traded, what is he worth?
Tomas Vokoun is more of a victim of shots against than anything. He's been relatively solid in net over the past two seasons, but has had his moments where very important games were given away on greasy goals at pivotal times. His 56-52-14 doesn't quite match up to his $5.7 million salary. It seems he would fit more into a successful defensive system where his shots against totals were lower, keeping him from having to rely on pure athletic ability at 33 years old next week.
By comparison, Vokoun has faced 31.78 per game as a Panther, which is worst in the NHL over that span. His Predators tenure resulted in 27.62 faced.
The shelling he has taken as the Florida netminder is more on Jacques Martin's head than anyone, as his "defensive style" was more of a sieve than anything, giving up an astounding 2213 shots during the 07-08 season. Don't address the offense when you give up than many shots, and you're doomed. Everyone knew it. Except Jacques.
If this team gets rid of or trades the contracts of Vokoun, Horton, and/or Bouwmeester, that would open up space to sign Craig Anderson as the starter and add much needed offensive help. This organization has promised time and time again that offensive help is on the way, with nothing to show for it, but this time I think it's different. Whether it's Neil Smith or another GM, they already know the offense needs to be addressed immediately.
If it's broken, you have to fix it right? No playoff appearances this decade qualify for something being broken in my opinion. Are Tomas Vokoun and Nathan Horton part of the problem, or is it just a case of other pieces needed to be added around them?
Thanks for reading, and I look forward to your input.
Many Panther fans would say both. Horton has become a whipping boy in many circles for being lazy and underachieving since his rookie year in 2003. His highest points total is 62, which he did twice. Hardly impressive for a third-overall pick who just played his fifth season.
The plus side for Horton is he just turned 24, and optimists would say his best days are ahead of him. When he turns on the mean streak he is a joy to watch, and he possesses all the skills to be a superstar. However, Panther fans have to question if he ever wants to be just that.
Others would say that he can't be what he can be until he has a bonafide number one center on his line. I agree with that to a point, but Stephen Weiss is coming into his own, and I feel the other winger on their line is more important to it's success than Horton or Weiss. Not that this would happen due to money, but a Horton-Weiss-Heatley (or similar player) line would be very dangerous and especially beneficial to Horton.
At $4 million a year through 2013, he may be worth it for another team to give him the good ole "change of scenery" experiment. But because of his current deserved reputation, buyers have to be hesitant.
If he were traded, what is he worth?
Tomas Vokoun is more of a victim of shots against than anything. He's been relatively solid in net over the past two seasons, but has had his moments where very important games were given away on greasy goals at pivotal times. His 56-52-14 doesn't quite match up to his $5.7 million salary. It seems he would fit more into a successful defensive system where his shots against totals were lower, keeping him from having to rely on pure athletic ability at 33 years old next week.
By comparison, Vokoun has faced 31.78 per game as a Panther, which is worst in the NHL over that span. His Predators tenure resulted in 27.62 faced.
The shelling he has taken as the Florida netminder is more on Jacques Martin's head than anyone, as his "defensive style" was more of a sieve than anything, giving up an astounding 2213 shots during the 07-08 season. Don't address the offense when you give up than many shots, and you're doomed. Everyone knew it. Except Jacques.
If this team gets rid of or trades the contracts of Vokoun, Horton, and/or Bouwmeester, that would open up space to sign Craig Anderson as the starter and add much needed offensive help. This organization has promised time and time again that offensive help is on the way, with nothing to show for it, but this time I think it's different. Whether it's Neil Smith or another GM, they already know the offense needs to be addressed immediately.
If it's broken, you have to fix it right? No playoff appearances this decade qualify for something being broken in my opinion. Are Tomas Vokoun and Nathan Horton part of the problem, or is it just a case of other pieces needed to be added around them?
Thanks for reading, and I look forward to your input.
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