Misread your post. My bad.
- rmdevil313

Yeah, they may very well improve, but if they play to the same level they will likely be on the outside looking in. The OT rules usually have one or two anomalous teams a year, and this year the Panthers were one of em.

Yeah, they may very well improve, but if they play to the same level they will likely be on the outside looking in. The OT rules usually have one or two anomalous teams a year, and this year the Panthers were one of em.
- gollum

Agreed.

First!

Tallon's got my vote. Too bad my vote doesn't count for anything.
- EKolb13

Homerism

I think he did a good job building a team this year no doubt. I'll also think they overachieved.

Either way Seeing the Cats be successful was refreshing.
I tihnk a nomination is enough praise for tallon. I dont think he should win IMHO.

July 1st, 2001 - Typo.

Also, if you remove those 8 games, you most also remove the 8 highest positive goal differential wins for the Panthers. That's just a horrible argument on your part.
- Blackstrom2

Agree. You can't just remove your 8 worst games.

I think he did a good job building a team this year no doubt. I'll also think they overachieved.

Either way Seeing the Cats be successful was refreshing.
I tihnk a nomination is enough praise for tallon. I dont think he should win IMHO.
- vancity787

The goal differential argument should have no impact on Tallon winning the award. Saying he should lose this year to Nashville or St.Louis is rather ludicrous though. The award is for one years worth of work. Nashville is an exceptionally well run organization whose base was put down via the draft years ago, and kept afloat by trading free agents for draft picks, and then using those picks wisely. Poille did very little THIS season to alter his formula, other than force his captain and best player to arbitration, and get Radulov back for a couple of regular season games. The Gaustad trade was a good depth move but really this team's success was built on every draft they have ever participated in. As for St. Louis, they have been on the rise for some time, drafting rather well and making a big trade with Colorado LAST season.
The Panthers missed the playoffs for ten years. They finished dead last in the eastern conference last season. Prior management squandered lottery picks and drafts and traded stars out in lopsided deals. Tallon has been here now for less than 2 full seasons. He shed bad contracts, stocked our farm system to make it #1 in the NHL, and look at the names at the tops of our farm system, virtually every one of them is a Tallon draft pick. Regardless of ANYTHING else, this team went from worst to first in a time period that makes Edmonton and Colombus fans salivate and shake their heads.

Tallon deserves the award if for no other reason than he got someone else to take Rastislov Olesz's unbelievable contract off our hands (signed by Jacques Martin). That is still a freakin miracle.

For winning the softest division with a sub .500 record? Sure. The award is Armstrongs to lose.

I'm not throwing out anything. I accept it. Few if any of the upper echelon teams suffered 8-0 and 7-0 losses. It was pointing out the nature of a newly put together team. There is more to the story besides just record, which is what this piece is about. The nature of these losses is noteworthy. If the Panthers hardly ever blew anyone out like they lost these games it is noteworthy. Sure every team wins games by two or three goals, but the Panthers were challenged all year to do just that. Tallon admitted in recent days he will focus on more goals because of this very issue. It is not fabricated.
- spiegs13

Most of them do get blown out a couple of games every year. Wings get spanked bad a couple of times every year no matter how great their season is.

The goal differential argument should have no impact on Tallon winning the award. Saying he should lose this year to Nashville or St.Louis is rather ludicrous though. The award is for one years worth of work. Nashville is an exceptionally well run organization whose base was put down via the draft years ago, and kept afloat by trading free agents for draft picks, and then using those picks wisely. Poille did very little THIS season to alter his formula, other than force his captain and best player to arbitration, and get Radulov back for a couple of regular season games. The Gaustad trade was a good depth move but really this team's success was built on every draft they have ever participated in. As for St. Louis, they have been on the rise for some time, drafting rather well and making a big trade with Colorado LAST season.
The Panthers missed the playoffs for ten years. They finished dead last in the eastern conference last season. Prior management squandered lottery picks and drafts and traded stars out in lopsided deals. Tallon has been here now for less than 2 full seasons. He shed bad contracts, stocked our farm system to make it #1 in the NHL, and look at the names at the tops of our farm system, virtually every one of them is a Tallon draft pick. Regardless of ANYTHING else, this team went from worst to first in a time period that makes Edmonton and Colombus fans salivate and shake their heads.

Tallon deserves the award if for no other reason than he got someone else to take Rastislov Olesz's unbelievable contract off our hands (signed by Jacques Martin). That is still a freakin miracle.
- clarkey

Excellent-Excellent!! Let us NOT forget as well, that HE got Brian Campbell to waive a NTC to come to the team! Why? DALE freakin' TALLON was running the show!

Goal differential is a rather poor argument, but I do agree that Tallon should win. The Campbell-Olesz move, drafting and turnaround before these prospects arrive really is an exclamation point of the potential of the Panthers that he has established. That being said, 18 OT losses is what got them in (and that can be looked at in two ways - 1) that they only got in from losing at convenient times or 2) they were a hard-to-play-against team that was involved in some close games that they were not lucky in, ie their 11 shootout losses...). Either way, he took a crap team and gave them hope, a playoff birth and something to look forward to.

The NHL adds a goal in the + or - column for a shootout win or lose. Considering the Panthers were a -5 (Won 6 and lost 11) in shootouts that adds a -5 to the goal differential which would really be -19. Still poor but less so than -24.

The Panthers were 30-29 in games decided by 2 goals or less, including the 18 OTLs. They were 8-15 in games decided by 3 goals or more. Basically when they lost in regulation they tended to lose badly.

Hypothetically if a team won 60 games by 1 goal each and lost 20 games by 4 goals each they would have a -20 goal differential. How would we define that team? In other sports it is about winning and losing. In hockey it is about winning and losing better than everyone else. If your loss is in overtime or shootout then it is better than a regulation loss.

The GD argument, while an indicator of general success on the ice, is not the measuring stick by which playoff teams are determined, unless by 4th tiebreaker. A solid GD is not a prerequisite to be a playoff team.

I am pretty sure that of the 16 teams that did not make the playoffs they would be happy to trade a worse GD for more points in the standings.

I would agree that GD should not be a measuring stick for a GM award. GD is a tactical stat much like goals. It happens on the ice. GMs are involved in strategic decisions. Adding pieces, including a new coach, are strategic decisions that contributed to the results.