In his first two seasons as a Florida Panther, Tomas Fleischmann lead the Panthers in scoring. His 27 goals and 61 points during the 2011-2012 season were integral to the Panthers winning their first division championship in franchise history, as well as making the playoffs for the first time in over a decade.
Although shortened by the lockout, he also played well the next season, tallying 35 points in 48 games.
Last year, however, was a disaster. Yes the standings say the Panthers were a bad team overall, and it was because of epic slumps like Fleischmann's that Florida could never sustain any consistent momentum. Add the Olympic injuries to Aleksander Barkov and Tomas Kopecky and the Panthers lacked punch down the stretch.
"Flash" scored 8 goals and 20 assists in 80 games last year, as well as registering a -18. All in all it was a debacle for him. To put it in perspective, Nick Bjugstad lead all Florida scorers with 38 points last season. That any team's leading scorer would have a point total that low is embarrassing in and of itself. Fleischmann finished tied for SIXTH with also-slumping Jonathan Huberdeau and Tom Gilbert. Tom Gilbert! That's how bad the season was for Flash.
"I’ve forgotten about last year. There’s nothing I can change about it, so I’m not going to think about it anymore,’’ Fleischmann said. “When I started working out for the next year, I never thought about it.’’
Florida fans hope that is the case. With all the excitement regarding the new faces, both young and old, set to be on the opening night roster, Fleischmann is a key piece to this team's offense that is easy to forget.
The other question is where will he play? It could be anywhere on the top 3 lines. There is a strong chance Jussi Jokinen will be on the top line with his Finnish friend in Barkov. Sean Bergenheim is as healthy as he's ever been and outproduced Flash last season in 18 less games. Kopecky and Huberdeau are also LWs that will be starting somewhere. Maybe moving Flash, Kopecky, or Bergenheim over to the right side will make the room needed for roster balance.
After last season, it is not a stretch to say Fleischmann might be on the shortest leash of all Florida players in GM Dale Tallon's eyes. With the financial pressure the team is under to make the playoffs there is no room or time for severely underachieving players.
One year does not make a player. Flash says last year is behind him, but fans would probably hope it isn't. Use it as motivation. It is a contract year, so that should be motivation enough.
For the playoffs to be a possibility, Fleischmann needs to play like the player he was when he arrived in South Florida. There is no reason to think he can't or won't be the player Tallon expects him to be. However, if he still is in a funk come December, and change of scenery might be the only reality left for him.
Dan Spiegel... Florida Panthers Media Follow me on Twitter Join the Florida Panthers Insiders FB Page Connect with me on Google Plus