What to do, what to do...
Dmitry Kulikov's name keeps swirling in the trade winds around the league, and GM Dale Tallon has a tough decision on how the 23-year-old fits into the future plans of this team.
Drafted 14th overall in the 2009 NHL Draft, the talented Russian shows flashes of being every bit of a tough defenseman with good offensive skills. One shift he'll destroy an opponent with a bone-crushing hit and be strong on the puck, and the next he'll turn it over in such boneheaded fashion you'd wonder if that was the same player.
Yes it is.
That is the crux of the problem.
Just who is this player going to be?
In 259 NHL games, he has 17 goals and 66 assists. He definitely has more offensive skills than these numbers portray, but that isn't the biggest issue. His -29 rating over that period is the problem. To this point, he is often a liability, yet tends to show enough to want to wait for the light bulb to go on to complete his game.
But will it ever come?
We always hear it takes about 300 games to find out what you have in a defenseman. He is almost at that point and if this is it, it looks like Kulikov might end up in the long line of Panther first round blunders that has kept this franchise down for many years.
Is he serviceable? Yes. Is he reliable? No. Not yet at least.
If he was available via trade, what would Tallon be looking for in return?
Because this is the Panthers, I would fully expect him to explode on another team as so many former Panthers have in the past. But there are still flickers of promise on a nightly basis. Would I hold onto him this season? Yes. Would I trade him for a skilled forward and call up Alex Petrovic? Yes. It's a tough call.
While this probably doesn't mean much, Kulikov is not one of Tallon's picks, and slowly but surely those that aren't have been shipped out of town. If the return was good, perhaps trading Kulikov away would be one step closer to a complete rebirth.
Kulikov has 1 goal and 2 assists in 27 games this season and is an alarming -9. He is currently making $2.5 million and will be an RFA after this season.
What do you think? Is he worth a first round pick or skilled forward? Should the Panthers hold onto him and work out a fiscally responsible deal moving forward?
As always, I appreciate your comments and insight.
Dan Spiegel...
Florida Panthers Media
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