00:00He's covered the Panthers for over 20 years. You can read his stuff at FloridaHockeyNow.com.
00:06And we have a lot of stuff to get to, George. I'm going to start with last night. It was
00:10a
00:10brutal loss. Seemed like they were going to at least get a point last night. Brutal loss ends
00:16up being. Is that the death knell for their playoff hopes, or you think that there's still a
00:22chance? No, I mean, there's still a chance, but last night certainly felt that way, right? I mean,
00:28you get the game-time goal by Sam Reinhart with two minutes left. You're certainly going
00:33to overtime, and then Andrews Lee just kind of walks around the defense and pushes one
00:39past Bob, and that's just kind of how the season has gone for the Panthers. It's been
00:44just one thing after another. And listen, if you had back-to-back games like Buffalo and
00:50the Islanders back in November, December, you just chalk that up as, geez, the hockey
00:56gods haven't been with you the past couple days. Boys, move on. But when you're at this
01:00point of the season, yeah, it feels a lot, a lot heavier.
01:05And George, we were talking about it where the other, what was that, Saturday night's
01:09game? They were talking about how Bob played more games and goal than any other goalie in
01:16the league and the games they played because they've been at three Stanley Cups. Like we
01:20said exclusives versus explanations. Are they tired? Like, can you see a tired team out there
01:25skating on the ice, especially late in the third?
01:30Well, we talked about this earlier in the season when people were wondering why the Panthers
01:35didn't look like the Panthers. And it's because of that heavy style that they play that is so
01:40successful. You just can't do it, you know, all season long. It just wears on you so much.
01:47And I think we're seeing that now. They just can't play the way they want to play because
01:51they just don't have the juice to do so. The big, heavy four check, you know, coming back,
01:57back checking defensively, it takes a physical toll. And, you know, that's why you get a lot
02:03of 2-1 games. Now you're seeing everything being 3-4, 3-4, you know, 4-3, 5-4, those
02:09kind
02:09of games because it's a little more loose. And that's not the Panthers game. So yeah, there
02:13is certainly a lot that goes in, you know, to say that they have played more games than
02:19anybody in NHL history over the last three years. No team in NHL history has played more
02:24than the Panthers have over the last three years because, you know, all the series went
02:29to seven, you know. So there certainly is that, you know, haggardness, just fatigue.
02:37Um, they just can't play the game they want. And is that, is it as simple as saying, uh,
02:43GR that at the end of games, we're doing, they're not able to call them GR.
02:49GR, what's up? It's GR. Well, it's not GR. Nobody calls them that.
02:55Is it as simple as saying? Certain names connote using their initials, Crowder, CC, my son,
03:01DJ, even I'll even give you a Jr. Remember Jr. Richards from the Astros, uh, Jr. Ewing.
03:11Yeah. Um, Jr. No, we're not going to do that. Okay. All right. Sorry about that. Jr. That's
03:19okay. Is it as simple as saying the fatigue is what's holding them back late in games?
03:25Because we saw a bunch of stats yesterday. Um, and I've, I've, you know, read in, in, uh,
03:30Florida hockey now as well, Bob safe percentage in third periods. And I shouldn't say just Bob,
03:35I think it's just Panthers goaltending in the third period. Hasn't been great. I think as of today,
03:40it's the worst in the NHL and they've given up more, um, more games late than they did over the
03:48first three years or the last three years combined. Um, but is that, is that more of lack of health,
03:54no barky, or is that just fatigue or is it just a combination of, of, of everything?
03:58Yeah. It's certainly a combination because Barkov certainly plays a gigantic role. Cause you
04:04remember how great the Panthers are when they had a lead going into the third period or when they took
04:08a lead in the third period, it was all but automatic. And now you're holding your breath and, and how
04:15much, how much time did Barkov spend on the ice in the third period of games? You know, you know,
04:20a lot of it and same with Anton Lundell, um, not having Seth Jones has hurt Florida these past
04:27couple months. Um, you know, they just now got Dmitry Kulikov back. So you've got a lot of guys
04:32playing out of position. Like you said, fatigue is certainly you, when you look at those third
04:37period numbers, um, yeah, that's what it points to. It points to the fatigue and just not getting the
04:43job done. Um, they don't look fresh. Um, you can blame the schedule, but every team in the NHL
04:49is, is playing this condensed schedule. Now they may not have the travel, uh, deals that the Panthers
04:55do. Um, but yeah, it just, they just look like a tired team out there and having all the injuries
05:01and having to, you know, ask depth guys to be playing more minutes than they ever have in their
05:06lives and maybe aren't, aren't really prepared for, um, certainly taking a toll on the Florida
05:12Panthers right now. So a lot of mentioned the goaltending, uh, trade deadline is Friday.
05:18Is there any thought that they would move Sergei Bobrovsky?
05:23Yeah. I mean, I, you know, it depends on, you know, and again, we, uh, Bill Zito last year when
05:29we were talking about, well, how can you sign all these free agents? He goes, well, you know,
05:33he goes, I know some things maybe you guys don't. And I think there's a, that situation is here now
05:39is Sergei Bobrovsky in the Florida Panthers future plan. That's something they know that we
05:45necessarily don't. I think he is. I think, you know, but maybe he's not and, and he's expendable,
05:53but here is the problem. Sergei Bobrovsky has a $10 million salary cap hit no team in the NHL that
06:01needs a goalie has the kind of money to, to, to take on that hit. Even if the Panthers take
06:08some
06:08stuff back, even if the Panthers keep 50% of the cap hit, that's still a $5 million player for,
06:15for teams just don't have that kind of salary cap space. And are you really going to, you know,
06:23take up whatever you've got left for, for what Sergei Bobrovsky's numbers have been. Um, so I don't
06:29know that he's even movable at this point, but you know, Bill Zito, you know, is a mad scientist
06:37when it comes to this kind of stuff. We don't know what he's got up his sleeve. I think Sergei
06:42Bobrovsky is, you know, I think, you know, he's still going to be here next year. He's going to be
06:46here for the next couple of years. Uh, maybe this, he just, you know, it's just one of those kinds
06:51of
06:51deals. Um, so I would be surprised if he is traded.
06:56Hell of a run, George. Like we've, we've all been excited. Three Stanleys, two cups,
07:01like hell of a run. Is there any chance that Bill Zito coming into the trade deadline, coming
07:06into this off season, like now it's time to retool. Now it's time to get a little younger,
07:10get a little cheaper, try to try to find a replacement for Kachuk, the replacement for
07:14Barkov, something of that nature, a re not a rebuild or re or reset on a retool of what we
07:20know can work. Yeah. I, I don't know because there are all these guys on the Panthers, all
07:26the, all their core guys, the guys you all know, there's 10 guys that are signed all the
07:31way up until 2030. That's the Florida Panthers championship window. This season is more like
07:37a blip, more like a write-off, right? Because they're just trying, you know, the next year,
07:41the Florida Panthers are going to be Stanley cup contenders. They're going to have all their
07:45players. They're going to be fresh. They are not looking to trade any of the big guys that,
07:51you know, they're looking to maybe deal off a couple of the small pieces and get ready for
07:55next year because you don't get Brad Marchand a six-year contract last summer. If you're just
08:00going to tear things down now, um, you know, all these, all this is coming back for next year.
08:06So I think this is just one of those seasons where it just hasn't gone their way. Um, I think
08:12Bill
08:12Vito was looking to see how this thing would start off if they would have, you know, you know,
08:17gone, you know, two, Oh, and one or, you know, one, all three of these first, you know, maybe he
08:23brings in some guys to, to, to, to offset. But now I think it's just going to be, get rid
08:29of some of
08:30the, the pieces that don't fit and, and look ahead until next year. Is, uh, is the Panthers playoff
08:38chances if Sergei Bobrovsky was having a more Bob like season? Cause obviously you don't have
08:44Sasha Barkov out there and that's the big injury that you've dealt with all season. What if he's
08:50still not available, but Bob is having a more Bob like season? Is this a different record at this
08:57point? Yeah, I think you can say that, that Sergei Bobrovsky, you look at his numbers, they have,
09:03they are not good. I mean, they're, they are at the bottom of the NHL and, you know, a couple
09:09saves
09:09here or there. Um, yeah, I think you could argue that the Panthers could have an extra four, five,
09:15six points in the standings. They're, they're eight points out right now. What, what, what, what,
09:20what if they were two points out? So that's manageable, right? That's, that's where you thought
09:24the Panthers would be. Um, you know, within, you know, a few points, we thought that the Panthers
09:30were going to be a playoff team, but not a, you know, slam dunk. They're going to win the
09:35Atlantic by 20, you know, none of that. We never thought that, but we thought they'd be in the top
09:40eight. Um, two points out puts you in that, you know, in that frame, um, eight points doesn't.
09:46And I think you can look at the goaltending and say to yourself, boy, there's, there's been a
09:51couple of games where a couple saves here or there would have saved the Panthers and didn't.
09:56And, you know, and there's been times where they've completely let him down too. So I,
10:02it, it, it's one of those weird things where he is part of a bigger picture, but you look at
10:07that
10:08goaltending position and you've got to make big saves. Sometimes you've got to steal some games
10:13and Sergei's only stolen a couple this year. We're used to seeing him steal five, six, seven,
10:19eight. And, and that just hasn't happened. What, what do you think the mark is in terms of like
10:23the game that maybe, uh, Paul Maurice and Zito kind of say, okay, it's just, it's, it's just not
10:29going to happen. Uh, because I believe their pick next year is top 10 protected or top eight protected
10:36one or the other. It would probably, it would probably benefit them. Uh, George, if, you know,
10:42if there was like a, a game where they say, okay, like now it's just going to be impossible.
10:47There's 21 left. Maybe it's the 17, the 16 game mark. If they can't turn this road trip around
10:52and, and rest everybody, right? Like why is Marchy? Why would Marchy continue to play
10:57Kachuk, like rest everybody and essentially try to tank? I know it's crazy. Cause you're,
11:03you have the capability to three feet, but if you can keep that top 10 pick, doesn't that make sense?
11:09Yeah. Uh, well, we'll, we'll find out. I mean, we'll find out this week. I mean,
11:13it depends what Bill Zito does at the trade deadline. I mean, if there are, if there are some names
11:17on that, you know, get, get moved out or, you know, maybe they could be buyers and sellers at
11:22the same time, right? Because the Panthers next year, there is no salary cap concerns. The Panthers
11:27have like 25 million under the cap next year. Um, so maybe they make a trade for somebody to come
11:32in
11:33that's got term that it's going to be part of it next year. I don't know, but we, I think
11:37this week
11:38is the line of demarcation. We're going to find out if they start dealing off stuff pieces and
11:44they're, they're giving up. If they start, like you said, resting Brad Marchand, you know,
11:48giving them a maintenance day, you know, workload, whatever. I think that that's telling you that
11:55they're like, yeah, well, maybe we could win seven in a row, but even if you do, you know,
12:01the teams in front of you have to lose as well. And they just haven't been.
12:04And who's going to tell Paul Maurice that they don't want to win and protect their eighth pick.
12:08Cause I think Paul Maurice will punch you right in the face.
12:11Yeah. You know, he's, he's not, he's, but he's a realist too. And he's been through some bad years
12:16with a lot of bad teams. Um, you know, this is, this is paradise for, for Paul Maurice. He's
12:22coached some really crummy teams in his career. And that's why he's the NHL all time losing his
12:28coach, which he's quick to point out to you because he's coached some real dogs. So I don't,
12:32I don't think it's going to be the end of the world for him. Cause he's going to try and
12:36beat you
12:36with whatever he's putting on the ice. They're going to try and beat you,
12:39but he also knows that these are, you know, veteran guys who have, who have just laid it all
12:45out on the line for, for him and the Florida Panthers over the last three years. So if you've
12:50got to rest a couple of them, you know, what, not the end of the world. I was saying to
12:55Crowder,
12:55I mean, you think of the billboard campaign from years past the playoff guarantee, maybe we'd just
13:02be realist, be pragmatist, do a billboard campaign. Let's all go to Cancun and have like,
13:08uh, Chuck and Marchy and, uh, Barkov have him in like Hawaiian shirts, you know, and just say,
13:15listen, it was fun, but let's, let's, let's relax. And, uh, we'll see you next season.
13:21Here's the blueprint, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Why not? Uh, George Richards,
13:26read his work at Florida hockey now.com. We always love talking to you, George. Thank you.
13:32Hey, good talk to you guys. We'll see you later. I feel confident that Sergei Bobrovsky is not going
13:38to be moved. So that's relaxing. And I feel confident that they're not and make any wholesale
13:44changes. So that's relaxing to me. I think George Richards was the voice of reason there. I feel,
13:51I feel good about the notion, like where you said, Hey, would they consider retooling or whatever?
13:58He's like, nah, everybody's locked in, locked up. They weren't going to sign these long-term deals
14:02with people if they were going to make any kind of moves. And I think, uh, I think Bob will
14:06be
14:06here as well. So good news all around for, uh, I think for Florida Panthers. I like it.
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