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About Brett Friedlander
Brett Friedlander became a hockey fan in the heart of the deep south in the early 1970s. He became hooked the first time his father, a charter Atlanta Flames season-ticket holder, took him to a game at The Omni. His first job covering hockey was with the Annapolis Capital, where he covered the Washington Capitals and learned to do an uncanny imitation of coach Bryan Murray from 1984-93. He's also covered the Carolina Hurricanes and Fayetteville FireAntz of the Southern Professional Hockey League for the Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer. He has also been a regular contributor to Rinkside magazine and Faceoff.com. The highlight of his writing career came on June 19,2006, when the Hurricanes beat the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 to win the Stanley Cup. His first book, "Chasing Moonlight: The True Story of Field of Dreams' Doc Graham" was released by John F. Blair, Publisher, in April 2009.
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| 2010-11 preview: Florida Panthers |
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| Southeast |
| Written by Brett Friedlander |
| Tuesday, August 31, 2010 00:00 |
New GM Dale Tallon is taking the same tact in Miami that he did in Chicago, building down before – hopefully – building up. The Panthers' kids will play. The question is, who will score?• 2009-10: 32-37-13, 77 points, missed playoffs• Key additions: D Dennis Wideman, RW Michael Grabner, RW Steve Bernier, D Nathan Paetsch, F Christopher Higgins, D Erik Gudbranson, C Nick Bjugstad • Key losses: RW Nathan Horton, C Gregory Campbell, D Keith Ballard, RW Victor Oreskovich • Overview:
 New general manager Dale Tallon clearly had an eye for the future when he took over and immediately dealt his team’s leading point-getter (Horton) for a first-round draft choice. That he used that pick – along with his own first-round selection – to select two of the best young talents in the draft (Gudbranson and Bjugstad) bodes well for the future. That’s not to say Tallon has given up on breaking his team’s 10-year playoff drought, the longest active streak in the league. Despite a lack of offensive punch, Florida is still blessed with a franchise goalie in Tomas Vokoun, who finished last season with seven shutouts and a .925 save percentage despite facing the most shots of any netminder in the NHL. In an effort to strengthen the blue line and take some of the pressure off Vokoun, the Panthers added the veteran Wideman to go along with returning blueliners Bryan McCabe and Dmitry Kulikov.
• What they’re missing: While there’s still a lot of pieces missing from the Panthers' puzzle going into the new season, the biggest shortcoming is offense. By trading Horton to Boston, Florida is left with Stephen Weiss and Cory Stillman as the only proven offensive threats on a team that ranked 28th in the league in goals last season. Though young Michael Frolik may be ready to take the next step in his career after posting consecutive 21-goal seasons, it looks as if the Panthers are going to spend another season riding the shoulders of goalie Vokoun. • Players to watch in camp: Most eyes will be on left wing David Booth, to see if he is fully recovered from the post-concussion symptoms that forced him to miss most of last season. Booth is a rising star who scored 22 and 31 goals in his first two full seasons in the NHL, but was limited to just eight goals and 16 points in 23 games in 2009-10 after taking a vicious hit from Philadelphia’s Mike Richards. Another player to watch is Kulikov, a 19-year-old who the Panthers believe can become one of the league’s best two-way defensemen after a surprisingly strong rookie season. Then, of course, there’s Gudbranson and Bjugstad, who both have a legitimate shot at making the team with impressive preseasons. HPT is counting down one team each day until NHL training camps open on Sept. 17. Tomorrow: Los Angeles Kings
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| Last Updated on Tuesday, August 31, 2010 17:17 |
