Panthers Get Faster, Smarter in Free Agency
With significant needs on the wing at the start of the day, the Panthers made good on their promise to get younger, faster and harder to play against by targeting several players who fit the bill and signing Evgeny Dadonov, Radim Vrbata and Micheal Haley to contracts on Saturday.
"We talked about getting faster, getting smarter, getting more sandpaper and getting younger," Tallon said from the BB&T Center. "We checked all those boxes this week."
While Vrbata, Dadonov and Haley bring some depth, grit, veteran savvy and scoring punch to the Panthers lineup, Florida's moves on free agent frenzy day were shaped in part by their evaluation of the high talent level present at last week's development camp.
"We had a great camp with our kids and our rookies. Some of our young guys impressed us enough.
"We've got some offense back in our lineup. We're starting to get balanced, as far as our attack is concerned. We'll be able to put a couple young kids in the lineup that can really skate and play offensively as well."
Dadonov, who the Panthers originally selected in the third round of the 2007 NHL Draft, appeared in a total of 55 games for the organization before being traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in January 2012. Following the 2011-12 season, he left North America for the Kontinental Hockey League in Russia.
Now 28, Dadonov is coming off a career-best season in which he recorded 66 points (30-36-66) in 53 regular season games with St. Petersburg SKA of the KHL and posted 19 points (9-10-19) in 18 postseason games to win the Gagarin Cup. Dadonov, a native of Chelyabinsk, Russia, finished the KHL season ranking fourth in goals and fifth in points.
"He's a totally different player than when he first came over," Tallon of Dadonov, who signed a three-year deal. "He's got high speed, a great work ethic, gets on pucks, makes plays, and our fans are really going to like him. He plays a hard, 200-foot game. He's very creative and very fast."
Vrbata, 36, appeared in 81 games for the Arizona Coyotes during the 2016-17 season, leading the team in goals (20), assists (35) and points (55). Over his last four seasons, Vrbata has averaged 21 goals and 49 points per season, including a career-best 63 points in 2014-15.
"I like to think that I'm a professional," Vrbata said via conference call. "I try to take care of myself. I try to do the right things in the summer and during the season. I try to come in and do my job."
Vrbata said the opportunity to play alongside Florida's talented young core of forwards played a big role in his decision to ultimately ink a one-year deal with the Panthers.
"That was obviously appealing," said Vrbata, a naitve of Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic. "We knew that this would be a good situation, a good fit. [Aleksander] Barkov, Vincent [Trocheck], those are great young centermen that can make plays and like to pass to puck. I'm the guy that likes to shoot the puck."
Haley, 31, recorded a career-high 12 points (2-10-12) and 128 penalty minutes in 58 games with the San Jose Sharks during the 2016-17 season. The 5-foot-11, 205-pound enforcer has appeared in 130 NHL games for San Jose (2014-17), the New York Rangers (2012-13) and New York Islanders (2009-10), recording 16 points (5-11-16) and 350 penalty minutes.
"Obviously I fight, but I don't think that's as much in the game now as it used to be," said Haley, who dropped the gloves 16 times last season. "If you can play, if you can hit, if you can apply that pressure, I think that changes the outcome [of the game].
"I think the amount of skill in the league today is through the roof, so if you can play the game but still have the ability to keep guys in check, they might have to think twice about making the extra move. That's what we're going to try and bring."
After playing on one-year deals for the past three seasons, Haley, who signed a two-year deal with the Panthers, said he's happy to have found some stability.
"That was an important thing this year," said Haley, who hails from Guelph, Ontario. "I wanted to get two years to have some form of stability. My kids are going to start school soon, so it was really important. I'm excited, especially to be in Florida. I'm excited, my wife's excited, the kids are excited. We're excited to start a new adventure."
In addition to Saturday's free agency acquisitions, Tallon believes that several prospects showed enough promise at this week's development camp to earn a spot on the Panthers in the upcoming season.
"We've got some young kids we're going to throw in the lineup as well," said Tallon, who pointed to several prospects including Henrik Haapla, Jared McCann, Maxim Mamim and Sebastian Repo. "It's going to an exciting team. We're going to play a fast paced game. We're going to play the in-your-face, up-tempo game that our coaches want to play"
