The NHL Has A ‘Florida’ Problem

The NHL Has A ‘Florida’ Problem

this is the florida panthers and over the past three seasons no team in the nhl has taken the league by storm quite like this organization in an era defined by parody they’ve built a team and culture that has reached three cup finals in a row and won back-to back stanley cups it seems like no matter who’s on the team or who their opponent is they have built a formula capable of beating anyone any way on any given night the florida panthers have become the nhl’s model of modern success and right now it’s a problem that 31 other teams are desperately trying to solve but when you take a look at how it may be an issue that won’t be going away anytime soon every year the question all 32 teams ask themselves is how exactly can we build a stanley cup winning team some teams aren’t concerned with doing it all in one season while the contenders are ready to push in all the chips to make a run for the florida panthers one thing is abundantly clear it seems like every single move every trade and acquisition has ended up in pure gold over the last few years is gm bill zitto a crazy wizard that can see into the future nah he just lives in a tax friendly state i’m just kidding gary said it wasn’t a problem however what zto has done is build a formula and group that allows anyone who steps into that locker room to have success so what is that exact system and how is it capable of beating anyone on any given night well let’s go back to june of 2022 the president trophy winning panthers just got swept by their rivals in the second round in the tampa bay lightning so florida decided to make a change by bringing in coach paul maurice and from day one he was focused on building a team and system that was made for playoff hockey his philosophy was simple play a smarter game by minimizing risk what this means as a whole is giving up the puck in certain situations and having a plan to get it back this stylistic change was reinforced exactly one month later when florida traded their superstar winger jonathan hubo to calgary for matthew kachchuck that trade created the base for the identity of the florida panthers which is their relentless forchuck the panthers went from being last in the nhl in dumpins to 12th in the league and every year since their dump and chase system has become their deadliest weapon off the fore there isn’t anything revolutionary about the panther system it’s a standard one two the f1’s primary responsibility is to angle the puck here towards the boards and take away the middle of the ice the second layer consists of the f2 and f3 skating through the dot lanes they have to stay ready to react to the play while the dmen are positioned to pinch and maintain offensive zone pressure while preventing clean exits a lot of teams in the nhl use this for check but very few execute it with the fluidity and support that the panthers do where florida is unique is their pressure on the walls they always want their defense pressuring down those walls to pinch and get in their opponent’s face before they can even make a play this only works when you have a proper f3s as support and with florida no matter what line is on the ice every player knows their role in the forche the result creates a consistent wave of pressure being thrown in the opponent’s face that frequently leads to mistakes this forche is initiated when they dump in the puck and additionally the panthers know how to maximize the difficulty of handling such pressure countless times in their most recent playoff run we saw them use hard rims to the far side to make the d have to pick up the puck off the boards on the backhand handling this type of puck while having pressure breathing down your neck is a monstrous task that no team could ever fully solve in this playoff run for every response florida had an adjustment of their own teams would try to negate the panther for check by having their goalies come out more frequently to stop the rim and play the puck to help accelerate the breakout but florida would respond with these soft chips into unplayable areas for the goalie to ensure that that just stops happening when you play a system like this it enables you to have four effective offensive lines the panthers they don’t rely on a system that requires any of its players to make exceptionally skilled plays with the puck to create offense most teams with high-end talent usually have their top players carry the puck in with possession they like to go east west at the blue line and leverage their skill to make a play the panthers however are uniform in their attack their top six players play the same way their bottom six players do it’s why they had nine players with 15 or more points in these playoffs the nature of their style relies more on will than skill everyone can contribute in this system and it directly correlates to how well the panthers defend too like we’ve showed the name of the game for florida is pressure pressure pressure all over the ice in the neutral zone again nothing revolutionary with them playing a one-tw2 but it’s the execution that separates better than any team in the nhl florida’s layers gapped up on their opponents at each line as a defending team you always want to stop your opponent at each line if possible if you can’t get them at their blue line step up and cut them off at the center line instead florida as a whole has mastered these gaps in the neutral zone and when that’s the case teams either have the choice of turning over the puck or have to dump it in to avoid the danger entirely this is why florida consistently shuts down the best players in the world just look at these numbers over the past two seasons mcdavid four goals in 13 games coov zero goals in 10 games matthews passionac and paneran one goal each in all of their series against the panthers there is nothing a talented and skilled player loves more than when the puck is on their stick and they have possession entering the zone because of how well florida gaps up in the neutral zone the top players just don’t get that opportunity come playoff time unlike florida’s top guys teams and their top players just aren’t willing to dump the puck in and get it back even if they are willing to and teams are adjusting they simply can’t do it as well as florida as it’s a dramatic shift in play style to what superstars are accustomed to all season long this was clearly evident in the cup final the mcdavid and dryidle pair is the best duo in hockey but the gaps of florida consistently forced them to have to chip the puck in or give it up entirely mcdavid and dryidle are willing and capable of forchecking to make those plays they’ve had success doing that but it’s not where those two are at their best florida knows that and so when they take away their biggest strength the game is played on panthers terms finally it’s their defense and their own end florida again doesn’t reinvent the wheel it’s a hybrid system which essentially means that coverage is switched depending on where the puck is when the puck is in florida zone we see a more zone coverage style where each panther player has their own assigned quadrant or zone that they’re responsible for this is extremely effective because it allows the panthers to have lots of support on wall battles and outman their opponent for a change of possession off that change of possession the proximity of all five players ensures that they have options available for a quick and smooth breakout now when the other team has possession high and floor to zone the coverage switches to a more man-on-man approach that way when offensive players try to swing up high to create some space for themselves they are still met with a panther in their face to ensure that there isn’t a whole bunch of space for them to step in for a blast of course the ace in the hole is still sergey babski officer bob is the rock back there that covers for any glaring mistakes and when he’s on his anticipation is off the charts bob is more traditional than what we’ve seen with modern goalies lately if you look at some of the best goalies like vzna winner connor halabuk he plays much deeper in the crease to limit movement and stay efficient same with another standout goalie and logan thompson and it’s a wave that’s been a bit more popular lately with how fast the game moves in the modern nhl the puck can go so quickly laterally that if you’re overaggressive on white ice you can get burned babski however does play a more aggressive style when shooters have a great a look bob isn’t afraid to challenge on that white ice and make a save at his best babroski’s beating passes on his feet or flat out anticipating the next play and getting ahead of it before he has to make some sort of desperation save all this together has created a formula successful enough to repeat as cup champs it isn’t revolutionary in terms of tactics or strategies but rather a simplistic and uniform nature all throughout the lineup has made it nearly impossible to stop all 31 other teams will try and replicate this model moving forward but right now the panthers have become the destination synonymous with winning and when you combine that with other very appealing factors the florida problem is here to stay for the rest of the league and it may not be going anywhere anytime soon

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We break down how the Florida Panthers have become the juggernaut of the NHL.