Facing Off: Should Jacob Markström be the Panthers' starting goaltender?

And I’ll explain why:

If you start Marky without so much as giving Theo a chance….especially based on a preseason in which veterans don’t place much emphasis on…you might run the risk of losing some of the veterans in the locker room before you even drop the opening puck, IMO. It may not seem like much, and it’s an angle not many are mentioning, but it’s a distinct possibility. What kind of message does it send to your vets if a guy who you bring in to be your #1(and let’s face it, he wasn’t brought in to compete with Marky or Clemmer, realistically) doesn’t even get a chance to DO the job because he doesn’t perform well in the “preseason”? C’mon, if that’s the case then have the rosters on half the teams in The NHL would be benched, sent down, or outright waived, LOL.

On the flip side, Kevin Dineen has an obligation to put the best players on the ice, players that HE best feels will help him win as many hockey games as possible and get this club back to the playoffs REGARDLESS, PERIOD, END-O-STORY. If he feels that Marky is the netminder that best gives his club that chance, then he owes it to the fans, management, and the hockey club to make that move. He’s seen enough hockey in his lifetime to know when a guy is just trying to get back in a rhythm and taking it slowly, or when he’s just plain fighting it and is a time bomb waiting to go off, IMO. This may be his first NHL head coaching gig, but is sure as hell ain’t his first rodeo, so to speak, so the onus is upon him and him alone….that why he’s here…that’s why he has the title…that’s where the buck stops………….Choose wisely, Kevin

Whoever is the best goalie in the net should be the starter not most experienced. Please see Neuvirth and Holtby with the Caps for proof.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/What-We-Learned-20-bold-predictions-for-the-NHL?urn=nhl-wp13920

15. Jacob Markstrom(notes) will at some point take over the Panthers’ starting goaltending job.

They made the decision and didn’t leave it until Tuesday. Make a decision and stick by it.

Hope Huby has another great season, and he comes back to camp next year to a team that has A LOT better idea of who it really is, collectively, and what it needs to take another step back to respectability.

is the future of this franchise, bank on it! he will be that much better at the start of 12-13! though we may not live to see him play a full season, it’ll be an interesting start to say the least!

Much like the Panthers have done with their repeated press releases over the years, they used his signing as a spin maneuver to cover up the loss of Vokoun, and still sell tickets.

Theo is and hasn’t been starting material in quite some time. He was brought in as the lead portion of a tandem/platooning situation. At best. He is signed to a reasonable, two year contract, while Clemmer has a single season left (thus making him expendable around the deadline). Theo was just brought in to keep the seat warm, while Markstrom grills a little longer until ready. Theo is a back-up tender at this point in his career and can show signs of being worthy of more, on occasion, but extended periods of hm playing do not benefit his team (similar to Martin Biron, who just can’t show the consistency). Theo’s best season was on the back of an emotional roller coaster that was Saku Koivu’s return from cancer. It was a product of the team’s ability to raise its game, not just his own production.

That was the benefit of having Clemmer, who also is capable of doing solid stretches. He showed he can backstop a solid defensive team for an extended period, but has since shown with Florida, that he is incapable of being the go to goalie for 65+ games a year. His contract is up at the end of the year, and could either be trade bait, or allowed to walk at the end of the year, opening a spot for Markstrom next season.

This season was meant to be all about discovery in the eyes of management. Don’t fool yourself into believing otherwise. Yes, they can release statements or interviews to the press stating otherwise, but much like every fan here, management is guessing at what they have. They’re hoping the skaters develop chemistry sooner than later. They’re hoping the prospects get another season maturing in every aspect of the game before possibly being relied upon. And they’re hoping the freshness of new faces reinvigorates a fanbase that has become apathetic after a decade on ineptness.

Now Markstrom. He was gonna get the chance to showcase his ability to be the starter at some point this season. It was expected to be near the end of the year, when Clemmer had hopefully been traded away as a playoff rental. But circumstances change. He now has six to eight weeks potentially, to win a job that many have him predestined for. And he should be given the opportunity to play, because sitting the bench in the NHL will be just as bad as sitting the bench anywhere else, when it comes to his development.

I have predicted previously, that Markstrom would be the starter for the Panthers by the All-Star break. Mostly out of belief, that Theo is gonna look horrendous backstopping a team searching for its own identity and chemistry. I had figured that Clemmensen would be gettin traded about this time. Just an intuition. But if Markstrom wins the job now, and he should be given every opportunity to do such, Theo is the one looking to be demoted, as he is less likely to be claimed on waivers than Clemmensen, especially if his play is as horrible as I am expecting.

Best place for Markstrom is a few more months playing with the future down in San Antonio. Best place for the Panthers right now, is having the kid learn on the job, playing the big boys. You still have two solid back-ups if the kid falters, who can step in and play spot duty. To play game #1, you go Theo. Game #2 depends on Theo’s performance. Game #3 and every game after goes to the hot hand. And I’m expecting that to belong to Markstrom on more nights than not.

Best thing for them is to be sent down. Hubs didn’t have a contract and wasn’t really expected to, so no nine game extended try-out for him.

Guds on the other hand gets that try-out. I’m betting Tallon already has him slated to return to juniors after playin nine games, unless. Unless he performs so lights out, he forces the Panthers to keep him by earning a top four spot now. That means, playing like a top pairing defenseman but receiving a second pairing role. Panthers are gonna carry seven defensemen all season, and play only six (for a few I read who seem to think a team only has six on the roster). The kid needs to show in his nine game audition, the Panthers have a reason why to sit Ellerby or Garrison and stunt their development. If he at best, plays on par as they do, he should go back to juniors and roast a little more.