The Nuts and Bolts:
There are 265 forwards and defensemen who have skated for the Florida Panthers, and 24 goaltenders. I looked at each season, player by player, and the point shares they each earned on the season. If the collective point shares did not equal total team points (for example, the composite point shares for this past season was 81.1, but the team finished with 94), then I introduced an equalizing multiple into the equation.
Then I had to account for playoffs. In each regular season game, two points are awarded for a win, one for an overtime loss (or tie) and zero points for a loss. I took a graded approach to Panthers history. In the Conference quarterfinals, a win counted for three points. In the Conference semifinals, a win counted for four points. In the Conference Finals, six points, and for a win in the Stanley Cup Finals (which we never earned), eight points. For each postseason loss I did not award any points, as nothing positive was earned.
After I added all the regular season point shares to the postseason point shares, I noticed an alarming tendency that I’ll call “goalie bias.” Goaltenders get a lot of credit for each win. I’d say they get more than is deserved, so I gave each goaltender an additional multiple of 0.7. What is left is your list of 289 Panthers.
Since we don’t have 289 days to do this, I’ll start at the bottom, and we’ll go over five per day, then four, then three, two, and the top 20 on the list each get an entry to themselves (I’m sure they are all breathing collective sighs of relief).
If you’d like to take a spin through Panthers history, click on through.
289. Peter Worrell
Worrell starts out our list due to season after season of negative point shares exceeding any other Panther. Florida selected the left winger in the seventh round of the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, with th 166th overall pick. After a few years spent in juniors with the QMJHL Hull Olympiques, Worrell started 1997-98 with the AHL Beast of New Haven. He made his NHL debut with the Panthers later that season, earning 153 penalty minutes in only 19 games, finishing with a minus-4 rating and not scoring a single point.
The following season, Worrell finished third in the NHL with 258 penalty minutes. It was his only Florida season in which he did not finish with a negative plus/minus rating, at even. He scored four goals on 50 shots along with five assists.
In 1999-00, Worrell missed a substantial portion of the season with a knee injury, but still managed to rack up 169 penalty minutes, scoring three goals and six assists, along with a minus-7 rating in 48 games. He also scored one of six Florida goals in the Panthers four game postseason sweep at the hands of the New Jersey Devils. Worrell was also involved in an incident with Devil defenseman Scott Niedermayer, per Wikipedia:
After a collision along the boards where Worrell appeared to elbow Niedermayer in the face, Niedermayer hit Worrell on the top of the helmet with his stick. A scrum ensued and as Worrell was being escorted off the ice by the referees he made throat-slashing gestures to the Devils bench. Niedermayer was suspended 10 games (the Devils 9 final regular season games and their first playoff game). Worrell missed the Panthers next game due to headaches, dizziness and nausea.
Scott Niedermayer hits Peter Worrell with his stick (via fracases)
All-time statline: Six seasons, 342 games, 16 goals, 26 assists, 42 points, minus-50, 1375 PIM, -0.9 KAPS (Kevin’s Adjusted Point Share)
288. Rob Globke
Globke, a center, was drafted by the Panthers in the second round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, with the 40th overall pick. After graduating from the University of Notre Dame in 2004, where he averaged just over a point per game during his Senior season, he split the season between the AHL San Antonio Rampage and the ECHL Texas Wildcatters. He earned his first NHL call-up the following season in December, scoring his only career goal against the Atlanta Thrashers in February and posting an even rating along with six penalty minutes in 18 NHL games.
In 2006-07, he split time between the Rampage and the Panthers. In a career high 19 NHL games, he logged one assist against the Philadelphia Flyers in March and racked up a minus-3 rating.
In 2007-08 he made the club out of camp, but failed to register a point in his first five games along with a minus-2 rating. He played the balance of the season in San Antonio, but rejoined the Panthers in February for five more games. He has since appeared with the Frederikshavn White Hawks in Denmark and the Krefeld Pinguine in Germany before joining the Sheffield Steelers in 2010-11.
All-time statline: Three seasons, 46 games, one goal, one assist, two points, minus-6, 8 PIM, -0.7 KAPS
287. Craig MacDonald
MacDonald, a left winger, was drafted by the Hartford Whalers out of Harvard in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. He spent his first professional seasons between the AHL Beast of New Haven and the IHL Cincinnati Cyclones, playing 11 NHL games with the Carolina Hurricanes in 1998-99. He played 47 more games for the Hurricanes between 2001-03 before joining the Panthers for the 2003-04 season.
For the Panthers, MacDonald joined a line with Marcus Nilson and Byron Ritchie, dubbed the John Deere line, so named for their “nose to the grindstone” work ethic. In 34 games for the Panthers, MacDonald managed three assists, a minus-5 rating and 25 penalty minutes. He was placed on waivers by Florida in January, where the Boston Bruins picked him up.
He has since appeared with the Calgary Flames, the Chicago Blackhawks, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Columbus Blue Jackets, most recently in January 2009. Since leaving the NHL, he has played in the German League, with the DEG Metro Stars and Adler Mannheim.
All-time statline: One season, 34 games, zero goals, three assists, three points, minus-5, 25 PIM, -0.5 KAPS
286. Dave Morriset
Morriset was originally drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the second round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft with the 65th overall pick. He appeared with Seattle of the WHL in 2000-01, where he scored 68 points in 61 contests.
The following season, he appeared with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL, earning a call-up to the Panthers. 20-year old Morriset’s performance left a little to be desired, as the right winger played four games, did not score and accrued a minus-7 rating, along with five penalty minutes. He was out of professional hockey after spending 30 games with the AHL San Antonio Rampage in 2002-03.
All-time statline: One season, four games, zero goals, zero assists, zero points, minus-7, five penalty minutes, -0.4 KAPS
285. Mike Duco
Duco spent five seasons with the OHL Kitchener Rangers, scoring 191 points in 242 contests. The scrappy left winger played for the Panthers AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans in 2008-09, scoring 14 goals and 14 assists in 68 games.
He earned his first callup to the Panthers in December of 2009, playing 10 games. He didn’t score, registered a minus-3 rating, and earned 50 penalty minutes in his short time with the club (he earned 77 minutes of ice time). The following season he played two games for the Panthers in March, earning a minus-1 rating and 10 more penalty minutes.
Just after the Panthers overhauled their roster last July 1st, Duco was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for Sergei Shirokov in a minor league deal. He appeared with the club for six games last season, scoring two assists.
All-time statline: Two seasons, 12 games, zero goals, zero assists, zero points, minus-4 rating, 60 PIM, -0.4 KAPS
Mike Duco #68 Florida Panthers VS. Jaime Benn #14 Dallas Stars hockey fight (via traintrackzzz)
Which of these bottom five guys don’t belong here? Who would you have given a longer look?
| Mike Duco | 21 |
| Craig MacDonald | 4 |
| Peter Worrell | 59 |
| Dave Morriset | 5 |
| Rob Globke | 4 |