This talent-poor team is hurting even when it's healthy -- which isn't often

By Richard Deitsch

Jay Bouwmeester.  Bob Rosato SI Fast Fact Peter Worrell and Brad Ference ranked first and second in the league in penalty minutes last season, the first teammates to do so since Philadelphia's Dave Schultz and Andre Dupont in '74-75. SI Insider Rankings Offense: 30 Top center is underachieving Kozlov, which says it all Defense: 26 Speedy Bouwmeester entertaining, but unit doesn't play smart Goaltending: 8 Luongo has developed into one of the NHL's best Special Teams: 29 Second-worst penalty-killing unit in league wasn't upgraded Management: 24 G.M. Dudley, Keenan stepped into mess; patience is key

One day after talking about trying to avoid the sophomore jinx, left wing Kristian Huselius, who led the Panthers with 23 goals and finished third in the Calder Trophy voting last year, collided with a teammate in training camp. Huselius sprained a ligament in his left knee and will miss the first week or two of the season. Such is the luck of the Panthers.

After injuries caused their players to miss a total of 374 games in 2000-01, Florida led the NHL with 363 man-games lost last season. The most devastating injuries were to two members of the top forward line: right wing Valeri Bure (51 games because of various knee ailments) and center Viktor Kozlov (32 games after season-ending hernia surgery in March). "Bure and Kozlov are the most talented players I've ever had, as a G.M. or as a coach," says general manager Rick Dudley, who replaced the fired Chuck Fletcher in May. "Valeri can stickhandle in a phone booth and make a play doing it."

If Bure and Kozlov stay healthy -- and both were injury-free when the season opened -- Florida should improve its meager 2.20 goals-per-game average. That would relieve some of the pressure on 22-year-old rising star goalie Roberto Luongo. His athleticism and quick reflexes led to some highlight-reel stops, and Dudley says Luongo has worked hard on his one noticeable flaw: poor puckhandling skills. But the G.M. realizes that when a goalie keeps making spectacular saves, it often means the defensemen aren't doing their jobs.

To put some backbone into that position, Dudley acquired the physical Dmitry Yushkevich in a trade with the Maple Leafs. However, other than Yushkevich and Sandis Ozolinsh, an offensive whiz, the Panthers will rely on a group of unproven defensemen. Teenagers Jay Bouwmeester, the third selection in the 2002 draft, and Lukas Krajicek have the most promise, but there's no quick fix in sight.

"The difficult thing is that the young assets have to mature, and that doesn't come to fruition as soon as you'd like," says Dudley. "I'd like to think that some of our kids have the maturity to take their games to the next level sooner rather than later."

Issue date: October 14, 2001