Florida Panthers: Top 3 reasons why they should fire Dale Tallon
Tallon Is Really, Really Bad In Free Agency
As bad as Dale Tallon has been at drafting and at making trades, he has been even worse in free agency. He has a laundry list of bad signings. And it’s not like Tallon just got unlucky. These were signings everyone knew was going to end poorly. Everyone, that is, except for Tallon.
His quartet of signings from last summer have gotten mixed reviews. On one hand, Noel Acciari has a Cy Young stat line (19 goals and 5 assists as of Feb. 19). Brett Connolly (18 goals and 13 assists) has been very solid. He was brought in to produce, which is exactly what he has done.
On the other hand, Sergei Bobrovsky’s seven-year deal isn’t even a year old and it might already be the worst contract in the NHL. Age is rarely kind to goalies and Bobrovsky was on the wrong side of 30 when he signed his deal. Also, his save percentage had declined in consecutive seasons. Tallon ignored the red flags. Anton Stralman hasn’t been good, either, which isn’t surprising.
Back in 2017, Tallon signed Michael Matheson to an eight-year deal worth $4.875 million per year. While Matheson hasn’t been awful and is clearly an NHL caliber defenseman, giving him an eight-year deal was baffling then, and it’s even more baffling now.
Surprisingly, Bobrovsky’s deal isn’t even the worst one he’s given out. That honor belongs to Dave Bolland. Tallon must have liked Bolland from his time with the Chicago Blackhawks because he gave the third-line center a five-year deal worth $27.5 million in 2015.
He only played 78 games for the Panthers and they wind up giving the Arizona Coyotes Lawson Crouse as a sweetener to take on his contract. Though the Panthers got back two draft picks, neither of them has made an NHL appearance yet.
To be fair, Tallon has made some good free agent signings. The Evgenii Dadonov signing was criticized at the time, but it’s wound up being a nice deal for the Panthers. Though Frank Vatrano’s extension wasn’t technically a signing, it’s a very good contract, so I’ll include it.
Next. One Player Each Team Should Trade. dark
However, at the end of the day, Tallon has hurt the Florida Panthers more than he has helped them. The Florida Panthers need to part ways with him before he does more harm. Think about it. The Panthers are arguably in the best shape they’ve been in under Tallon and they’re still just fighting for a playoff spot. He’s had his chances to make a difference, and he has failed to do so.