Florida Panthers Mid-Season Honors

Over the course of an 82 game season, fans tend to lose sight of what really matters when it comes to sports.

Winning.

Kidding.

To be honest, Panthers fans have been starved for wins for so long that it’s about all they think about. We’re just over the halfway mark of the regular season and as the Panthers try to claw their way into the playoff picture, let’s take our minds off the hunt to honor the best that we’ve seen so far.

I took a poll of the rest of The Sunshine Skate staff to find out what they/we thought was the “best of” this half-season.

Have a look, stop and smell the roses. Enjoy being a fan.

The Pavel Bure Award: NHL MVP

Nat’s Pick: Nick Bjugstad

Pat’s Pick: Nick Bjugstad

Kris’ Pick: Roberto Luongo

AJ’s Pick: Roberto Luongo

Mike’s Pick: Roberto Luongo

Winner: Roberto Luongo

From AJ: I think this is pretty much a slam dunk. How can you not take Lu? Without his stalwart goaltending, it’s hard to imagine the Panthers waging the pursuit of a playoff spot like they currently are. As of the All-Star Break, he’s 17-10-8, with 2.32 GAA and .923 save percentage. He has been the steady, consistent force the Panthers have needed.

The Olli Jokinen Award: Best NHL Forward

Nat’s Pick: Aleksander Barkov

Pat’s Pick: Jonathan Huberdeau

Kris’ Pick: Jussi Jokinen

AJ’s Pick: Nick Bjugstad

Mike’s Pick: Nick Bjugstad

Winner: Nick Bjugstad

From AJ: I will admit, I’m a bit of a Bjugstad mark. He had a good rookie season last year and he’s having an even better sophomore year. He’s closing in on his total of goals for last season and there’s still plenty more season to go. Although, he’s gone into a bit of a slide goal scoring wise as we approached the All-Star break, he’s still chipping in with assists, and is getting closer to his total from last year. He should beat it by a pretty good margin, should he stay healthy.

The Jay Bouwmeester Award: Best NHL Defenseman

Nat’s Pick: Aaron Ekblad

Pat’s Pick: Aaron Ekblad

Kris’ Pick: Aaron Ekblad

AJ’s Pick: Dmitry Kulikov

Mike’s Pick: Aaron Ekblad

Winner: Aaron Ekblad

From Mike: While the vote was not unanimous, Aaron Ekblad comes away as the well deserved winner here. As of the All-Star break, Ekblad’s 28 points has him ranked second in team scoring (All Skaters) and 22nd among all NHL defensemen. Points aside, his poise with and without the puck along with his strong positional play has given the Panthers that strong blueline presence that drives possession that has alluded them for a long time. He’s eighteen years old, he’s an All-Star, he’s Aaron Ekblad.

The Steve Goldstein Award: Best Goal

Nat’s Pick: Aleksander Barkov shootout goal on Marc-Andre Fleury

Pat’s Pick: Brad Boyes on Reto Berra

Kris’ Pick: Aleksander Barkov shootout goal on Marc-Andre Fleury

AJ’s Pick: Brad Boyes on Reto Berra

Mike’s Pick: Brad Boyes on Reto Berra

Winner: Brad Boyes on Reto Berra

From Mike: Boyes may have scored the goal but a lot of credit goes to Gerrard Gallant for drawing that play up. Read all about it in the breakdown.

The Dat (p)Ass Award: Best Assist

Nat’s Pick: Jimmy Hayes to Nick Bjugstad

Pat’s Pick: Aaron Ekblad to Aleksander Barkov

Kris’ Pick: Vincent Trocheck to Jimmy Hayes

AJ’s Pick: Vincent Trocheck to Jimmy Hayes

Mike’s Pick: Vincent Trocheck to Jimmy Hayes

Winner: Vincent Trocheck to Jimmy Hayes

From Mike: All of our feelings for this assist can be found in the breakdown in the link. We have some serious romantic feelings about this assist.

The LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU Award: Best Save

Nat’s Pick: Roberto Luongo on Chris Kunitz

Pat’s Pick: Roberto Luongo on Victor Rask

Kris’ Pick: Roberto Luongo on Jiri Sekac: NHL All-Star Skills Competition

AJ’s Pick: Roberto Luongo on Victor Rask

Mike’s Pick: Roberto Luongo on Victor Rask

Winner: Roberto Luongo on Victor Rask

From Mike: Luongo literally pushes his body to the limit of his physical ability to make this save.

The Northbound on a Southbound Freeway Award: Best Hit

Nat’s Pick: Erik Gudbranson on Michael Raffl

Pat’s Pick: Sean Bergenheim on Bobby Farnham

Kris’ Pick: Jimmy Hayes on Joakim Andersson

AJ’s Pick: Sean Bergenheim on Bobby Farnham

Mike’s Pick: Erik Gudbranson on Michael Raffl

Winner: Tie! Sean Bergenheim on Bobby Farnham and Erik Gudbranson on Michael Raffl

From AJ on Bergenheim’s hit: Its been a long time since I’ve seen a hit this hard live. I could feel the impact all the way up in the 300s.

From Mike on Gudbranson’s hit: The thing that makes this hit stand out for me is the fact the Gudbranson is effectively saying “This is my blue line, you’re not getting in that easy.”

The Edge of Your Seat Award: Best Moment

Nat’s Pick: Florida Panthers VS. Washington Capitals Shootout

Pat’s Pick: Florida Panthers VS. Washington Capitals Shootout

Kris’ Pick: Florida Panthers VS. Washington Capitals Shootout

AJ’s Pick: Florida Panthers VS. Washington Capitals Shootout

Mike’s Pick: Florida Panthers VS. Washington Capitals Shootout

Winner: The Shootout

From Mike: Hard to find a better moment for the Panthers this season. I had the pleasure of being at the game and I had never seen the BB&T Center crowd that emotionally invested in a game. Just prior to the 60 minute mark the Capitals had a goal waived off and that’s when the fans really got into it. The shootout was epic because of the length but also because of the fact that non-typical goal scorers did what they had to do to keep it going. I remember there were four or five times that I thought the game was over only to have Dave Bolland or Derek MacKenzie put it in the net. Great moment, one that I will never forget.

Mike Obrand can be reached for contact on Twitter or via email at [email protected].

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Florida Panthers Mid-Season Honors

Alan Draper

Alan Draper

Alan Draper