The overlooked signings
If the media is talking about the overhaul the Panthers made with their roster this offseason the names not mentioned a lot are Marcel Goc and Sean Bergenheim.
Goc and Bergenheim are still afterthoughts despite the fact both of those guys had tremendous seasons in 2010-2011 for their respective teams.
Marcel Goc
Goc, continues the legacy of German players in a Panthers uniform over the last seasons (Seidenberg, Sulzer), was on pace for a career year in Music City before the injury bug bit him.
Marcel post 24 points in only 51 games with a great plus ten rating in the process. On top of that he played as top cog in the penalty-killing department for the Preds. And that is the main reason the Panthers brought him in. Most of the FA signings are mainly offensive guys with not that much interest into defensive. Goc provides the complete opposite. He is always very responsible when he hits the ice. He will be paired with the already good Kittens PK unit and see a lot of time there.
Fantasy outlook:
Assuming he stays healthy he should have locked up that third center spot in the lineup plus the first penalty kill duties. The third line will most certainly be another scoring line that should result in some solid numbers for Goc next season. A career season should be a strong possibility. Goc will not explode but he should be able to hit 35 points. Since Goc should have natural scoring wingers Iīd expect a few less goals and a more assist-heavy campaign. His shots on goals should stay the same with more games played but donīt expect a huge boost here. The department that will see the biggest drop is definitely his plus/minus.
Goc provides a solid option for deeper fantasy keeper pools as he is still young enough and should be able to provide those numbers for several seasons.
Sean Bergenheim
On the other hand there is Sean Bergenheim, I must admit I didnīt knew a whole lot about the 25-year-old Finn before his stellar playoff production. He had 29 points in the 2010/11 campaign but added 11 points in 16 games in the playoffs.
But what does that really mean, are all of those unexpected playoff heroes like Joel Ward worth our attention? We all should remember Pisaniīs playoff production; how out of the sudden he was hyped to be a lock for a top six role and what happened after that.
Bergenheim once was first round pick by NYI in the years where the Isles used to waste each and every pick on crap back then in 2002. He only played 75 games plus, two times before and never had a better season than the last one. For Bergenheim on Long Island, most of the time his lack of production wasnīt for the lack of opportunity. Sean played on a barely alive offensive team with the Islanders and still couldnīt find a way to get top-six minutes, which usually is not a good sign. After analyzing Bergenheimīs career it is easy to come to the conclusion that his playoff performance was a fluke that brought him a great new contract.
Fantasy outlook:
Bergenheim will fight with Kopecky to play on the third scoring line and this battle might go back and forth throughout the season with no clear winner. Usually, this type of situation is not a good sign for fantasy purposes. Another thing you should be aware of is that the guy is injury prone and more than 65 games would be too much to expect.
Giving those circumstances he will at the best repeat his last season and finish with around 30 points. You should better expect a small drop-off to around 25 points but with, tons and tons of shots. 170 shots shouldnīt be out of reach.
Bergenheim has a small chance of being a sleeper if his shot accuracy goes up and he can stay healthy. He could finally turn the corner but the chance for that is indeed a small one.
Feel free to take a gamble very late and cheap otherwise stay away.
So the new guys are all done. What would you love to hear about next besides camp news?