Pucks and Palms Podcast

Now that Aleksander Barkov has a recovery timeline for his serious knee injury, how are the Panthers going to move forward without him? Who has to step up in his absence? How are the new rules going to affect how the Panthers manage his recovery and possible return? David Dwork of the Hockey News and the Hockey Show joins Matt to talk about all of these implications and more. Pucks and Palms is a...

PuckPedia is one of the best websites around to understand the intricacies of the salary cap and so much more, and Hart Levine came on the podcast to talk about starting the site, building it out as Capfriendly went away, the new CBA and so much more. Plus, you can hear his thoughts on what the Panthers might do as Matthew Tkachuk might need to be on LTIR for an extended period of time. Nothing is...

While the rest of the NHL is at the cottage or the beach, the Pucks and Palms Podcast is still hard at work. Dom Luszczyszyn of the Athletic joins me to talk about a piece he wrote a couple of weeks ago, exploring how the Panthers squeeze so much value out of their contracts, focusing on signing bonuses as well, which I touched on too in a separate piece . We also look at how the entire strategy h...

It’s time for another new Pucks and Palms Podcast looking back on the Panthers Stanley Cup victory, and on this show, I’m joined by Josh Appel of WQAM, Sports USA and many other places to look back on the victory, what it means to him as a South Florida lifer, the celebrations, whether the Panthers can keep all of Ekblad, Bennett and Marchand and so much more. Plus, there’s some bonus Sasha Barkov...

My friend from WhyHockey Tommy Krulikowski comes back to Pucks and Palms to look back on the Panthers repeating as Cup champions, all it means and so much more including: 5:45: Can you believe what the Panthers have done? How does this fit in the context of recent league history? 15:30: How do you define what the Panthers are doing if you don't call it a dynasty? 32:30: Barkov, he's that dude 46:0...

What a special Florida Panthers team, what a Florida Panthers season, and what a run it has been for me to do all these recap shows. This one is just as rambly and nonsensical as most of the others have been, but longer and free for all to listen because more podcasts celebrating the win are good for everyone. Thanks to everyone for subscribing, whether free or paid, and thanks for listening to al...

David Dwork of the Hockey News and the Hockey Show joins me to go over where the Stanley Cup Final stands after three games, how much the Oilers meltdown in Game 3 affects Game 4 and beyond, the brilliance of Marchand, Bennett, plus more including breaking news about the broken goal horn (which hasn’t been covered enough). Pucks and Palms is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and...

Another bonus episode for the wonderful Pucks and Palms subscribers who have stuck with us all year, here’s a special treat for you: Sean McIndoe, Down Goes Brown, joins me to talk about this Panthers run and where it fits in the context of recent and more distant NHL history. We also go over why this Panthers team is disliked, whether this run can be copied and where the Panthers might fit in his...

It’s time for a new main Pucks and Palms show, and there’s no better time than my wonderful co-host and good friend from WhyHockey, Tommy Krulikowski, to join me for this big main show celebrating the Panthers third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final. There’s plenty of good old WhyHockey goodness in this show with the Pucks and Palms analysis you’ve come to expect, including: 3:20: Talking abo...

The Florida Panthers are in a third straight Eastern Conference Final after dominating Game 7 against the Maple Leafs. How did they do it? How do they keep getting better in games like this, opponent aside? We talk about these topics and more, including: 5:30: How did the end of the series play out the way it did? 13:15: The total domination of the second period in Game 7 18:00: The Seth Jones gam...

The Panthers have clawed their way back to even their series with the Maple Leafs, though they dug themselves quite a hole to start. Colby and I talk about how the Panthers have worked back into the series, how they changed the neutral zone mess from the first few games and more, including: 3:00: Expected series result through four games, but an unexpected path to get there? 7:45: Game 1 was a mes...

The Panthers dispatched the Lightning in five games, and did so in a way that almost no one (except Colby) expected. There’s a lot to break down in how they did it, how it was made easier by some unfortunate injury luck for the Lightning, and much more including: 4:00: How did the Panthers win this series in such quick fashion? 11:45: The true series MVP: Sylvain Lefebvre 16:00: Luostarinen-Lundel...

After three games of the fourth playoff Battle of Florida, there’s still so much to be decided and so little that has continued from game to game. Colby and Matt look back on what’s already happened and try to preview what’s coming next, including these topics and more: 5:00: This has been a very strange series, starting with Game 1's offensive explosion for Florida 10:45: Game 2 was weird in a di...

After a long regular season with plenty of ups and downs, the Panthers and Lightning are going at it in the playoffs again, and there’s plenty to dig into as we preview the series. We look at it from all angles, plus: 3:15: Jack Devine signs 7:00: The way the Panthers rotated players in and out of lineup at the end of the season 13:00: Looking back on the regular season 19:45: Is this the closest...

The big discussion about the Panthers as the regular season winds to a close is whether they were “tanking” to face a certain team in the playoffs or not. Colby and Matt aren’t much fans of that discussion, as you’ll see. There is much more to talk about with this team’s interesting week, including: 2:30: Podcast business! 9:20: The Panthers were not tanking to play the Leafs, come on 14:30: They'...

The Panthers are once again going through a start of spring swoon with injuries, bad luck and more taking their toll even as they’re playing decent hockey. There’s plenty to look back on, and Colby and Matt look at that and more including: 2:15: Brad Marchand makes his Panthers debut 7:45: Matt's not a fan of the whole Niko Mikkola late slapshot dust up 9:45: Why have the Habs had the Panthers num...

While the Panthers are not exactly flying at the moment, they have played some fascinating games and the challenges only get harder from here. Matt and Colby have plenty to talk about, including: 3:45: Those were a set of three games, weren't they? 6:00: They looked like themselves against the Jackets 11:00: They did not against the Capitals 18:00: Much better against the Penguins 29:30: Utah is a...

The Panthers are slumping a little after injuries and absences begin to pile up, should the Panthers be worried about that? Colby and Matt talk about that and more, including: 2:00: Injury updates 4:45: At least they could still send a message against the Leafs 8:45: Unlike against Montreal, that is 14:30: No life on the Island 17:00: Vitek Vanacek looks locked in 21:45: Is it time for Paul Mauric...

Don’t mind Colby or Matt implying on the last show that the Panthers were done at the trade deadline because we were both wrong, Matt more than Colby for sure. There’s plenty to get to on a jam packed show, including What Chaos’ Pete Blackburn joining the boys on the Marchand trade, plus: Segment 1: 2:15: Introducing the Pucks and Palms bracket challenge! 5:45: The most important Panthers forward...

Back on our normal schedule, Colby and Matt still have plenty of Panthers notes to get to including signings, trades and a whole lot more including: 1:30: The Panthers got their goalie 8:30: Jesse Puljujarvi's NHL contract 10:15: Jesper Boqvist's new contract 15:45: Strange Oilers game 19:45: Dan Vladar, hat tip 23:00: It felt like a playoff game between the Panthers and Lightning 33:00: What's ne...

There’s no better time for an emergency podcast than a big and unexpected trade and with Seth Jones becoming a Panther, an emergency podcast is in order. Matt and Colby break down the trade from all angles including: 2:15: How does Seth Jones fit into this blueline picture? 15:15: What are they going to do in net for the rest of this season with Spencer Knight gone? 21:00: Matthew Tkachuk is on LT...

Since the Four Nations Faceoff was such a big deal, Colby and Matt wanted someone on the show who had covered it in person. They got Alex Baumgartner of Five Reasons Sports who had plenty to say about that and a lot more, including: Segment 1: 3:00: We still don't know what goalie interference is 6:30: Brandon Montour and Josh Mahura's return 11:30: The Justin Sourdif game Segment 2 (with Alex): 1...

The Four Nations Faceoff was an incredible tournament to behold and in spite of Colby’s skepticism, even he got hooked on it. He and Matt talk all of that and more, including: Segment 1: 2:45: That Four Nations Faceoff, eh? 8:45: How does the NHL build on how awesome that was and sustain the momentum? 13:30: Matthew Tkachuk update! 14:45: Finland recap with a Panthers focus 21:30: Gus Forsling and...

With the Four Nations Faceoff now here, it’s a perfect time to look back on the Panthers season to this point and start to think about what the stretch run will be like when play resumes. Matt and Colby have all of that to talk about and more including: 4:45: What's happening on the Substack? 7:30: Recapping the Blues and Senators games 11:00: How do we feel about the Panthers at the 4 Nations bre...

Matt and Colby ponder the very important question from the podcast title, and then get into the Panthers last week including: 6:00: No Blackhawks/Panthers game can ever be normal 8:45: The Islanders fought back but don't have the horses, and it helped the Panthers bust some slumps 15:00: Dimitry Kulikov's 1000th game ceremony 21:45: A few mistakes cost the Cats against the Caps 29:00: The final tw...