Panthers wide receiver Devin Funchess put together his best NFL season in 2017.
After posting 54 catches for 844 yards and nine touchdowns in his first two seasons
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Funchess said on Wednesday that he’s not thinking about an extension right now and General Manager Marty Hurney suggested the team will wait to see how 2018 plays out before working out a future with Funchess.
“Devin really made huge strides last year,” Hurney said, via the Charlotte Observer. “And he hopes to continue to do the same this year. It’s a continued development year. You want to see a guy put back-to-back years together.”
Hurney brought in Torrey Smith, Jarius Wright and first-round pick D.J. Moore at receiver this offseason, so Funchess will have more competition for Cam Newton‘s attention than he did in the second half of 2017. Seeing how that plays out will be an important data point for the Panthers to consider when it comes to Funchess’ future with the team.
MIAMI — The Carolina Hurricanes officially were eliminated from playoff contention on Saturday. The Florida Panthers are still alive, but they have taken several body blows of late.
On Monday night, the Panthers (39-30-8) will host the Hurricanes (35-33-11) at the BB&T Center. The game means virtually nothing in the standings for Carolina
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This will be the first Panthers home game since returning from a disastrous 1-2-1 road trip in which the last three games ended in defeat, one of them in overtime. A slow start this season — the Panthers ranked 28th in the league in points as of Jan. 30 — has left Florida with little margin for error as it tries to chase down the final wild-card playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.
Florida is seven points behind New Jersey (42-28-9) for the final wild-card spot.
“Two points are what matter the most for us in the race we’re in,” Panthers coach Bob Boughner told the media. “We’ve had too many lapses in our game. Our starts haven’t been good. The No. 1 thing is we have to commit to have more maturity in our game. We have to manage the game better.”
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes are likely just now coming to grips with the fact that they have missed the playoffs for the ninth straight year, the longest such active streak in the NHL.
The Hurricanes entered this season with much hope. Scott Darling was brought in from the Chicago Blackhawks to be their No. 1 goalie, but he has been outplayed by veteran mainstay Cam Ward, who will be a free agent after this season.
Similarly
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