Florida Panthers

Martin accepts GM position.

Jacques Martin has decided to accept owner Alan Cohen’s offer and stay on as the General Manager of the Florida Panthers. It was reported in today’s Sun -Sentinel that they had this discussion earlier and that Martin had already agreed, he still wanted a some time to think it over. Makes you wonder if he was looking for another coaching opportunity that ultimately was not there, or was he just not sure that accepting this position was the right thing to do for someone who has coaching in his blood.

Uncle Jack had admitted that having both roles was very time consuming and was a very difficult thing to do, but now feels as though he is ready to accept the challenge and continue building what he started. That doesn’t make me feel too comfortable, but we’ll see how it plays out.

He also stated that there is no real timetable for choosing the next head coach of the Panthers which will be the 6th since Alan Cohen took over as majority owner of the organization. There have been a few names that have been tossed around by the locals, which doesn’t mean too much down here, however, and I am not saying that I approve or dissaprove, but one name to keep an eye on is Randy Cunneyworth who is the coach of the Panthers AHL team in Rochester.
Didn’t Randy also play defense and play for Ottawa while Martin was coach? Philosophy could be the same, and if that is the choice it could be more boring hockey here in Florida.

Ultimately is this the right choice for this organization that has not seen the playoffs since 2000 where they were eliminated in 4 games. There have been alot of bad moves by Alan Cohen, or should I say questionable moves. While he says he wants stability, and wants to have a plan and stick to it, the decisions he makes never seem to work out, and for someone who admits to being a hockey fan and doesn’t want to get too involved, I think he needs someone to help him with his management decisions. I see 2 possible scenarios that could be damning for this decision of retaining Martin as GM.
# 1) Martin hires a coach, and the organization continues to stumble and not make the playoffs, leaving Cohen no choice but to fire one or both.

#2) Martin decides that he really misses coaching and some team looking for an experienced head coach decides to lure him away from the Panthers. Thus leaving the current head coach whoever that may be, as a lame duck since as we all know, a GM wants his people.
Therefore if either of these two scenarios pan out the Florida Panthers will be stuck with more change, something that Cohen says he doesn’t want.

It is going to be an interseting off season. Martin has 4 big decisions on his plate.
Who is going to be the next head coach?
What are they going to do with regard to the draft. They do not have a number one pick, as it went to Nashville in the Vokoun trade.
What to do about Olli Jokinen. Keep him, trade him. Everyone knows the two do not get along.
Finally, what free agents to go after. Martin says he wants a puck moving defenseman. What does that mean for Boumeester? This writer thinks they need a top flight goal scorer and a tough defenseman.

Any thoughts????

Thanks for reading.

Martin removed from the bench

It has been reported by the Miami Herald and the local radio stations that Jacques Martin will no longer coach the Florida Panthers but remain as GM.
This news coming out this morning after majority owner Alan Cohen talk to a herald report Thursday night after a town hall meeting with season ticket holders that I attended as well.
I will follow up with more comments on this situation later.

My concerns are who is Jacques going to bring in as coach? Cohen clearly stated out of one side of his mouth that he does not get involved with these types of decisions, yet if we leave it up to Jacques who are they getting? Yet Cohen also indicated situations where he does get involved and makes decisions. My other concern is that if Jacques cannot do the job, and he is let go as GM, what does that do the the head coach?

Things could get messy. Stay tuned.

Evaluation process begins…5 crucial items.

Regardless of the progress of some of the Panthers younger players, it was obvious that thier late season run for then playoffs was too little too late. I was accused in my own home of being too negative and not wanting the Panthers to make the playoffs, or that I was wishing deep inside for them to fail. In reality I was not wishing for failure, however I felt in my gut that this was going to be another run that would fall short, and I was not drinking the kool-aide of another late season run.

The ownership of the Panthers needs to make some difficult decisions this offseason and there are a number of things that need attention, but these are the 5 items that I feel need to be addressed.

1) Does Uncle Jack stay as coach, as GM, both, or neither?
If the decision were up to me (and it’s not) I let him go entirely from the organization. Time for a clean slate as the program has not produced the results that were expected. It was difficult this season handling both jobs as it was last year and unfortunately the team suffered. Handling both positions is very difficult which is why there are no longer too many serving the dual role. There is just not enough time to spend with either situation, especially for a franchise that has not made the playoffs for such a long time. He has made some players unhappy with his defense first game plan. This tight rope that he has on the players is holding the team back. They were not able to utilize the speed of some of their players, and the dump and chase style isn’t working, especially when you dump and don’t chase because you’re going off on a line change. Therefore sorry, but another change behind the bench and front office is not only needed it’s necessary.

2) What to do with Olli Jokinen?
The face of the team, the captain, the leader, the leading scorer. He has had a rough year, especially the last 2 months. The Richard Zednik accident simply took more out of him than he was willing to admit. Problem is it also affected the rest of the team as well. Olli survived another trade deadline time period, but let’s do him a favor because the timing of that talk is counter-productive. When the team is entering a playoff chase they cannot be looking over their shoulder wondering if their leader is going to get traded. Do Olli a favor. Keep him, or trade him, but do one or the other and leave it alone. Extending his contract would be a nice move to show that he’s staying.

3) Are the youngsters maturing?
Here’s a real difficult question to answer. A few years ago the Panthers were graded very well for their youth and the potential that they had. Their development however hasn’t produced very much, and they are not consistent with their performance. During the lockout Boumeester and Stevie (Weiss) were actually traded from the Panthers farm team to the Chicago Wolves who were headed for the playoffs so that they could get some type of playoff experience. Good move by Mike Keenan. However I don’t think it ultimately worked. Not his fault, but I don’t think that these 2 have the toughness and have the tenacity to grind it out every night.
While Jay B is a very good offensive defenseman, his defensive positioning is average. Stevie who was drafted in 2001 as the 4th overall pick has not yet proved to be worth it. Most of his assists are a result of being the first pass not the second pass which is right before the goal, and he has missed many open nets by his own right. His early comparisons to Steve Yzerman were a grave mistake by whoever made them. He’s nowhere close.

4) Do they have the mental toughness?
Missing the playoffs for 8 straight years, and the last 3 with many of the same players has to result in changes. This team needs more than a fine tuning, it needs to get players that care, that have a desire, that pay attention to detail, and want to win. There are many distractions in South Florida. The beach, golfing, tennis, South Beach, Las Olas Blvd, etc. When you have players who have never seen some of those things it can get in the way. With not enough veteran leadership to guide them it’s easy to see why some of them are so inconsistent. They just don’t get it. Whenever the Panthers have gotten close to first place or a playoff spot they go into a losing streak and can’t catch up. It was said by a former coach that “This team doesn’t have the Mental Capacity to play playoff style hockey when they need to”.

5) Who takes Uncle Jacks place?
Well hopefully the GM is hired first, as that would be the smart thing to do. Who’s out there? Well Jim Nill from Detroit is one to consider. He’s the assistant GM for the Red Wings and is also in charge of scouting. I don’t think I need to say much more about that. His record and the Wings record recently is excellent.
As far as coach, I would love to see Bob Hartley. Yes he’s demanding. Yes he’s aggressive. Yes he’s going to push his players and hold them accountable. He’s emotional. But the most important reason to get him…He’s won a Stanley Cup. Getting Bob Hartley, and getting some key players is the only way to send a message that things are going to change. Whether the combination that I have suggested can work is another story, but I am suggesting that Alan Cohen stop worrying about being and doing the popular thing. If you mean business get these people here and get them now!

As soon as you fire Uncle Jack, I will drive him to the airport, and pick up Bob Hartley, and be glad to do it!

Thanks for reading

Questions…And Lots of ‘em.

As the season winds down with the Panthers officially eliminated from the playoffs, these last 2 games can be looked at in many ways, but in reality the entire season needs to be evaluated.
Here’s some questions I hope that owner Alan Cohen is thinking about.

What to do about Uncle Jack. Do you just move him upstairs? Do you keep him behind the bench only? Do you fire him altogether?

If Uncle Jack is let go, who is your GM, and who is going to be your coach? I can only hope that both of these positions are treated with care and full consideration is given to hiring a coach who has had success in the NHL.

What free agents are we going after? Can we get a real goal scorer, someone who can bury the puck and who is worthy of playing on the first line? Can they spend the money required to attract someone like that?

What about the defense? Some players are expendible, so what is going to happen there? It seems that even though they stressed defense, they still give up an awful lot of shots, which doesn’t do your goaltender any favors. A big burly, nasty defenseman would be nice.

Are any of the kids going to truly make the season opening lineup next year? Shawn Matthias, Michael Frolik, Kenndal McArdle are just a few names to be considered. What is finally going to happen with Anthony Stewart?

Are the youngsters that we have maturing fast enough and are they really good enough to build on? That question really needs to be looked at.

It appears that Goaltending is fine with Tomas Vokoun and Craig Anderson. The only thing to consider is possibly playing Anderson a bit more than he played this year to keep Vokoun fresher. However, are Vokoun’s teammates feeling any animosity towards hime for the way he called out his mates on occasion when they did not perform to his expectations?

Can someone give Nathan Horton a kick in the pants? He is only 22 years old, and if he could “bring it” EVERY nite, not just when he wants to can you imagine what kind of season he would be having?

Please get some first line players to play with Olli. There are none on this roster currently except maybe for Horton if he can mature and get it through his young mind that he can be better and get better results if he just develops some consistency.

David Booth the pleasant surprise of the season. Is he for real? Can he keep this up? Will he have the sophmore slump? I know that his line along with Horton and little Stevie has generated alot of talk around town, but I am not convinced that this line is going to produce the same next year. In all honesty Stevie is the weakest link. He just doesn’t have the grit and willingness to go into the corners and bump some bodies for me to say he’s as good as everyone says. The line was recently given the name “Sunrise Express” in a contest with the local fans. Actually I was going to send in my suggestion: Two and a half men, but I didn’t think I would win, but it is how I feel.

Is Olli the right choice for captain, or has it become too much for him?

Or do you find a veteran who can do a better job, and have Olli as the alternate? I don’t think that it’s his fault, but I don’t think that this team is good enough the way it is for him to be the captain, and maybe at this point he could use a break.

Can we please also make up our mind about Olli. Keep him or trade him. But let’s not have another season of trade deadline talks about him. He deserves better doesn’t he?

Finally, cause I am getting a headache myself just thinking about all these issues, what can be down about this double edge sword: Three years in a row of starting out slowly, and finishing with the playoffs just out of reach. What has been the cause of this? In addition, the losing of leads late in the game. I believe that in 3 years the Panthers have given up the lead 21 times to eventually end up losing the game. To me, that is more a coaching problem than a player problem. The systems that are in place do not allow the Panthers to utilize their speed, and with the focus on defense so important (at least that’s what we hear), it seems that it has choked them (pardon the pun) and has caused alot of the problem.

So there are just a few issues that have to be dealt with. If the Panthers are going to be serious, and I mean serious about making the playoffs next year, things must be done, but they must be done with the big picture in mind. Youth is there, but there is not enough veteran leadership, and too many guys speak too many different languages. The Panthers HAVE to make the playoffs next year. Do whatever is necessary to get there, and stop giving us the B.S. about being patient and that we’re following a plan. I don’t care how many changes have to be made, I want to be in the playoffs next season!!!!

No Pain, No Gain!

I am making this one brief due to the frustration that has set in.
This week as been an emotional roller coaster. A win at home against Atlanta last Sunday. A loss to Tampa on the road Tuesday and a loss to Atlanta at home Thursday night has all but eliminated the Panthers. At least if you do the math.
Otherwise you can stick a fork in this season. I also am having a very very difficult time wondering why the practice on Wednesday was a “Light” practice? We lose to the worst team in the conference on Tuesday night, still have a glimmer of hope if we win all our games,yet the coaching staff basically says, take it easy boys. We need to relax a little bit.
YIKES!!!! Are you kidding me. We are taking the pedal off the gas because why? We need to let up and have some fun in the sun? We need to take things less seriously?
I just don’t understand. The Panthers have attempted to do the impossible with a March playoff push again and try to win all their games. They certainly played with some desperation however where was this in October, November, December, and even January when we were giving up leads in the third period?

In addition for what appeared to be the first time I have seen him do this all season, Uncle Jack puts Olli on the 4th line last night. Now let me get something straight. Your captain who has survived a third season in a row of trade rumours, survives a personal on ice incident with his own linemate that he accidently caused, is playing with 2 fourth liners most of the season and is pissed off at his coach has a couple bad games and NOW you are trying to send a message and bench, or limit his ice time? Listen I am all for sending messages when a player is not performing or is lax in his effort, but where was this earlier in the season.
Nathan Horton deserved this type of treatment many times. Bryan Allen as well.
But our wise and intelligent coach decides that now is the time to do it with the season on the line and does it with the team leader, who quite frankly, has had a rough time of it since the allstar break. This is B.S.

Uncle Jack should be the one taking the blame for this instead of making Olli the scapegoat and trying to save his job. He has had this team playing in eggshells for most of the season with such a tight rope wrapped around their neck and basically having them fake a nuetral zone trap all year it makes me ill!

By the way the empty net goal scored last night was by none other than Mark Recchi whom Atlanta picked up on waivers earlier this year. When he was asked about it at the time Uncle Jack said, we’re not interested, we have other needs to fill. Nice going! The headcoaching and GM job will need to be filled as well when this season is over!

Thanks for reading.

Cats on the prowl!

The Florida Panthers are hanging on for dear life in the final weeks of the season, and it’s about time. What do we owe the recent surge? Well as has happened in each of the two previous seasons, the Panthers seem to put it all together come end of February and early March, and are able for some reason to turn it on. Is it a little too late? We will have to wait and see as this could be the quietest seven game winning streak ever. This could actually be a blessing as there is not as much pressure as there would be if they were in a more traditional market.
Doesn’t make it right, but it’s a fact nonetheless.

The winning streak has prompted more fans to the home games recently as attendance is up during this seven game home stretch. The games they are winning are not all that pretty, but by keeping things simple and eliminating mistakes they have been able to put together a nice string. A couple big reasons for the turnaround seem to be the play of Tomas Vokoun and Olli Jokinen. Vokoun has been very, very sharp lately, and seems to be seeing the puck very well, and has not given up some of the softies that he was before. The time off that he was given when Craig Anderson started three games in a row has turned out to be the best thing for Vokoun as he admitted that he was mentally tired

Olli has been playing much better at both ends of the ice. He’s been more aggressive offensively and he is coming back on defense as well. I am sure that the Zednik incident coupled with another season of trade rumours took it’s tool. Thankfully he seems to be moving past that and has been able to concentrate on his game. Which is just what the Panthers need. You know the old saying “You’re best players, must be you’re best players”.

Other smaller items are helping as well. Radek Dvorak is back, the second line of Weiss, Booth and Horton has been very consistent, and Brett McLean is playing very well. As the Panthers get healthier they seem to be more consistent and confident. I am not going to go as far as saying that they are finally learning Uncle Jack’s system, but the overall mindset of the team seems to have improved. I still say that a new coach is going to be needed. Alot of talent is being wasted with so much concentration on defense, but in the meantime we’ll ride out the season and see how things end up.

Thursday’s game against the Hurricanes is huge! The Panthers many times over the past few seasons have been very close to either first place or a playoff spot and when they have the opportunity to take that next step they seem to always face Carolina, and the result isn’t normally a good one. Could this time be different? Carolina is playing in Atlanta tonight and will be playing back to back games while the Panthers will have had 2 days off before returning to practice on Wednesday. I can only hope that they are not suffering from sunburn at the beach. The weather here during the day has been great.

A victory against Carolina will make a very strong impression as well as keep the winning streak alive. I think that the Panthers just need to go out and continue playing the simple game they’ve played lately and not be in awe of their opponent. It’s nice to see the Panthers creating their own “March Madness”.

Thanks for reading.

Why?

Here we are again. It’s March 13th. The playoff hopes and the season for the Florida Panthers are hanging by a thread. Yet the Panthers have been able to put together a five game winning streak, and have been able to win their first 3 home games with 4 more to go during this recent homestand. The Panthers are 5 points out of the 8th spot in the Eastern conference and 7 points out of first place in the Southleast Division. This is the third year in a row of the late season push, or is it a tease?

My apologies for sounding like a downer, and not appearing as though I want the Panthers to win. I do, but I have to admit, I get a bit tired of getting my hopes up every spring by this team. Why is it, and someone out there please help me with this…Why is it that the Panthers can’t play like this all year? If it happened once I could deal with it better, but three years in a row? Come on now. Fool me once shame on me, fool me twice shame on you, fool me three times… you know the rest.

Is it a character issue? Is it a maturity issue? Is it the coaching? (Yes that is part of it). It just seems to me that when this teams’ back is against the wall they seem to be able to put together a string of wins, or get on a hot streak and we get all excited only to be let down in the end. I cannot count how many times the Panthers were 1 or 2 points away from leading the division, or within a the 8th spot earlier in the year. Remember, I grew up in Chicago and still love the Cubs, so you have to understand where I’m coming from with regards to getting my hopes up.
That being said, it frustrates me to no end, but if you look at the roster of players, maybe they are just playing over their heads right now. You don’t really think that this group of 3rd and 4th liners could do any damage if they made the playoffs do you?

First line: Brett McLean, Olli Jokinen, Ville Peltonen. Only Jokinen belongs on this line. His numbers would be much better if he had real #1 linemates. McLean is a nice player, but let’s face it, he belongs on the 3rd line in a checking mode. Peltonen is showing why he spent so much time in Europe. He’s soft, and fairly useless, and has no business on this line either.

Second line: Nathan Horton, Stephen Weiss, and David Booth. David Booth has been an wonderful surprise and hopefully he will have a long career here in South Florida. He skates hard every shift, forechecks, backchecks, and is not afraid to go to the net. Nathan Horton, one of the most inconsistent players the Panthers have. He needs to be constantly pushed and his lazy habits are getting a bit frustrating. Stephen Weiss… I will save my commments for later. All I will say for now is that alot of people like him. I watch him closely. Are we watching the same player?

Third line: Radek Dvorak, Kamil Kreps and Steve Montador. Dvorak is where he should be. Kreps is a youngster and he’s trying to find his game. Montador is a natural defenseman playing as a 3rd line winger, or sometimes on the 4th line. I know that injuries have caused this move, but let’s be real. He’s a #5, or #6 defenseman on most teams, what are we thinking by having him on this line for so many games? Isn’t there someone in our system who can play on the third line. Or make a trade for someone. Oh yea, we did. But he’s missing in action.

Finally the fourth line: Gregory Campbell, Rostislav Olesz, and Wade Belak. A couple of these players will shift from the third line so these last 2 lines are really interchangeable for most nights. Point being is that of these 6 players, at least 4 of them are true 4th liners. Enough said.

As for the defense Jay B and is the pride and joy of the Panthers defenseman. Jassen Cullimore has been very serviceable. Bryan Allen has not played as well as he did the second half of last year, and many nights is inconsistent. His toughness that he showed last year has been missing. Maybe it’s the longterm deal he signed in the offseason. He looks like he’s coasting many nights. Cory Murphy is well…small. He can’t play against the best offensive players because he’s…small. No offense, he’s a nice guy, but he always be outmatched by any good offensive player. We don’t have enough skilled players on this team to be able to afford this type of player. We are not the New Jersey Devils with Brian Rafalski, or now the Detroit Red Wings who have Rafalski. He was supposed to help the power play, but the Panthers need help at even strength. As for the rest of the defenseman, they would have a hard time making most any other roster.

Now I know the Panthers have lost alot of players due to injuries and the Richard Zednik accident was traumatic, but they were sputtering long before that happened. Every team has injuries. It’s part of the game. Look at Colorado. Joe Sakic and Ryan Smyth have missed significant time, and now they are fighting for first place in their division. Look at the Penguins. They lost Sidney Crosby and haven’t lost a beat. Finally look at Carolina. They lost Rod Brindamour, and have one of the worst group of d-men in the league and they still are probably going to win the division. My point behind this is that we haven’t lost any real superstar, and the slack was not really picked up by anyone, so injuries are just an excuse. A good team, a team that is well coached and is mature will find a way to overcome them.

So here we are with 10 games to go. 20 available points, and you’d have to think that the Panthers need at least 15 of them to even matter. They still have two teams ahead of them and the Leafs are right on their backs as well. My fear is that they won’t make the Playoffs and once again the organization will not get any playoff money for the 8th year in a row, no playoff experience for the players, and we’ll get a middle draft pick as well. Which I am sure our crackpot scouts should be able to screw up!

I am tired of being patient, and tired of the rebuilding process that has been going on. From everything I hear ownership is going to re-evaluate everything at the end of the season. If the history that has been happening with the Panthers the last three years was happening in most other NHL cities, I would think that the coaching staff would be on thin ice. They need a real motivator and a coach that will hold the players accountable, and the style of play must change. But here in South Florida, anything is possible. You never can say never, and you never know what could happen. While It wouldn’t surprise me, and I certainly would like it, at least Mike Keenan is under contract in Calgary, and most likely will be there next year, so he won’t be back.
But if that wasn’t the case, I would have to ask myself, what if?

Home cooking, or spring cleaning?

Tonight starts a 7 game homestand with the Pittsburgh Penguins coming to town. Had the Panthers played with some consistency in February they might be sitting at the top of the division or at least in the top 8 in the conference, and this homestand could have helped solidify their position. However, the mountain is still there to climb. The Panthers find themselves 6 points out of the 8th spot and 7 points out of first. They basically have to win at least 5 of these games to somehow stay in the race. Anything less and you might as well start making vacation plans.

Speaking of vacation, Chad Kilger has been suspended without pay after leaving the team for personal reasons. Kilger acquired at the trade deadline had missed some time in January with the Leafs and whatever issue he’s having is still unresolved. Congratulations are in order to Uncle Jack for making this deal in which he gave up a 3rd round pick to the Leafs. Who says the Leafs aren’t smart?!

Is there a goalie controversy? Craig Anderson has been extremely sharp in his last 2 starts. He has stopped his last 65 shots and 133 of 134. Will this performance continue and how will Tomas Vokoun react to this situation. Vokoun is the number one goalie here, but you have to admit Anderson is the hot hand and I would imagine that he will continue to play until that changes. Which based on his track record, could be anytime!

Is it coincidence that since “Pinkie” Weiss has returned to the lineup that the Panthers have pitched 2 shutouts in a row? Nah! I could never admit to that. Anyway he’s not the one stopping the shots.

Finally at tonights game Panthers, head athletic trainer David Zenobi will be honored before the game for his efforts in helping save Richard Zednik’s life following his injury in Buffalo. Zednik will also be on hand for the ceremony.

Thanks for reading

Will Martin Survive?

Eighteen games in the last three years in which the Florida Panthers have lost the lead and eventually lost the game. Nine of those games have been this year alone! Four in 2006-2007, and five in 2005-2006. All of these games have been with Uncle Jack behind the bench. That statistic alone should be enough to get him fired.

In addition let’s not forget that in each of these seasons the Panthers have come out of the gate very slowly. In 2005-2006 the slow start was blamed on Hurricane Wilma, which if you have never lived through one you have no idea what it’s like. Therefore I might be able to buy that. However, many of the leads that were lost were on soft goals given up by Roberto Luongo, who did not play anywhere during the lockout and was not sharp in the beginning of the season.
In 2006-2007 there was another slow start. The trade of Luongo, the injury to Todd Bertuzzi, and the ghost of the prior year’s poor start seemed to hang over the Panthers. In addition when Bertuzzi was known to have been lost for most of the season, and Joe Nieuwendyk had to retire, nothing was done to replace them. That was potentially 40-50 goals that were lost! This year, it was slow starts to games again, lack of chemistry, and early injuries to the defense, and lack of focus from many of the players.

With the exception of this season since it is not over yet, the Panthers have made a dramatic turnaround in the months of March and April. Why? Is it the players trying to save their jobs? Is it because the trade deadline passed and the rumours are dead, and players can relax?
Regardless, the slow start, the lost leads and the late season push show that this is apparently a coaching issue. I would think that anywhere else this type of play would get anyone fired! In addition, it has been proved that a coach has a difficult time also being the GM. Not too many can do it. There is no way that Uncle Jack who has no previous experience as GM can be giving full attention to both jobs, with or without an assistant. That has hurt this team.
The Panthers need someone full time behind the bench, and someone full time as GM.

The team suffers from consistency, lack of preparation, motivation, and seems to either play scared or goes into a defensive shell with 10 minutes left in the game. While they can blame injuries all they want, every team suffers from them. The issue is magnified when injured players are not replaced by proven NHLer’s and a youngster is called up to fill the void. I addition it has been said that lack of toughness has been a problem also, and that a player like Wade Belak should have been picked up sooner. Uncle Jack said that deal was not available earlier in the year. Are you kidding me? We had to wait till the trade deadline to send a low draft pick to the Leafs for him?

Excuses, excuses. All of which the natives are getting tired of, and from what I hear and read, so is ownership. Majority owner Alan Cohen has promised to evaluate and do whatever is necessary to turn things around in the offseason. Perfect. Let’s stop the circus though. Hire a GM first. Then find the right coach. Then go out and get some offense.
Easier said then done. But until Alan Cohen figures out that the youth of the Panthers is not growing up fast enough, or that they are not as promising as they were predicted to be, and some North American veteran players are added, they will not make the playoffs.

Period!

Thanks for reading.

Road to nowhere!

The trade deadline has passed and I don’t know if I should be relieved that Olli Jokinen wasn’t traded, or that we were able to “bulk up” and acquire some toughness. Trading Olli would have been a serious publicity blunder number one, and number two it would almost say that the Panthers woes are tied to him, which wouldn’t be fair. Olli suffers from the fact that he does not have a very good supporting cast, i.e. linemates that are worthy of top line ice time.
The only time recently that he had solid linemates was when he was with Gary Roberts and Nathan Horton or Josef Stumpl. He has since had a revolving door of left and right wingers.
He still gets his goals and points, but his line does not produce as it should and his point totals should be and could be better. As long as Uncle Jack keeps putting 3rd liners with him, his production won’t ever get much better than 70 to 80 points. Too bad, he deserves better.

If we analyze the players that the Panthers picked up I think that most would agree that they are at best role players (Belak & Kilger) and a #5 defenseman.
Let’s look a minute at who the received:

Wade Belak:a big lumbering wing/defenseman who recently went more than 100 games without scoring a goal and has 8 in his career. He was acquired for his toughness and size and because he is apparently a good guy in the dressing room. Well, who is he protecting, and is his good nature going to be used to help diffuse the tension from the late in the game losing that his new mates seem to suffer from? Also, the Panthers sure can use another guy that spends alot of time in the penatly box. Belak averages about 100 minutes per year, and this is based on about 60 games per year. Perfect, more pressure for the pk unit.

Chad Kilger: A former first round draft choice 4th overall in 1995 who has never reached his potential. He is aggressive, works the corners, hits most anything in his way and has one of the hardest yet most inaccurate shots in the league. While on most teams he would be a 3rd liner at best, Uncle Jack already has him pegged for top line duty especially with the injuries that the Panthers have. Yikes! I like Chad, I think he is a nice role player, but first liner? If this is what the Panthers are aspiring to then they are worse off than I thought.
Thanks to the Leafs for a couple of re-treads!

Karlis Skrastins: A slow footed, gritty stay at home defenseman, who makes about $700,000 less than Ruslan Salei, yet will be lucky to get 15 points in any given year. So yep, that’s worth 2.4 mil to me! Also did I mention that he is another foreigner, most of which I don’t have too much use for who will speak probably the 6th or 7th different language in the Panthers dressing room. Perfect, the lack of communication continues!

Little deals like these, coupled with the minor free agent signings that the Panthers have done will continue to be the death of this team. I am not a GM and have no real idea of how difficult it is to make trades and sign free agents, but I think even I can do better than Uncle Jack. While I would not have been looking at Hossa (he’s hurt already), there could have been other deals to make. Seems as though the Panthers are stressing defense. Great we will continue to lose games 3-2, 4-3, because there is no scoring. Yes, the Panthers need some grit, but can’t you find it with someone who can put the puck in the net? If you’re going to get grit on defense can you find someone that is taller than 6′1″? A couple years ago the Panthers almost traded Jay B. for Chris Pronger! I would take that deal in a heartbeat. I don’t think that Jay is long for this organization. While the Panthers say they want to sign him, I feel that he will be lost via an offer sheet from another team that the Panthers won’t match, or end up having to trade him to get some value. Is he worth Dion Phanuef money? More on that another time.

So, the saga continues and as bad as the Panthers have been it’s a surprise that they could have been in first place in the Southleast division had they been able to hang on to those 3rd period leads, and finish off their opponents. Tonights game against Minnesota is not going to be an easy one. The Panthers need all the victories they can get and all the points that they can get. I will be attending tonights game, and as has happened in the last 5 I have been to they will probably go to overtime and either lose that way, or in the shootout after having the lead with less than 10 minutes to play. At least they’ll get a point right? I despise that type of thinking.

Is it the players? Or is it the coaching? Is it both? I have amy opinion, but I will save it for later. Let’s see how these mentally incompetents respond tonight. I am even toying with the idea of not wearing my Panthers sweater that I so proudly wear to each game to act as my individual protest to what we are watching. Or maybe I should wear it, and then take it of or lose it (get it) with about 10 minutes left to play!

Thanks for reading.