Evaluation process begins…5 crucial items.
April 9th, 2008 by The IcemanRegardless 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
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