While these negotiations have been going on for quite some time now, one wonders what kind of money the Panthers have been offering, and what are the terms/lengths of the deals that have been discussed. Recently the Panthers have shown that of the youngsters they want to keep, they seem to like the 6 year contract length. Players such as Nathan Horton, Stevie Weiss, Bryan Allen have all signed deals like these. Again, with Jay going to arbitration for the second time during his career with Florida, you wonder what is the hold up.

A mentioned in my previous blog, no one here really knows anything for sure other than the rumours that we read. If a players wants to stay and they have been talking long term deals you would think that this one is about money. But is money the only thing that separates the two sides? Is it about winning, is it about trusting that the team is going in the right direction, which if you ask me sometimes I think the Panthers are going in the same direction my spirograph used to go. Is it about, I do want to stay but I don’t want to stay if we aren’t going to acquire better players, etc. etc. Jay’s hearing has been set for July 29th and the Panthers will have until then to work out a long term deal. Otherwise if he takes the arbitration offer whatever it may be, it will be for one year only, and then more negotiations will continue, and then the trade rumours will start.

My two cents on this whole thing is, and let’s forget about it being Jay Bouwmeester, if this is your star defenseman, your most prized asset, your future star, then why the heck haven’t you signed him to a long term deal already??? If the Panthers are waiting to see what he is awarded in arbitration, they may be playing a very risky game. Risky in the fact that he may not want to stay long term, will not sign by the trade deadline and will be traded for spare parts and a case of Molson. Uncle Jack has said, we are not trading Jay. Well ok, then, why can’t you sign him?

Now, and here is where I am going to potentially hear it form some readers, I personally don’t think that Jay deserves Dion Phanuef type money. I don’t think he is worth 6.5 million a year. They play 2 very different styles, and while I will never expect Jay to deliver a bone crushing hit that can change the momentum of a game, I also don’t see him as being able to take the puck up ice and blast a slap shot past any goaltender with any regularity. He’s just not that type of player. Dion can take you to the edge of your seat, he can make you jump up and cheer, and you expect that from him every night, and he delivers. Jay on the other hand is just different, and he has never made me feel as though he can change the outcome of a game.

That being said, my feeling is that a contract for 3 years at $4.5 million per year is what he should get. He plays for a bad team that struggles offensively and is going to struggle some more, and I believe he still has to go through the maturation process a bit. At that rate and length, he can see if the Panthers really do improve and start winning, he can grow and mature and sign an extension at any time during the deal, or if he ultimately is not happy with the outcome test free agency. He will be 27 then at the prime of his career, maybe his value will be worth more.

Or Uncle Jack will talk out of the other side of his mouth and trade Jay for those spare parts I was talking about. Oh, and don’t foget the case of Molson!!!!

News and notes: Anthony Stewart excepts a qualifying offer. This is it for him. He either proves he’s worthy to play in the NHL, or he will forever be an AHL player. Although you really can’t prove your skills when you’re on the 4th line every time you’re called up and play 4:43 per night!

Duane Sutter has left the Panthers as Director of Player Devleopment to take the same position for the Calgary Flames. Good luck Duane, we wish you the best.

Thanks for reading.

Now after trading captain and leading scorer Olli Jokinen the Florida Panthers find themselves in a bind regarding Jay Bouwmeester. Jay has filed for arbitration for the second time in his career as a member of the Panthers. The rumours are flying and because of our “crackpot” media, we have no idea what’s true and what’s not true. We have heard Jay going to Ottawa, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Edmonton, and even Vancouver. The one thing for sure that we do know is that the Panthers have 3 options.

1) Settle on a long-term deal before the arbitration hearing, thus locking up Jay long term.
2) Go to arbitration and see what happens.
3) Trade him right now and get the most value for him.

If you compare this situation to Olli which may or may not be fair, Olli said all along that he wanted to stay and help the Panthers get to the playoffs. Through 2 years of rumours and all the B.S. that surrounded him he stood by that statement and vocally expressed his desire to remain a Panther. It was only until the last days prior to the trade that he or his agent actually indicated that if they don’t want me, then I guess they can trade me. In addition it was not fair for Panthers management to place sole blame on Olli for not making the playoffs this or any other year. This is a team sport, and like it or not the Panthers did not have the roster to be playoff contenders, and in addition their style of play limited them to playing scared.

In comparison to Olli, Jay is 22 years old, will now have been to arbitration a second time, and has been the Panthers number 1 defenseman, is now facing trade rumours. However, we have not heard Jay say that he wants to stay. Although there are rumours out there, he hasn’t said that he doesn’t either. So what’s really going on? Have the Panthers offered enough money and a long enough term? Have the Panthers shown enough in this off season that they are intent on winning by selecting a new coach, adding depth to their defense (at the expense of offense), and signing a veteran forward?

Here’s another question to ponder. The Panthers have spent the past couple off seasons working out deals for Nathan Horton, Stephen Weiss and Bryan Allen. All 3 players were signed to long term deals, and recently Rostaslav Olesz was also signed to a long term deal. Why wasn’t Jay signed before it got to this level? If he is thought of as the Panthers star defenseman and valuable asset, why hasn’t a deal been worked out already?

Knowing what I know and what I have seen with the Panthers recently and especially with the Jacques Martin and Alan Cohen circus, I am not confident that anything positive comes from this. My biggest fear is that the situation goes to arbitration, Jay gets a 1 year deal for 4-5 million, and then is traded at the deadline for spare parts or prospects. Worse yet, he is not traded at the deadline because the Panthers have somehow stayed in the playoff hunt (with this roster?) and he becomes a free agent and the Panthers get nothing in return.
Yikes, what a disaster that would be!

In closing, if indeed Jay hasn’t signed a deal because he does not want to be here then by all means he must be traded now! I do not want a player on this roster who does not want to be here. That last statement is pure speculation, but if it is indeed fact then make the deal and don’t look back. The problem that the Panthers face is that in return they need another defenseman and a top 6 forward, preferably players that are young. The rumoured Ottawa deal, which includes Vermette, Meszaros, and a draft pick should be completed stat!
I am not aware of any other deals that have been offered that would make too much sense and I am not saying that this trade is totally even, but I don’t see the offer getting any better at the trade deadline. On top of it Ottawa is in a real bind especially for defense. They have lost Chara and Redden 2 years in a row, and need to bolster their unit. Murray is facing as much pressure as Martin is.

Thanks for reading.

However Panther fans, do not expect this player to take you out of your seat with excitement. He is just a piece to the puzzle, not a player to build your team around, and by the time we are at the third year of the contract Cory will be 37/38 and will probably become a 3rd line player. The one statistic that concerns me is that in the last 18 games of 2008 he scored one goal with Ottawa. This apparently did not concern JM as he was quoted as saying that he may have been trying to fit into the Ottawa system, and that he’s confident that will not carry over. Time will tell.

His best year point wise was 2003 with Tampa where he scored 25 goals and added 55 assists, on a team that also had Martin St. Louis and Vinny L. He has never hit the 30 goal mark, as it has been said he has the talent to do so, therefore it will be interesting to see where he ends up and if anyone else arrives.

Three questions that have to be considered, and without trying to be negative, you have to wonder, why did Stillman sign with the Panthers? Did any other team have an offer on the table that he was considering? Honestly, if he wants to win the cup again, they aren’t close in the playing time he has left. What other forward were the Panthers going after if any that made them choose Stillman?

Now with the Panthers still trying to sign Jay Boumeester and with a glut of defensemen it will be interesting to see if a trade is made, and or if Jay B gets an offer sheet from another team, what the Panthers will do. They still need another goal scorer, and with most of the quality players that are in the Panthers price range already signed, it looks as though the only way this could be accomplished is through a trade.

Once again, all I ask is no Krissy Huselius (this would be as a free agent), no Mark Parrish, and at least try to get someone that is younger than 35!

There are two ways, possibly three to look at and react to this trade.
One is the Panthers got raped! They gave up a 35 goal a year scorer, who was the face of the team, and provided much of the offense, was their #1 centerman, and was a threat on the powerplay from either the right point, or his natural position at center for 2 defenseman, who combined will give the panthers less about 30 points a year. (maybe)

The second way to look at this is Olli was going to be traded and it was not surprise other than the destination. I think that everyone was caught off guard by him going to Phoenix, but in return here’s what the Panthers got. In Keith Ballard an up and coming defenseman who can probably be put on the first unit with Jay B. A young player that can move the puck, is willing to go to the net and seems very capable of playing solid defense, and was thought of very highly by the Coyotes as potential captain material in the future.
In Nick Boynton a true stay at home defenseman who while probably a bit slow, makes up for it by being better positioned, is willing to play the body, throw his weight around, and is expected to be a solid leader in the dressing room. Potential captain material right away.
This scenario completely changes the structure and dimension of the Panthers. They are tired of giving up 35-40 shots per game, they are tired of losing leads late in the game (over 20 times in 3 seasons), they need someone who is going to step up and get in the oppositions face, and they need a solid puck moving defenseman so that they can get the puck out of their zone and not spend so much time on defense because of silly passes that lead to turnovers.

The third option is, oh my gosh where the heck is the scoring going to come from? We just gave up 35 goals a year and did not replace that with a solid player. We traded away another star player for nothing. This is worse than the Luongo deal. Why don’t we just give him away for a 12 pack of Molson? What is Jacques thinking? He couldn’t get more than these 2 slugs and a meaningless draft pick that will probably never amount to anything because the scouting staff of the Panthers is awful. These 2 guys are free agents after this coming season, if we lose them we have nothing to show for Olli! Etc, etc, etc. I can go on as these were some of the reactions by Panthers fans. In reality this third option was a knee jerk reaction by many and lets face it, while some of it may be true to a small extent, this was probably the best that JM was going to get. Jokinen was devalued for a few reasons:
Alan Cohen, majority owner said at a Panthers season ticket holder meeting after the season that he couldn’t protect Olli any more, and that if the trade makes the team better then we need to evaluate that. The stories about Olli’s relationship with JM were not good and this may have painted a picture that he was a problem. Oilli’s agent speculating that Olli will play somewhere, where he’s wanted. Then Olli himself finally saying, look if you want to trade me, trade me. I don’t want to leave, but if you don’t want me…

I at this point prefer to remain optimistic and go with the second opinion and hope that uncle Jack has something else in the works. Yes I really believe that he could have received more, but with his focus on defense, this is extremely satisfactory to him. I do agree that the Panthers need to tighten up defensively. Now the Panthers have enough defenseman to support 2 teams so maybe one or two of those players can be used in a trade. I don’t expect a big name free agent coming here. Sorry Panthers fans, no Hossa, and no Ryan Malone who has probably priced himself too high. But there are some others out there who may draw some interest.

All I ask, is that we do not bring back the likes of Krissy Huselius, Mark Parrish or Niklas Hagman. Please!!!

In addition the draft yielded a young goalie, 3 more defenseman, and a forward. Let’s not forget that Panthers # 1 pick from last year defenseman Keaton Ellerby is still around. So defensively I feel that there’s enough.

Quick shots:

1) Signing Boumeester is a priority for the Panthers (not for me), although a trade wouldnt surprise me.
2) Vokoun should be a bit happier with 2 solid d-men.
3) The youngsters must deliver this year, or let’s blow the whole thing up!
4) A veteran forward ala Gary Roberts needs to be added. Someone with grit, scoring ability and leadership, who is not at the end of the line. Can you say Brian Rolston?
5) Uncle Jacques, I hope you know what you’re doing and something else is is the works, cause right now, your decisions are causing alot of questions.

Thanks for reading.

DeBoer has been coaching the Kitchener Rangers the past 7 years and had guided them to 297 victories during that time, winning the Memorial Cup in 2003. He is one of 6 coaches in OHL history to win more than 500 games. He was drafted 227th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1988 entry draft. He never played in the NHL splitting 7 seasons between the OHL and IHL before becoming assistant coach of the Detroit Jr. Red Wings in 1994.

He is said to be aggressive, fiery, loud at times and a demanding coach. All attributes that Jacques Martin did not have. It is said that DeBoer will hold his players accountable, will not take any nonsense from anyone, and will expect his players to work hard every night, not just when they feel like it! His style of play is pressure with a solid forecheck and he likes his teams to play an uptempo game, but his team will be responsible defensively. Sounds like a young version of Mike Keenan, although it is said that he is a good communicator.

At first I was completely taken by surprise with this move and initially was not happy about it, and here’s why. DeBoer has been successful obviously, but he has been coaching young teens between the ages of 16 and 18 for the most part. It is fairly easy to push those types of individuals around and get the most out of them while they attempt to get to the next level. He is making a huge jump to be dealing not only with young players, but also veterans, who may not be thrilled with his ways. Not that I personally don’t like this type of coach, I do, however my concern is that if he doesn’t handle himself properly, some of the veterans will not respond well. Comments like “What have you ever done in this league” could be heard! Also, when was the last time a coach who has no NHL playing experience and no NHL or AHL or even IHL coaching experience made the successful jump to the big show? Brent Sutter is the only coach I can think of who has made the jump from juniors , however he played in the NHL, and had a pretty successful career.

I have tried to read and get as much info as I can in a short time about this man, and after reading a bit and thinking things over, I can say the following: I believe everyone deserves a chance, a break if you will. DeBoer was sought after by a few teams, and the Panthers quickly gobbled him up, after Ottawa could not come to terms with him and before LA or San Jose or anyone else took a chance on him. So with that in mind I wish him nothing but the best. However he is going to be heavily scrutinzed by how he acts and deals with this situation. He is going to be dealing with men, not boys, and his counterparts that he will be coaching against all at this point, have experience at a higher level than he did. How is he going to manage his bench, what is he going to do about philosophy, and will he buckle under pressure? Maybe, maybe not, but I can say this too, that if the Panthers do not make the playoffs this coming season, or at least season two of his tenure, we may never see DeBoer again! For that matter, Jacques Martin either.

Other questions that have to be asked are who did JM actually interview besides DeBoer? We were told he met with Paul Maurice and was going to talk with Andre Savard and Perry Pearn, but did those meetings ever take place. I can’t tell, nor do I or anyone else know if any of the other candidates were talked to like Bob Hartley, Pat Burns, or even Randy Cunneyworth who is coaching the Panthers American League team in Rochester.
Was this a cheap way out? Terms of the deal have not been disclosed other than he signed a multiyear deal, my guess 3 years at a total of 2 mil. I could be wrong, but it’s just a guess.
If JM did interview the other coaches all who have previous experience, what did he see in DeBoer that made him pull the trigger. Is he someone that JM will be able to push around himself? I don’t see Hartley or Burns taking any crap from him. I am sure that as time goes we may have the answers to these questions.

All in all DeBoer has his work cut out for him. He takes over a team with a roster of fairly young underachieving players, who need a firecracker in their rear every so often, and a team that is fragile at the end of games, and with a captain that wants to stay, and has said he wants to stay, but it is apparent that if the right deal comes along he will be traded. Each of the last 2 years before the draft the Panthers have made big deals. This year might not be any different.

Tasks that DeBoer needs to accomplish:

1) Strong start to the season.
2) Lite a fire under Nathan Horton and demand consistency out of him so he can reach his potential.
3) Lower the shots on goal.
4) Fewer last minute breakdowns.
5) Provided Olli is here, get him on his side. It seems that this is the type of coach that can get Olli to perform at his best like Keenan. If that works, Olli will step up and the Panthers will be better.
6) Make the playoffs.

What Uncle Jack has to do is get some players who will help this team mature and be better, and surround Olli with quality first line linemates. If he is a #1 center, then stop putting 4th liners with him. Plain and simple. Sign a legitimate goal scorer, or trade for one.
Don’t sign Wade Redden,he’s too expensive, go after John Michael Liles instead.

It’s going to be an interesting week with the draft coming up and then free agency starting soon. I will be anxiously waiting to see how this turns out.

If nothing else, I can feel comfortable knowing that “Little” Stephen Weiss has given his endorsement of Peter DeBoer!

Great, I feel better already!

Thanks for reading.

Almost anywhere you look, and anyone that you listen to indicates that there are a number of teams interested in the Panthers # 1 player/center, with Calgary for obvious reasons (Mike Keenan) and Vancouver being the front runners. There was also a blurb from a local writer here in South Florida indicating that Minnesota was in the running. It was revealed to Panther fans recently that at the trade deadline this year the Panthers offered Olli to Vancouver for the Sedin sisters! This was quickly shot down by Dave Nonis, and I am not sure whether that would have saved his job or not, but if it had gone through, I would have hoped that Jacques Martin would have lost both of his!

When the Panthers organIzation held a town hall meeting shortly after the season, majority owner Alan Cohen who continues to display his lack of knowledge about hockey as well as running a team indicated that while he wants Olli on the team, he cannot protect him any longer. The team needs to do what it takes to improve and if dealing Olli improves the team, then it is a possiblity. Lord, help us! The Minnesota rumour was Mark Parrish and a draft pick for Olli as a good starting point. Yikes! I am not a GM, but even I wouldn’t make that trade.
It seems that the longer this drama continues the more negative the feelings between the Panthers and Olli are going to get. His agent Mark Gandler has commented recently by saying no matter what we can’t control this and come the start of the season Olli will be playing somewhere and for a team that wants him. To me that seems like a comment coming from someone who feels that his client is no longer wanted, and is prepared to move on.

All of this has created some additional concerns about what the Panthers are going to do and what direction they are going to take. The hard core fans that we have down here, and there are a few are getting tired of the mickey mouse way that this has been handled. Much like the Mats Sundin situation in Toronto, they are causing alot of rumbling by doing this and for a team that has not improved in three seasons with Uncle Jack behind the bench, we are all concerned about what’s next. If I could hold my breath long enough I would, but all I can hope for at this point is that I am not holding anything besides a feather when I see what comes across the ticker or whatever is announced in fear that my flat screen TV will take the brunt of that object.

Let me be clear. I do not want the Panthers to trade Olli Jokinen. He is the face of the team, the leader (accomplished or not) and one of the only legitimate stars that they have. No offense to Tomas Vokoun, but his time will come…if he’s here long enough. However, for Olli’s sake maybe he should be given the opportunity to go to a team that that has a chance to make the playoffs, and allows him to step up his game to another level. To be surrounded by players that take this game seriously and have the desire and determination to win every night!
I feel that as long as the Panthers continue with the “Youth Movement”, Jokinen will not get much better than he is right now. And the playoffs are no closer now than they were when Duane Sutter was coaching!

Which briefly brings me to my next topic to be covered in more detail next time. The Panthers have yet to hire a coach, however JM has indicated that A) he’s not in a hurry, B) he has however narrowed down his list, C) there’s plenty of time and finally D) who can do this for next to nothing? Oh, that’s my take on it cause without a doubt an inexperienced head coach is going to come on board.

Let’s take a brief look at potential coaching candidates:
1) Bob Hartley– my first choice! Exactly what this lazy disinterested group needs.
2) Pat Burns–would like to see him get another chance somewhere
3) John Tortorella– has a Stanley Cup on his resume, but like Hartley, and Keenan before, too demanding, at least that’s what they’ll say.
4) Perry Pearn– Jacques assistant with the Senators. Enough said!
5) Paul Maurice– Nice Guy, wrong fit.
6) Randy Cunneyworth– will come cheap and has no NHL coaching experience, but JM knows him, and he currently coaches the Panthers AHL team. Might as well promote from within.

As long as we’re at it, I would like to throw my name into the hat! What the heck! If I surround myself with very capable assistants who have an extensive knowledge of the game it could work. I like to see an uptempo game with an aggressive forecheck, and I would expect my players to finish their checks, and follow their shot on net! I have no experience in coaching Hockey other than from my seat in the arena, or my chair at home, but I have been watching alot of hockey for alot of years, and as long as we aren’t going to make the playoffs for a few more seasons, how bad could I be? I may be able to surprise everyone. Let’s be realistic, if the Panthers can put a former cab driver, John Torchetti in as head coach, why not me? All I ask for is $250,000 a year and pay for my meals, hotel, airfare and a few nice suits.
Cause at that price you can bet that the guy that gets the job next probably won’t be making much more.

I hope I am wrong!

Thanks for reading.

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.

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.

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

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!!!!