Florida Panthers have a busy offseason to-do list

It's a bit more than just a to-do list. Three forward positions open, four defense positions open and a quandry in goal.

One d-man position should be solved if Allen can come back healthy. But losing Bouwmeester leaves a big gap, especially given his average of 27 minutes per game and the fact that he matched-up against the other team's top lines. But getting a good puck mover isn't going to easy, as every team wants one.

At forward there is a likelihood that Repik can fill one spot and IF they really go out and get a goal scorer, that fills the second. But the weakness remains at center where they need a true first line center who can create offense. As for what they already have, huge question marks exist, including whether Olesz will ever blossom, whether Horton will ever become the complete player he was projected to be, etc.

Goaltending is a quandry because they will have a hard time moving Vokoun's big salary and he has the no-trade clause. Plus, while Anderson played his best hockey this year, he still hasn't proven he can do it with the #1 label. Keeping him over Vokoun (provided he would even sign here) has lots of risk as they would be left without a proven starter to fill any potential void. Markstrom should be the goalie of the future, but he's probably not ready to play here yet even though he has loads of talent.

It might not be another "rebuild", but it certainly is more than just a to-do list.

Looks to be a complete make over. I don't see how we can't improve on this season. Will be interesting.

It seems like this summer the to-do list is to do what they had to do 3 summers ago. Improve goaltending (anderson UFA), plug up a huge hole on defense (Bouwmeester plays 1/2 a gama a night which means that 25% of our defense is gone.. and our most important 25%), and add skill at forward (which Martin didn't seem to think was a problem a year ago).. so I expect more of the same, or a team that will be slightly worse.

Sign Andy-that's the key...is the goalie that gets you in or "near"
the 8th place...the 'budget ' should be nicely cushioned betw. short sales and games sold this season.....

See ya next year, folks.

So closes another sad, sad season in Pantherland.

It's a bit more than just a to-do list. As it stands now, they have to replace at least 3 forward slots, 4 defensemen slots and shore up the goaltending with either a replacement for Anderson or Vokoun, depending on how they handle that slot.

One forward slot is likely to be filled with Repik who looks ready to make the jump up to the NHL. No one else at Rochester looks ready yet, most notably Matthias who struggled this season more than was expected. Assuming they go after a scoring forward, and assuming that is a winger, it still leaves them needing top line center, which is one of their key weaknesses. Weiss is blossoming into a very good two-way center and if he starts shooting more often he will score at a higher rate, but they really need another strong center.

Assuming he comes all the way back from his knee problems, Allen should fill one of the 4 open defensive slots. But they still need a top pair guy who can move the puck to replace Bouwmeester and a good portion of the 27 minutes he contributes every night. Even if we assume that Eminger can fill one of the other spots, it still leaves them needing that first pair guy I noted, plus a good second/third pair guy.

Goaltending is a trickier isue than it appears. Signing Anderson (assuming he would even stay here) means trading Vokoun and his no-trade, big money contract. That might not be so easy. And even if they do so, making Anderson the starter is risky as you don't know how he will perform once he has that #1 label. It's a huge burden that doesn't always pan out. And regardless of who they keep, they need a solid backup. Markstrom is supposedly the goalie of the future for th Panthers, but it is likely that he needs to at least start the season in Rochester, as he does have some maturing to do (based on his talented but mentally flawed play in the World Jrs).

It's not a rebuild, but it's far more than just a to-do list.

There are 2 kinds of Panther Fans:

Those that KNOW Alan Cohen is running the hockey equivalent of a never-ending ponzi-scheme....

And those that WILL

Fire Martin wrote:

It seems like this summer the to-do list is to do what they had to do 3 summers ago. Improve goaltending (anderson UFA), plug up a huge hole on defense (Bouwmeester plays 1/2 a gama a night which means that 25% of our defense is gone.. and our most important 25%), and add skill at forward (which Martin didn't seem to think was a problem a year ago).. so I expect more of the same, or a team that will be slightly worse.

But at least none of this is a surprise. Who really thought that Dvorak, Peltonen, Cullimore, Zednik and even Boynton were real solutions, especially over the longer term? Hopefully now the people they bring in to fill those spots will be more productive. Of that group the one guy who I am sorry to see go would be Peltonen as this year he had his finest season in the NHL. I've never been a fan of his, but he did win me over this one season. He was a totally different player than he was in his other seasons here.

Hopefully Jacques will confer with DeBoer about personnel decisions and bring in guys DeBoer likes. After 82 games and lots of video tape, he should have a fairly good idea of who's who.

For a team that bragged about being set on defense, having to secure four spots tells me otherwise.

Martin kept wanting to build defense? Other than McCabe and Ballard..there seems to be alot of wishful thinking.

Don't hold your breath Kitty Fans. Weiss is out for wrist surgery so it is likely he won't be 100%. He's made out of bone china and gets hurt skating into his shadow. Olesz and Horton are overpaid deadwood no team wants to have so Martin is stuck trying to retread them or trading them away for lesser value. Bouwmeester gone will leave a huge gaping hole on defense. Anyone who denies it are the same "braniacs" who said Luongo sucked as soon as they heard he was traded. Allen wasn't great even in his prime. After sitting out almost an entire season and with a concussion history he's one open ice hit away from retirement. I don't expet much from him or Eminger. Boynton will be gone. Skrastins is just filler. Mccabe is a defensive liability. Thus Ballard will be stuck with most of Jay's minutes and too tired to generate any offense for our anemic forward lines. Stillman is getting old and injury prone. Don't expect a full season out of him. Vokoun is fed up with DeBoer and Anderson is looking for an uncontested full-time #1 role preferrably somewhere else. Booth will probably ask for big money and rightly so. Anyone that can score 30+ goals on this roster is a magician. I'm predicting his agent will want to tempt other GMs to make an offer knowing that this club will be too cheap to match it. I know I have no proof, but it wouldn't shock me if it happened. Martin will then tout Stewart, Glass, Mattias and Frolik as our top forward lines because he doesn't have the GM skills to acquire real NHL tested forwards nor will they want to come here. This team will seriously blow, but that's nothing new. The only thing we can hope for is that they suck so bad that we finally earn a top 1st rounder so Martin can trade it away for more garbage. And the vicious circle of ineptitude continues.

For every seller there's a buyer. For Vokoun some of the other Czech heavy teams may be interested, including Buffalo. On D I will look for a two way strong legs type Spacek like D.

Weird stuff - my first post disappeared, so I posted again, then the second one disappeared and now both are on, but something else I posted is also gone.

RED BARON wrote:

Don't hold your breath Kitty Fans. Weiss is out for wrist surgery so it is likely he won't be 100%. He's made out of bone china and gets hurt skating into his shadow. Olesz and Horton are overpaid deadwood no team wants to have so Martin is stuck trying to retread them or trading them away for lesser value. Bouwmeester gone will leave a huge gaping hole on defense. Anyone who denies it are the same "braniacs" who said Luongo sucked as soon as they heard he was traded. Allen wasn't great even in his prime. After sitting out almost an entire season and with a concussion history he's one open ice hit away from retirement. I don't expet much from him or Eminger. Boynton will be gone. Skrastins is just filler. Mccabe is a defensive liability. Thus Ballard will be stuck with most of Jay's minutes and too tired to generate any offense for our anemic forward lines. Stillman is getting old and injury prone. Don't expect a full season out of him. Vokoun is fed up with DeBoer and Anderson is looking for an uncontested full-time #1 role preferrably somewhere else. Booth will probably ask for big money and rightly so. Anyone that can score 30+ goals on this roster is a magician. I'm predicting his agent will want to tempt other GMs to make an offer knowing that this club will be too cheap to match it. I know I have no proof, but it wouldn't shock me if it happened. Martin will then tout Stewart, Glass, Mattias and Frolik as our top forward lines because he doesn't have the GM skills to acquire real NHL tested forwards nor will they want to come here. This team will seriously blow, but that's nothing new. The only thing we can hope for is that they suck so bad that we finally earn a top 1st rounder so Martin can trade it away for more garbage. And the vicious circle of ineptitude continues.

That is called Panther business as usual..
You can be a Home boy Rah Rah, but they had better understand the dynamics of the Panthers to understand the reasons for failure..

Pink Baroness wrote:

For every seller there's a buyer.

Oh yeah? You take a look at the housing market lately?

Ahh, nothing like some folks criticizing the Panthers for off-season moves that the team hasn't even made yet! I guess it is called negative ESP. That is sort of like criticizing the surgeon for the mistakes you are sure he'll make in the upcoming surgery. I guess when you are a negative person, you have a negative outlook. The moves haven't been made yet and already the Panthers have screwed up the off season. Quite amazing.
How about we wait and see what happens in the off-season before criticizing or commending any moves. Oh, sorry, that would make common sense, something lacking from many of the posters around here.

nhl market has no relation whatsoever with housing marketing problems after a housing mania blow-up
It takes a lot of games to make an NHL player and more so a goalie...they're not a dime a dozen so supply and demand of decent players is almost even.(besides I didn't hear of many players taking a contract cut or half decent managed clubs going out of business-including the Penguins.

Numbers_Guy wrote:

<quoted text>
Oh yeah? You take a look at the housing market lately?

RED BARON wrote:

Don't hold your breath Kitty Fans. Weiss is out for wrist surgery so it is likely he won't be 100%. He's made out of bone china and gets hurt skating into his shadow. Olesz and Horton are overpaid deadwood no team wants to have so Martin is stuck trying to retread them or trading them away for lesser value. Bouwmeester gone will leave a huge gaping hole on defense. Anyone who denies it are the same "braniacs" who said Luongo sucked as soon as they heard he was traded. Allen wasn't great even in his prime. After sitting out almost an entire season and with a concussion history he's one open ice hit away from retirement. I don't expet much from him or Eminger. Boynton will be gone. Skrastins is just filler. Mccabe is a defensive liability. Thus Ballard will be stuck with most of Jay's minutes and too tired to generate any offense for our anemic forward lines. Stillman is getting old and injury prone. Don't expect a full season out of him. Vokoun is fed up with DeBoer and Anderson is looking for an uncontested full-time #1 role preferrably somewhere else. Booth will probably ask for big money and rightly so. Anyone that can score 30+ goals on this roster is a magician. I'm predicting his agent will want to tempt other GMs to make an offer knowing that this club will be too cheap to match it. I know I have no proof, but it wouldn't shock me if it happened. Martin will then tout Stewart, Glass, Mattias and Frolik as our top forward lines because he doesn't have the GM skills to acquire real NHL tested forwards nor will they want to come here. This team will seriously blow, but that's nothing new. The only thing we can hope for is that they suck so bad that we finally earn a top 1st rounder so Martin can trade it away for more garbage. And the vicious circle of ineptitude continues.

The sky is falling. The sky is falling.

With Bouwmester and Vokoun very unhappy customers and doing you a favor to get dress, creating turnovers and soft goals we managed ok. Budget wise we can afford a #1 Center after unloading Olesz and #2 D after the Bouwmeister "tragedy"...

Give Andy #1 and find a way out for Vokoun and Olesz.

Tell Vokoun he'll be #2 upfront take it or leave it. This is the first statement I'm waiting for-if I'll show up at Bank Atlantic. Can't take soft goals on key games and swiss cheese in shut-outs.