Florida Panthers undone by ex-teammate Chris Gratton

Wow..makes me really look forward to THIS November!..lol

Why in the hell do we still have a hockey team in South Florida? There is absolutely no interest in it what so ever here. I must admit hockey is probaly the worst sport of all-time next to baseball and to make matters worst the panthers are pure garbage!

They make silly off season moves just like every other sports franchise in South Florida including my Dolphins. Except people actually give a crap about the 'Fins. They need to just retract this panthers team and whip their hands clean of it ASAP.

Beaten by a good player, who fell from the graces of Jacques Martin, and was let go. When will it be said that this coach has got to go. He needs to take his ego and his stupid old fashion dump and chase offense with him. He is obviously no motivator, and a HORRIBLE judge of talent. The team has not improved AT ALL since he's been here.

We made several mediocre, over-blown changes this off season. Put Jacques Martin as General Manager only. Put Denis Potvin behind the bench. Let's move on. Jacques' style of play just doesn't inspire anyone, mostly his own players. We give up on Gratton because he can't play Martin's style, and he proves that under a certain system, he can still play, at least better than what we have now.
A couple of more uninspired losses should prove the point that no single person can accomplish what two good persons can. General Manager and Coach is just too much for Jacques Martin.

NOTE TO JACQUES: Your team is now officially last place in the ENTIRE LEAGUE. If this is what you call improving the club and getting off to a strong start then I'd hate to see what a weak start is. If this losing doesn't stop, the Panthers will be out of playoffs by Halloween. A new team record! Let's see Yormark try to put a positive spin on that.

4 Pac wrote:

Why in the hell do we still have a hockey team in South Florida? There is absolutely no interest in it what so ever here. I must admit hockey is probaly the worst sport of all-time next to baseball and to make matters worst the panthers are pure garbage!
They make silly off season moves just like every other sports franchise in South Florida including my Dolphins. Except people actually give a crap about the 'Fins. They need to just retract this panthers team and whip their hands clean of it ASAP.

Why do trolls like you even bother to post here? When your steaming nugget of crap Dolphins actually win a game you can talk. Right now the Panthers have a better record even than them.... and that's saying something!

I woul rather lose against Gratton, then have him on our team...That being said...The Panthers are not ready for prime time, their conditioning at this point is 45 days short...

If you were to go back and read every article about this team in the past 6 seasons that would all have the same quotes by the players. Note to the players please --- find other excuses why this team losses. The only positive will be FREE TICKETS will be coming soon. In 2 weeks nobody will be there and I will get in for FREE to watch other teams stars. Thank you Florida

Why do we suck? It's just not fair

I only caught the 3rd period and we outplayed them. We had 6 shots in the first 2 1/2 minutes. The only thing keeping tampa bay in the 3rd period was their keeper.

4 goals in 3 games ain't gonna win you any games. Lets see, Gratton scores 2 goals, Huselius scored 2 goals and hagman scored 2 goals. why is it that every time we let a player go he plays better? I'm dumbfounded!! Why did they play so well from December on last year and this year they can't repeat that. This is basically the same team that played so well down the stretch last years sans Gratton and Gelina. Did thy forget how to play that way? I'm dumbfounded!! jcould not get any scorers in the off season because cheapscate Cohen didn't allow him to spend 7-8 million on a player like Smith or Brier. I also believ that the players have tuned him out. As a season ticket holder I am appalled and I don't even feel like going to any more games. Looks like we will probably win 2 games in October and November and then in December on have one of the best records in the league and miss the playoffs again. I'm u!!!

That last line shoud be I'M DUMBFOUNDED!!!!

I wouldn't be too quick to jump on the Gratton bandwagon. One game doesn't define a season. But while I don't disagree with letting him go, I do think they should have used that spot (and some serious money) to have picked up a bonafide scorer. This team still lacks a sniper.

You wanna know why Gratton looks so great - because he played against our defense. This defense will make ANY player look like an All-Star. Martin, you stink. I bought into everything you did this summer. But now it's become clear to me that this team has average goaltending, no defense and no playmakers.

What do you expect??? This team never has and never will spend the money for an elite player. You will never compete with NYR, Philly, Detroit etc. when you have cheap ownership. They could have signed, Gomez, Drury or Briere, but they sign has beens like Zednick. Forsberg will be available in December, according to the Hockey News, but reportedly will be resigned by either Philly or Colorodo.

Go Rangers!!!

Once again the Panthers lead the league in ham-fisted forwards.

While it's so easy to get angry and frustrated with the way things are going so far, everyone seems to forget that IT'S ONLY BEEN 3 GAMES! I know getting off to a good start is important in any sport, but a lot of you here are ready to throw in the towel on this team and Martin. Believe me, I'm as frustrated as everyone else, but that doesn't mean im calling it quits on the Panthers this season. I hope the true fans out there will hear what im saying and step up.

Rat Boy wrote:

You wanna know why Gratton looks so great - because he played against our defense. This defense will make ANY player look like an All-Star. Martin, you stink. I bought into everything you did this summer. But now it's become clear to me that this team has average goaltending, no defense and no playmakers.

I have to agree with everything you said. On goaltending, I still say even though we lost, our back up is better than our starter.

Gizmo wrote:

While it's so easy to get angry and frustrated with the way things are going so far, everyone seems to forget that IT'S ONLY BEEN 3 GAMES! I know getting off to a good start is important in any sport, but a lot of you here are ready to throw in the towel on this team and Martin. Believe me, I'm as frustrated as everyone else, but that doesn't mean im calling it quits on the Panthers this season. I hope the true fans out there will hear what im saying and step up.

I am a true fan, always have been sinse we first got the team in Florida. Problem is, the coach is not doing what is expected of him, our defense is horrible and our starter goaltender is not a good one. With that, this season as early as it is in, looks pretty bad.

It is certainly too early to call it quits, but it is alarming.

The simple fact reamins that the defensive lapses have not been addressed. The team looks to have not improved their puck handling, nor has Martin acquired a marguee scorer or play maker. Add on to that the youth and inexperience and a new goaltender that is still coming off a slump from his last team.

The final problem is same one that has plagued this team for a decade. There is no culture of excellence. South Florida is a great market for hockey. Just look at Tampa. They are very successful after years of being worse than us. But their fans stuck it out and the team eventually turned it around with good manangement and establishing a foundation of a good work ethic and tactical system that has now bred a culture of excellence.

If you look at the players who have been traded away from the Panthers, the vast majority of them are doing better than they did with the Panthers. That tells us that the Panthers organization is simply not getting the highest level of output from these players. The Panthers should be one of the hardest working and most disciplined team in the NHL because there are so many distractions here.

I wonder if the boys have set their tee times for Friday yet?