Roblogg’s Panthers Portal

Sometimes no news can be good news. In this case it depends on your take of the proposed take-over of the Florida Panthers by an investment consortium. Good thing, bad thing? No one really knows. Will it even happen? No one knows. Certainly, if anyone does know; they are keeping a tight lid on things.

Apparently the rumors of the franchises sale were just that – rumors. At least for now, that is. It doesn’t mean the deal is dead in the water, merely that more time is needed. However, the fact that it has taken so long in the first place, makes the deal less likely you would think. If it had been a straightforward investment takeover it would have been done by now. Makes you wonder what exactly is going on, doesn’t it?

Perhaps the whole Phoenix situation is also playing a part in the delays?

After all, potential buyers might be interested to know whether they can move the franchise without the full blessings of the NHL in the future. Indeed, if the Coyotes are relocated it could set a dangerous future precedence for hockey fans in South Florida. The Panthers are not the hottest name, on an already crowded local sports market, and there are other hockey areas crying for a team of their own.

Better then with an owner, Alan Cohen, that you already know?

Perhaps, but then again new owners could provide a greater impetus to succeed, to plow money in to the roster and go all out in search of on-ice success; which could very well (if sustained and significant enough) rejuvenate the franchise and endear it to more sports fans in the region. There is some untapped potential here, that’s for sure.

Again – no news so far; just speculation. And we’ll probably have to sit in the silence for some while; whilst little newsdroplets trickle out one at a time. Nothing looks, unlike what the Herald may have claimed earlier, imminent at this time in space anyway.

Meanwhile, LW Ville Peltonen, has gone over to the KHL to play for Belorussian outfit Dynamo Minsk. The team ended dead last in the league last season, but have now decided to invest heavily in to the playing squad. Ville is one in a line of foreign signings that will try and help the capital club find some success. And good luck to him!

The Miami Herald’s sportswriter, George Richards, has stoked the flames of speculation in his On Frozen Pond blog by claiming that the Florida Panthers may be on the verge of changing ownership:

“The NHL’s Board of Governors is meeting in Chicago this week with the sale of the Panthers from the Alan Cohen ownership group to the SPAC apparently on the agenda.”

Apparently that would mean it would indeed be on the agenda today, Wednesday, although the Phoenix Coyotes situation is likely to top the bill of discussions. The paper could not confirm these rumors so it remains as yet unknown if indeed an accord to sell the franchise has been struck or not – between Cohen’s ownership group and the SPAC, led by Andrew Murstein.

If indeed these rumors are correct it is possible that the Panthers have new owners by sundown tonight. However, both sides have been shrouding any potential negotiations in the utmost of secrecy; and so far very little has slipped out about the proposed deal. Hence we will just have to patiently wait and see…

On the lookout for a new GM?

One thing that a new ownership could come to have an immediate impact on is the appointment of a new Florida General Manager, according to that same report in the Herald:

“Murstein is reportedly close to former New York Rangers/Islanders GM Neil Smith, who [...] is one of a handful of finalists for the job as it stands today. The other finalists for the GM job: Sexton, Doug Reisbrough, Doug MacLean and Jeff Gorton.”

This goes against Mr. Richards earlier predictions the same day; betting that current inter-rim and Assistant GM Randy Sexton would get the job. Randy has of course been handling affairs ever since former GM Jacques Martin skipped the ship in early June, and it must be said, Sexton was left with a real mess to try and clean up after his former boss. Considering this, it would surely be terribly unfair if someone else stepped in and took over the ship – now that Sexton finally managed to get it back on an even keel again.

Personally I’m all for letting Randy Sexton continuing as Panthers General Manager; he has surely earned the right to give it a go. Having made all the tough off-season decisions – he deserves the chance to see where it leads. Give him a one-year deal and see how things look at the end of the campaign, then decide if outside help is needed to fill the position or not, that’s my five cents in the discussion. What’s your opinion in this matter?

Sexton himself remains philosophical about the current GM situation and the deals he’s made this off-season for the Panthers: “I’m pleased with what we have done,” he said to the Miami Herald. ”For me, it’s straight ahead, lots to do every day. I’m trying to make the team better, the organization better. The GM stuff will sort itself out.”

Panthers new Russian connections

It seems that Randy’s hands have been tied by the proposed sale, tight money-ropes and coach Peter DeBoer’s expressed wish to not make too many changes: ”We talked about a few deals, and he (DeBoer) encouraged me not to make them. He thinks there is more here, more upside,” Sexton revealed to Richards. The latter then goes on to predict the same Panthers line-up that I predicted here, several weeks ago, in my article “Do the Panthers Have What It Takes to Compete?”

Finally, Randy Sexton also said that he’s currently trying to sign this year’s top pick D Dmitry Kulikov before training camp. The Russian player has a KHL contract but has a buy-out trigger that the player himself can activate if he pays the money stipulated in that clause.

As for the other Russian question, the one I’ve reported here about LW Evgeni Dadonov, Sexton reveals the stance of the Florida Panthers is that Dadonov’s KHL contract “has expired” and that the protracted deal will be concluded before next season:

”He will be with the organization. It may take him a little while to adjust to the North American pro game, but he has very good hockey sense. Elite hockey sense. He’s not big, but crafty and clever. He has terrific potential. We all know there will be injuries. If he’s playing well [in Rochester], he’ll get up for some games.”

The pending signing of the Russian right wing talent Evgeni Dadonov (Panthers 3rd Round, #71 overall, select in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft) has been mooted for quite some time now. However, no official word has come to indicate it’s a done deal – from the Panthers camp that is. Dadonov’s Russian KHL club, Traktor Chelyabinsk, on the other side – have gone public with their complaints about the Cats snapping up their precious talent. Does the name Jiri Hudler pop up in anyone’s mind at this stage?

Well, it seems possible that this is a similar situation anyway. The Russian club claims that Dadonov signed a two-year deal with them in the spring, whilst Evgeni’s camp apparently denies this. The coach of the Chelyabinsk club, Andrei Nazarov, has stated that the KHL side won’t let go of the talented forward without a fight.

The route they’ll take is the opposite one of the Detroit Red Wings in the Hudler case; the club is planning to speak to the KHL to formally oppose the transfer – as NHL has already done in the other case. They also claim that they’ll produce the contract, which Evgeni allegedly signed in the spring, and put their case before a court of law – here in Florida – to argue their case.

Whether they indeed have a case or not – I suppose we’ll all find out soon enough…?  

It’s a tricky situation and frankly very hard to tell where the truth lies. This could turn out to be an affair that drags on for a while and likely new pieces of information will become available along the way, but for now, nothing is for certain – and we’ll have to keep an eye out for future developments…

The Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet is reporting that the Florida Panthers are giving up on signing star winger Alex Tanguay. The paper claims that Canadian press now believe it’s a race between the Phoenix Coyotes and Tampa Bay Lightning to sign the experienced forward.

I have been unable to either confirm or reject these latest rumors that the Cats have given up on Tanguay. The interest of Tampa Bay Lightning and Phoenix Coyotes however has been widely reported. The deal between those two teams, which brought Radim Vrbata to Phoenix for Fedoruk and Hale, does give our western neighbors the necessary cap space to pursue a player of Tanguay’s caliber.

It would no doubt be a real blow to Panthers fans if these rumors came true – and Alex Tanguay were to join Tampa Bay instead of us. Take this latest information for what it is though, speculation, but as soon as anything more substantial comes along I’ll let you know…

On a sidenote, the same paper – this time using Russian sources, claims that winger Ilya Kovalchuk of the Atlanta Thrashers; is going to sign a new multi-year contract. The deal, if these sources are correct, will give him the maximum amount possible (20% of the teams total wages against the cap) and make him the best paid player in the NHL, earning an estimated $11.36 million a year!

Not bad for a player plying his trade on one of the worst teams in the league…