Roblogg’s Panthers Portal

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.”

Despite rumors to the opposite effect, circulating the Internet yesterday, star winger Alex Tanguay has not signed with the Panthers. It doesn’t mean he won’t, but like I reported here a few days ago; Alex will likely take his time to review several offers from a plethora of interested teams and then make an informed decision.

After declining numbers in recent years, mainly due to injury woes, he will need to jump start his career with his next team. That makes his decision an important one, not just for his future career, but also, it could mean he’d be willing to spurn some dollar signs in return for a perfect fit.

Whether or not the Florida Panthers could provide that remains uncertain. Certainly they are one of the interested parties, and inter-rim GM Randy Sexton also states that the club indeed have money to spend on a good player/addition to the squad (such as Tanguay, we would presume): “We’ve got dollars,” Sexton said on the Panthers website. “We don’t have unlimited dollars. I don’t think anyone does these days…There’s dollars available if we need them.”

He further goes on to say: “We’re having ongoing discussions with agents and players. We’re being selective to find the right fit to fill the right need at the right price. We the like the chemistry of our team and have to be sensitive to that. I think there’s going to be a fairly good-sized pool of people still around. We also want to provide a spot for some of our younger players.”

One can gather from this statement that the Cats indeed aren’t finished in the marketplace, and there are several good signings to be made (check out this list from the NHL website to see which ones are yet to find a new home), but it is likely the Panthers may only make one/two at most/ additions to the projected roster. The other signings are likely to be aimed at the Rochester Americans; who need an overhaul after last season’s dreadful performance in the AHL.

Meanwhile, one Eastern Conference team that was active today was the New Jersey Devils. They snapped up former Panther Cory Murphy on a 2-year, two-way contract. The details have not been released, but his salary will obviously depend on whether he can make the Devils team or if he’ll spend the season in the AHL. Murphy is a skillful and quick, yet small blueliner that can contribute on the power-play. He was picked up by the Tampa Bay Lightning on re-entry waivers last season, as the Panthers had plenty of depth in defense and didn’t need his services.

I always felt it was a bad deal for the Cats to lose him to the Bolts on re-entry waivers (hence being stuck with half his wages) and a slap in the face for the Amerks – who could have needed his experience on that level. However, it was a chance for Murph to re-ignite his career in the NHL. And now the Devils, who are well known to pick up fringe players and then mold them in to stars, have reached out toward him and wish him the best in Jersey.

Hopefully the Panthers won’t be left to rue this move in the future. We’ll see I guess….

The Florida Panthers today announced the signing of another depth centerman. 27-year old Jamie Johnson was signed to a one year deal. He comes previously from a stint in Finland with TPS Turku of the Finnish Elite League. Last year he played 42 games for the team and notched up 8 goals and 20 assists. Prior to his Finnish adventure, Jamie played in the AHL with the Albany River Rats, pacing the team with 59 points in 79 games played.

While this is a move to provide depth at center, it is likely that the 27-year old will see action in Rochester rather than in Sunrise. Sounds like a solid move for the AHL affiliate, but Panthers fans were not waiting for this piece of news. Rather, the news everyone wants to know/dreads to hear, is if the club have been successful in luring veteran winger Alex Tanguay to South Florida or not.

Meanwhile, the 2009/10 NHL schedule has been released. As was known for a while the first two games will be played in Helsinki, Finland, against the Chicago Blackhawks on October 2-3. The regular season then begins on October the 9th with a visit to Southeastern Division rivals Carolina in Raleigh. The following night the Cats will entertain the New Jersey Devils at the Bank Atlantic Center; which should be an interesting game!

The season will be concluded on April the 9th with Tampa Bay Lightning coming for a visit. That is, unless the Panthers manage to brake both the odds and habit – by qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Florida fans will be able to get a look at more teams from the Western Conference this year, seeing as they will now play each team in the league at least once. Colorado and Nashville will be the "select" two teams that the Cats will both meet twice from the west.

“This year’s schedule sets up fairly well for our team,” Panthers Assistant General Manager Randy Sexton said when commenting upon the news. “After returning from Europe, we have the opportunity to get some rest as we play just four games over a 16-day period in October.  Additionally, we play five of our final eight games at the BankAtlantic Center, which could prove to be crucial in terms of playoff positioning,” Sexton also said.

However, playing teams in the playoff race at home during that last stretch may not be too much of an advantage. After all, the Panthers had a similar schedule this previous season and still managed to fumble and stumble over the finishing line – beaten barely by the woeful Habs.

For upbeat comments from Michael Yormak and a pitch of what the Panthers are offering pricewise, visit the Panthers official website, here you can also find the complete schedule.

The Florida Panthers organisation has announced dropped prices in many sections, whilst keeping concession prices level with last year. Considering the low profile the club has been keeping in the marketplace though, question is if this price-drop is enough to convince many fans to return and purchase new season tickets. There is a real concearn that the team will not be competetive next season amongst many Panthers faithful – and as was expressed here in a previous article.

In addition the Miami Herald has reported that the Florida Panthers have found a new strength and conditioning coach to replace "Andy O’Brien, who resigned earlier this summer to become the director of high performance at the Edge School in Calgary, Alberta". Craig Slaunwhite will now take the position and he joins from Toronto where he worked as a personal trainer; and among his clients list a few members of the Panthers.

Meanwhile, a couple of former Cats have been on the move to pastures new of late. Goalie Alex Auld was traded from the Senators to the Dallas Stars in return for a 6th round pick in the 2010 draft. The Stars were in need of a back-up goalie to Marty Turko. With the Senators last season, Alex Auld managed a 16-18-1 record with a .911 save percentage and a 2.48 GAA. He has an overall career record of 74-75-25, a .905 save percentage and a 2.76 goals-against average.

Nick Boynton has also found a new club. The Fourth Period are reporting on Twitter that his agent confirmed that Nick has signed a 1 year $1.5 million deal with Anaheim Ducks; who have been in search of defensive reinforcements since losing Beauchemin and Pronger this off-season.

This deal also follows hot in the heels of the signing of veteran Finnish ace Saku Koivu yesterday and should go some way in re-building the Ducks for this up-coming campaign. There has not been any official confirmation as of yet, but is expected to come soon…. Update! It is now official….

Inter-rim GM Randy Sexton has said that F Ville Peltonen is likely to return to Europe. Rumors have him signing for a team in Switzerland.

Meanwhile, it is possible that the Panthers are trying to sign former Montreal F Alex Tanguay. Sexton wouldn’t be drawn on which players he’s looking to add, but it would seem like one of the few remaining top players in the market may have a South Floridian offer to consider – at least if one is to believe some of the rumors out there. This could actually be a very interesting signing for the Cats if it ever materialises… fingers crossed!