SUNRISE, Fla – General Manager Dale Tallon made the Panthers one of the most active teams this summer, but it doesn’t feel like enough to haul the franchise out of the basement.
After finishing 28th overall last season, they waved good-bye to star goaltender Tomas Vokoun on July 1st, and replaced him with Jose Theodore…
The former Montreal, Colorado, Washington and Minnesota puck stopper did win the Hart Trophy in 2002 but seems a lifetime away from those heady days with the Canadians now. Whilst Thedore has come through personal tragedy, and even enjoyed a brief renaissance with Colorado, he doesn’t feel like any sort of adequate replacement for the Czech veteran.
The teams’ question marks don’t stop in the crease either, with many of Florida’s other summer acquisitions being a mix of over-paid, under scrutiny or both.
Brian Campbell remains a solid puck moving NHL D-man who will help the Panthers offensively, but he is not a #1 defenceman and the move seems as much about the large cap hit the Campbell’s contract carries as it does about his ability on the ice. Florida needed to take on a lot of salary to reach the cap floor this summer, whilst Chicago were all too happy to shed the millstone from their necks.
Tallon also brought back the franchise’s first ever draft pick, Ed Jovonovski, but it’s hard not to feel his best days are behind him. On top of that forward Thomas Fleischmann is getting over some serious health problems whilst Kris Versteeg and Scottie Upshall have never quite lived up to the promise they showed early in their careers.
The supporting cast is hardly a thing of wonders either, with the defence likely to look to such household names as Mike Weaver or Keaton Ellerby to log serious minutes again.
There are some good quality prospects coming through the system, with Erik Gudbranson and netminder Jacob Markstrom heading up a crop which also contains this years 3rd overall pick Jonathan Huberdeau.
Markstrom is expected to be the long term future of the team between the pipes and this impressive crop of blue chip prospects meant ESPN ranked Florida as the top franchises in the entire NHL in their 2011 ‘Organisational Rankings’.
But years as one of the leagues whipping boys does tend to present ample opportunity at the draft table to boost prospect numbers, whilst nine straight years of missing the post season have left the fan base deflated.
As a further kick in the teeth for the team’s hardcore fan base, some long-standing supporters have found the team’s new ‘Club Red’ initiative gives them a simple choice of relocating their (season ticket) seating or paying more than $20,000 to keep their long-held locations in the lower bowl of the BankAtlantic Center!
Whilst the club calls it “revenue maximisation”, it is a bitter pill for those who have supported the team through thick and thin and for a team that has, at times, practically had to give tickets away to get bums on seats it doesn’t exactly seem like the best idea to anger long-standing supporters, no matter how small the number affected is.
With the goodwill of their long suffering fan base now starting to come under strain, and a marginally improved but still less than impressive roster on the ice, the Panthers future in Florida remains clouded and may yet find themselves embroiled in the ‘relocation’ chatter.
Contact the author: rob.mcgregor@prohockeynews.com
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