Archive for September 13th, 2009
Puck September: Florida Panthers
This past summer has been all about the money. There was the unrestricted free agent *frenzy.* That was around the same time the Phoenix Coyotes financial problems came into the spotlight, when BlackBerry billionaire Jim Balsillie threw his two cents into the fray and the league kept talking out of both sides of its mouth. You know, the place they seem reluctant to put their money in.
Screwed up contracts — both legitimate Chicago fuck-ups and the over-spending variety — became commonplace, and some players decided to gamble on the bigger payday in Russia. Terms like “escrow” and “cap numbers” came to be a part of the conversation, too. Then there was even more change — and even less sense — from Patrick Kane, who allegedly tag-teamed a Buffalo cab driver with his cousin over 20 cents.
It seems talk of climbing out of this recession has put money on the mind and our mind on the money, so in the spirit of cash, let’s take a look at all 21 teams 30 teams as training camps get set to fire up this month. Like most financial ventures, some teams will offer a greater return than others.
FLORIDA PANTHERS
Southeast Division
2008-09 record: 41-30-11, third in the division, ninth in the conference
Cap space: $8.405 million
Tip sheet:
Nine games over .500 and no playoff revenue. Ouch…I was really hoping this team would get into the post season last spring, for this reason…Head coach Pete DeBoer deserves a medal for getting the Panthers into a position to even think about the playoffs…Defenceman Bryan McCabe is being counted on to provide leadership and a steadying element for the Florida defence…If you read that last sentence without laughing, you must not be from around here…Do people still throw rats on the ice there?
Fun fact:
With guys named Rostislav Olesz, David Booth, and Michael Frolik, this team is going places.
You should really invest in this club because…
Um…let’s say Nathan Horton. I wouldn’t cancel plans to watch him play, but I also wouldn’t shut the television off if he was on. Vanilla praise.
The bottom will fall out with…
An injury to Thomas Volkun. The veteran goaltender can still get it done when given a little help. Not sold on Scott Clemmensen.
Key acquisition:
Getting something for Jay Bouwmeester. Basically it turned out to be Jordan Leopold, but that’s better than nothing.
Bottom line:
Look at this roster. McCabe, Volkun, Leopold, Richard Zednik, and Cory Stillman — the Panthers are a team of castaways and never heard of ‘ems.
