A Meeting With Alan Cohen, Owner of the Florida Panthers

The Florida Panthers invited a number of season ticket holders to attend their first (and hopefully not their last) meeting with the team owner, Alan Cohen. Or, as I now call it, Bitch at Cohen Fest. Absolutely no recording devices were allowed nor were any media allowed. The sole recording was by the official Panthers video guy (who, I might add, was using an HD camera).

I made an original post on my message board from my unedited notes. You may find them interesting. Those notes were written more or less in order with my few thoughts inserted as they came up. They were unedited and lack complete sentences, complete thoughts: just typing from my notes and not checking spelling, grammar, or anything. What you’re reading here is far more polished and includes conclusions and such reached after the fact.

The event started on time on 10 April 2008 at about 705pm and ended at around 910pm. I didn’t check my watch but was in my car at 914pm so that’s a pretty close approximation. The meeting was held in the Chairman’s Club. All the ticket representatives seemed to be there -- and a shout out to my rep, Mario, who is awesome. Also there were Randy Moller, Bill Lindsay, Michael Yormark, Steve Goldstein, and of course Alan Cohen. In the crowd were a number of people from my message board (the best and the ORIGINAL one), more from the “official” message board (some great folks, but it's still quantity over quality), and the Booster Club, of course. And of course Cowbell King Van Murphy was there –wearing a sports-jacket and tie so I almost didn’t recognize him -- who didn’t get in the question line, much to my disappointment.

Let me start by saying that it wasn’t what I expected. There were about 150 people of the 250 or so who sent an RSVP. I’ve never met Cohen, never heard him speak, and knew nothing about him except what I heard second and third hand. I formed an opinion of him based on that, and that opinion is apparently wrong.

I will start by saying that at the end, I left thinking that Cohen seemed very sincere. And I have to say he was brave to take some of the hardball questions lobbed in with the softball questions. It takes real cajones to face the music, especially when you know what must be coming.

A few people expected shills to be planted. Others expected questions to be screened. It was, however, open microphone. If you wanted to ask a question, you got to line up at the microphone and ask it. A nice and simple plan – if they’d have stuck to it. I was 4th in line. About 20 people, all told, got in line before they closed off the line due to time constraints.

At the beginning, it was requested by Steve Goldstein to please have one question only and go no more than one minute. He also asked people to stick to topics that were in the scope of Cohen’s job. Because of the requested limit, I only asked one question. Had I known other people after me would steal the floor and rant for a long time without ever making a point, I’d have spent more time asking some additional pointed questions. Enough said about that.

First, there were no shills apparent – though they would have been preferable to some of the speakers (which is the term I will use to refer to the person asking the question). A few people were rude, some long-winded, and several never did get to a point causing Steve Goldstein to jump in and ask if they’d please get to one. Even that admonishment didn’t deter some of them.

Cohen gave long, long, often detailed answers – and I mean that in a good way because he explained why he did what he did -- and though he rambled a little, it was interesting for the most part. I will say he actually seems to give a shit about the team. I can’t say what he thought about us, the fans. But it’s apparent he’s disappointed in what the organization delivered on-ice and this was his way of offering partial redress.

The first question was about, of course, Jacques Martin, and was more of a statement that we need a new coach and General Manager. There was a huge but not unanimous applause. Cohen agreed something needed to change and said he was talking with Jacques Martin to give him time to decide. He also said the Coach and General Manager job would be separated for next season. It sounded like Jacques Martin was going to keep one of his two jobs. Cohen took a hand vote to see who wanted to jettison Jacques Martin entirely and who wanted to keep him in some capacity. The crowd was about 66% for a total jettison and about 33% for a partial capacity. Cohen repeatedly said he doesn’t know hockey, and some fans apparently took him literally and not in the sense he meant, which was that he leaves running the hockey to the hockey people. He’s a long-time fan so he knows hockey. I don’t know why I have to explain this to people.

In response to the next question about Luongo -- I wish people would get over this already -- he said Luongo’s demands on who the team could and couldn’t hire and who they had to get rid of are what ultimately led to Luongo’s trade and nothing else. This corroborates many media reports after the fact. Cohen also said Mrs. Luongo really wanted Roberto to stay and he had several conversations with her as well. I could make some very rude comment here about the calibre of Mr. Luongo’s character, but I shan’t do that.

Cohen did not sound very positive on Olli Jokinen’s leadership abilities but he deferred that to whomever the next General Manager or Coach may be. In fact, he repeatedly deferred these types of question to the Coach and/or General Manager. I think this is the proper answer to such questions. He claims to be a hands-off owner, and moreso since the Keenan/Luongo debacle. I am not sure if I believe him entirely, or if he even realizes what constitutes a hands-off owner. This isn’t a critical statement but an observation.

My question – and I had my choice of two back-up questions since my Jacques Martin question was rendered moot by the people in front of me, was about the advertising. I introduced myself (and got some applause which surprised me ::smile::) and asked if he felt we were selling the soul of our team to the highest bidding advertiser. There was a smattering of applause in response to my question. His response was that ticket sales were US$16 million and advertising revenue was US$19 million – will the IRS please confirm this -- but he did think maybe the ad-laden urinal cakes were a bit over the line.

Then, Yormark chipped in that at least I noticed there was a sponsor. To that, I replied “but I don’t know who the sponsor is” That wasn’t an answer to my question. I will report that Yormark has a sense of humour, and that surprised me as he always comes across as very dour. My opinion of him is still very much coloured by the infamous New Times article (scroll down to Body Slamming Alice) about him where he fired an usher for telling him not to cuss in front of kids while screaming "don't you know who I am?" Um, we don't care who you are, sir. The rules are for everyone, especially those who should lead by example. Two years on, I am still waiting for the story where he apologizes to her.

As I finished, I threw in a quick comment about settling for mediocrity being completely unacceptable and told him he doesn’t settle for it in his business and he shouldn’t settle for it with the Panthers either, thanked him, and sat down.

Next up was the speaker from Hell. And it had nothing to do with what he said. It was the fact he said nothing. He ranted, he raved, and went on and on and on and never got to a point. He took forever. He went 19 minutes before Goldstein interrupted and told him to get to his point. It didn’t faze the speaker at all. He kept going and going and going – like the Energizer Bunny -- never getting to his point, before the audience finally got sick of him and began shouting him down.

Cohen was overly indulgent of the windbag – I suppose trying to be a nice guy even though it wasn’t warranted. And this is where things became less civil, much like when a referree loses control of the game. People began shouting comments, talking amongst themselves, and so forth. I felt bad for Cohen.

Next up was a kid, Brian I think, of about 12 who got a standing ovation with his question “What, given free-agency, would you do to make the Panthers a play-off team?” Cohen gave a half-answer touching on a number of things. He also stated, again, that Jacques Martin is doing a good job as General Manager to a muted applause. I tend to concur that though Martin does make mistakes here too, he’s not horrible. If you’re going to keep him around, at least he can do some good here.

In response to another question, he deferred again to the Coach, who was obviously not there. But he did come up with an answer. He said he’d answer from a fan’s standpoint. “Olli needs to be motivated,” said Cohen. “It’s wanting it.” The implication being Jokinen didn’t want it anymore. I am not an Olli-hater nor am I an Olli-lover. I’ve said this on my message board repeatedly: I don’t think he’s the right captain for this team, but I also think stripping him of his “C” may ruin him. A fan trotted out the Zednik excuse, and Cohen agreed. This doesn’t sit well with me because Zednik was in good shape after a few days, and Jokinen should have recovered and he didn’t. Olli's a professional and it’s an excuse, and not a good one. This team has way too many excuses.

Cohen also trotted out the injury excuse – used every year – and that also didn’t sit well with me. I’m tired of excuses. But then again, I’ve sat through the entire run of the Panthers organization since day one. I’ve also worked for an ECHL team so maybe I know more than some of the other fans and am less tolerant of excuses. I don’t like think so, but maybe that’s it.

Cohen also said specifically that Olesz and Kreps are on target to have long-term deals signed in the off-season. He also said Jay Bouwmeester is on the target list and later, when pressed, confirmed they have spoken to his agent. Cohen repeatedly reiterated that he believes in working with what we have. He believes we have the core players. This would allow consistency. He also said he’s a hands-off owner and the hockey people ultimately decide this. He said he had to get involved in the Olli thing and only because he felt it could turn into another Luongo fiasco, and he claimed he learned from that mistake. I tend to agree he had to get involved. I tend not to agree when he said he learned from that mistake.

He related the entire Keenan story to us. He admits it was a mistake. I could relate the whole story, but I’ll sum it up quickly. He brought in Keenan and Dudley and he ended up going with Dudley the first time and told him “If you believe we can win with the talent we have, here are the keys: do it!” And Dudley didn’t do it, so he was axed and Iron Mike, The Demon-Spawn From Hell, returned much to the chagrin of almost everyone.

He also discounted one fan who said we needed stars. Cohen said the team needs to get credit for spending money to retain talent and it’s not just about getting new talent. I agree wholeheartedly. The same fan – who bragged about his seats on the glass -- said we needed more star power and advocated bringing Eddie Belfour back over Tomas Vokoun. I can only assume the fan was intoxicated. The crowd greeted his comments with stunned silence and then disbelieving laughter. Cohen just didn’t know what to say but just said “no” and continued sipping on his energy drink – which I must point out was not the one that sponsors the team.

Cohen doesn’t realize our farm system is a mess and the ramifications of it and this should scare you. He thinks it’s basically okay. He says Jacques Martin was working in Rochester that very night working on fixing that situation. But Cohen doesn’t believe splitting our farm system is a bad idea. The smart hockey fans vehemently disagreed. Those may be the dumbest words that came out of Cohen’s mouth all night. Most people in the room didn’t get that part because they don’t realize how essential a farm system is to building your future. If you don’t have control over it, you have catastrophe and this is one area we have repeatedly failed. It’s sad or scary, but I’m not sure which. Just because we have a few great players, such as Matthias, doesn't mean our system is good.

In referring to the team Cohen vehemently said, “We’re built. It’s just a matter of someone driving the damn thing.” And he also said “The road to winning isn’t through me.” Both statements are true because that’s the coach's and General Manager's job but it is disturbing as an attitude. The speaker at the microphone called him on it, but I didn’t catch his reply. It’s hard for me to detail this part in context because at this point everyone in the audience was talking amongst themselves.

One speaker tried to blame Olli Jokinen, but Cohen defended Olli saying “I don’t want to blame Olli.” Good for Cohen. He didn’t prevaricate on that for even an instant and received applause for that. Sure, Olli did have some bad games – especially when they counted -- but he had an overall good season. We cannot and must not forget he’s currently the best player on our team.

In referring to Jacques Martin’s performance as coach, “…record last three years as coach. I can’t accept that.” It was blunt and damning. However he repeatedly refused to specifically say whether or not Martin was going to be coach next year. He said that he hadn't yet decided, something I know find hard to believe was true when he said it.

Again Cohen continued to humour speakers who rambled, made no point, and even asked no question. Goldstein interrupted those speakers repeatedly to remind people to get to the question – these interruptions grew increasingly more frequent as did random interruptions by rude sots in the audience. And the questions were the same over and over and over. I don’t understand why if he’s already answered your question for someone else, why you need to ask it again? Keep beating the dead horse? Oh, joy.

Cohen’s spending his time to talk to us, and all anyone wanted to do was speak about Martin. I guess I was one of the few with a back-up question list. Again, I wish I had known that sort of behaviour would have been tolerated. I had more questions and would have loved to ask them. My friend Evan who also attended, never got in line to ask his question and left early out of frustration.

One fan told Cohen he should meddle. Cohen disagreed and said he was very laissez-faire. Thank God he’s got some common sense. I am not sure I agree with him that he is laissez-faire, but good for him.

There were humorous moments scattered throughout such as the speaker who called Goldie a homer to much laughter. We all know it’s true and that’s great: I think we all love Goldie. But it was all to get to a point when the speaker wanted to know if they would have shown those last games on television. Goldie said if we were in the playoff hunt, they would have got them on television even if they had to do it themselves.

One shout out from the audience asked if the team was staying. Cohen replied. “The Panthers are not going anywhere. I promise you.” He then went on to detail the US$7 billion complex he wants to build and use shared revenue to help support the team and guarantee they stay here in perpetuity. I’d like to see the financial plan before I begin to believe him -- I don't believe $7 billion and I don't believe the numbers behind the plan. I remain an ardent skeptic on this point.

Another speaker railed about the lack of "locked-in" prices even though they were. As soon as he said it, a loud, collective "yes, they were!" came from the audience and also from the staff up front when Cohen looked to them in confusion. They guy, I kid you not, pressed on.

As an aside, Cohen was dressed casually in jeans and a black t-shirt, and very relaxed and patient throughout – though he clearly was getting frustrated with the lack of diversity of questions and lack of courtesy near the end. I liked the guy despite my preconceptions going in. Good for Cohen, he won me over so far. It takes a strong guy to take the abuse, put up with the mix of dumb and smart questions. He didn’t have to do this, and he did. That much, at least, is worthy of respect.

Cohen needs to pick a full-time General Manager – that’s his main job. “I failed in that job,” he admitted. He didn’t elaborate. As it turns out, that would come later that evening.

One of the last speakers up said the coaches behind the bench lack passion. Everyone applauded wildly. Even Cohen nodded affirmatively in agreement though he did not verbally agree with the statement. The speaker identified himself as Ron Kxxxx and retired from the USA Hockey coaching staff and formerly working with Mike Ilitch, the owner of the Red Wings. I wish I had got his name but he spoke softly. He obviously knew what he was talking about and knew names both new and old and had facts, not fan-crap backing him up. The guy went off and he knew his stuff. He was, by far the best speaker of the night. Whether or not I totally agreed is irrelevant.

(END OF MEETING – NOT END OF THE STORY)

I spoke to Erin on the way home and shared some salient points. I was dog-tired and went to bed when I got home, so missed the big news. I woke up and what do I see on the front page of the Daily Fishwrapper (aka The Miami Herald)? “Jacques Martin Fired As Coach!” – Glory, glory, hallelujah! Wait just a damned minute! There are two scenarios:

1. Cohen lied to us.
2. Cohen told us the truth and the decision hadn’t been made meaning the story wasn’t true
3. Worse, he listened to us and fired Jacques Martin because of what we said. No guilt on that, mind you, but if an owner lets the fans run the team then there is no saving us at all.

I don’t honestly believe number two. I can’t say I honestly believe number three. That leaves number one. So I guess my “sincerity” was only perceived. I don’t expect him to share secrets with us. However any good businessman or politician can dance around a question easily and with skill. He clearly said “I haven’t decided yet.” Only he quite clearly had. I cannot reconcile this contradiction in "facts" and invite an explanation.

I find it interesting the Herald said after the meeting he decided that Jacques Martin wasn’t going to be coach. The Herald clearly states that he was cornered after the meeting and asked. I want to give Cohen the benefit of the doubt, because the Herald’s article seemed pretty qualified in what they said. I also understand one should never believe what one reads in the media, so I do give Mr. Cohen the benefit of the doubt.

Today's press release also says that Jacques Martin hasn't accepted the General Manager's job. Honestly, at this point I hope he doesn't. That press release also failed to mention the resignation of Joe Nieuwendyk, a fan favourite.

This is a way too long blog post, but I had a lot to say. I should say it on my message board but this one ranks as blog-worthy so my loyal readers can read it. (And we’re closing in on 200,000 hits. Damn.)

Thanks for reading, everyone.
Eric

Although my blog does accept comments, I would prefer commenting in this thread on the message board so all fans may interact with your comments. This post, like all posts on this blog, is copyrighted and may not be reproduced in whole, or in part. You are free to link to it.

In This Weekend's News

I am disgusted with the Panthers. I am disgusted with the Panthers Management, for they are most of the reason I am disgusted with the Panthers. I won't bore you gentle readers with such a diatribe here, but it's posted over at my Panthers Hockey Message Board if you want to read it, though posting does require membership. Related to that, I've been invited to a NO TIME LIMIT meeting with the owner Alan Cohen (along with other season seatholders). I must assume my invitation was an error, but I've RSVP'd and am going. They have no idea what they're in for. I will be polite, professional, and brutally scathing. They shall wither before my causticity. May God have mercy on their souls because I shan't.

I have begun the slow process of selling my random computer items on E-bay. I've started with some low-end, cross-platform software. All bids start at a buck (99 cents) and have no reserve. The list of what will slowly appear there is at my website and if you see something, contact me directly. We can work something out before it goes on e-bay. Friends and family get items free or at embarrassingly low prices. A friend has already claimed my G5 so that's not listed; I'm shipping it off Monday. I took considerably less than I'd have gotten off E-bay but it's going to a good home, and that's more important to me than the extra money.

Yesterday I hung out with Timmy for the first time in awhile. He's still the same. Take that as you will.

I saw Adrian today and we had breakfast and went skating. The movie bit was cancelled because he had work to do. I had also seen him Thursday when he came and got the old TV in the guest room. My guest room now has HDTV -- see my previous post, item number six :)

We did stop, on the way back to his house, at the newly-reopened CompUSA (now a division of Tiger Direct). I gotta remember to let Tom know just for his amusement.

I cleaned Scooter's ears yesterday. I went to the grocery store, spent $50 and noticed I don't have anything to eat. Sucks to be me. The final four doesn't interest me this year, nor does the current NHL playoff picture though that may change. I am doing laundry, and I was going to go to the mall to kill time but I'm just not motivated. So I am blogging instead. Lame? Probably.

Another Rough Day

This one for Erin who was the victim of an attempted mugging at the mall.

The Higgi called in sick to the game. So I called Erin from work to plan dinner. Last night (Friday) we were planning to meet for dinner. She called me and changed from Food Court #1 to Food Court #2. Then Thomas decided to go with us for dinner. Then she called me again to change to Cheesecake Factory for dinner.

I arrived first, Thomas arrived a few moments after me, and she said she was pulling into the mall momentarily. She asked us to get the table and wait for her. We did indeed.

We were seated way in the back, so I called her to tell her. I got her voicemail, which was odd, but perhaps she was on the phone. Another 10 minutes went by and I called again. No answer. I was a little concerned considering there was parking aplenty.

A few minutes later the phone rang, she said she was robbed and hung up. As you can imagine that didn't sit well. I called her back and asked where she was, but she didn't say other than to say she was with security and to just wait and she'd come by. With no way to actually find her (the mall is enormous if you've never been to Sawgrass Mills), we decided we'd order without her and just wait. She finally traipsed in some time later covered in mud.

What happened? A young female (probably a teen) came up to her in the parking lot and asked if she had a dollar. Erin replied that she didn't carry cash. Then when Erin tried to put her phone in her pocket, the female hit her wrist had to make Erin try and drop her phone. Erin did but started to chase the crook (crookette?) but Erin slipped in the mud and lost her. Thankfully Erin is okay and nothing was taken. Mall Security was unable to find the perpetrator nor were the police. She, understandably, ditched the game -- at least the Panthers won in her honour.

Me, I awakened at 310am with violent and explosive diarrhoea and vomiting. Felt like food poisoning. Not sure it was dinner (Orange Chicken on a bed of rice with Snow Peas from the Cheesecake Factory) or lunch (a pork sandwich and baked beans from the hitching post). I might have to throw away my orange chicken leftovers. I probably shouldn't eat it though it was very tasty.

Erin came over and we did geeky computer things together. Yay. I even updated the Panthers Hockey Message Board to phpBB version 3.0 -- woo-hoo!

I still have the frequent diarrhoea, though calling it that implies there is some substance to it. More like pure water. Where it's all coming from I have no idea. Sorry. You didn't want to read that did you.

Thoughts and Prayers to Richard Zednik

Richard Zednik of the Florida Panthers last night took a skate to the carotid artery and almost lost his life. He skated to the bench, glove covering his neck -- a move that doctors say may have saved his life. Imagine 5 seconds more and he'd have possibly bled to death.

A totally freak accident. Horrific to see. There are some horrific photos and as bad as poor Zednik looks, the shock on his face evident, the pools of blood all over, the reaction of the audience is the real horror. The on AP shot shows peoples' faces and you can just tell they're realizing "this guy isn't going to live."

Happily, Zednik will make it. The Panthers hired a jet to fly his family to Buffalo.

I am a bit shocked that they stopped the game for 10 to 15 minutes and then cleaned the ice and resumed. I'd have cancelled it. Yeah, we lost. A forfeit would have been fine. No real fan would have said word one.

I've been hard on Zednik this year until the past few games. But he'd awoken from his slumber and was playing well. I hope he can, one day, return to the game.

I must warn you some of the links below contain graphic text, horrific photos and/or gruesome video with enormous amounts of blood.

• http://tinyurl.com/yqvt9r <-- two photos / one graphic -- The Full AP article
• http://tinyurl.com/ysgy85 <-- Boston Globe with photo blood all over ice
• http://tinyurl.com/ytueuj <-- ABC with gruesome photo and link to video of the play
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzU5z8byUkI <-- You Tube of the play just before to two minutes after (2mins)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzhuviXi3hc <-- from the time he hits the bench until the game resumes (10 mins).
• http://tinyurl.com/2vgzrt Zednik makes the Wall Street Journal

A very complete collection of Zednik Videos (various angles, etc) and photos.
http://www.postchronicle.com/news/original/article_212129784.shtml
Some of the above images are especially gruesome in nature.

This isn't the first time he left the ice on a stretcher. When he was with the 2002 Montral Canadiens....
http://tinyurl.com/ytvcxz <--- photo only

Feel free to add your link (TinyURL please) and commentary here. Support Zednik by posting a get-well message at the Panthers official website and/or our message board on this thread.

This post was updated 12 February 2008 with additional links. For the most up to date information check the Panthers Message Board under the above mentioned thread or the Official Press Release thread on the board.

Jacques Martin MUST Go *NOW*

I've attended over 500 home Panther games (probably over 550 if I counted). I am a charter season ticket holder and for the first 10 years, I missed at most handful of games (due to surgery). I've been to many road games as well.

This was one of the worst, if not the worst, Panther game I've ever seen in person. The team didn't play worth a damn. A bunch of old ladies with walkers could have beaten them. It was a shameful, embarrassing effort. And this kind of half-hearted, disinterested effort happens more and more. We have -- on paper -- the talent and it repeatedly comes down to one thing: coaching. The game has changed since the lockout and Jacques Martin hasn't. It's the GM's job to fire a bad coach, but Martin won't fire himself. However, he needs to be fired even if it's with the help of our meddling, star-struck owner. Honestly, I like Mr. Martin as a GM and I have no problems with him staying in that capacity but as coach, HE MUST GO.

After the game I and several other fans encouraged everyone to bring a "FIRE MARTIN" sign to the next game (Friday 1 February 2008). Please bring a sign, poster, flag, or banner to the next game that says "FIRE MARTIN" or "MARTIN MUST GO" and wave it proudly, shove it against the glass, hang it over the ledge, and do something to show team management that their absurd complacency is not appreciated and cannot be tolerated any longer.

AND MAKE SURE YOUR FRIENDS DO THE SAME.

Even my nearby seat-mate for the game, 4 year old Shane mocked Martin for his stupidity -- truly sad for Martin when a 4 year old learning hockey can figure out what's gone wrong on the ice and he cannot. Martin appears to be incompetent -- sad because he isn't.

SAVE OUR TEAM -- FIRE MARTIN!

Seriously, PLEASE get everyone you know to bring SIGNS to the next game. Signs, Banners, Posters, anything. We must get him removed. We cannot let our team languish near the bottom of the NHL standings for yet another year.

State of The Panthers (Follow-Up)

I am following up to my previous blog post with more details to give everyone a perspective. I received a number of e-mails asking what the problem was as long as we're in the playoff hunt. In the NHL it doesn't matter how bad you are: the division winner is guaranteed a playoff spot. That's why. No matter how we may FEEL about our team, we still suck. This dose of reality is important. The only reason we have any shot at a playoff spot is because our division sucks worse than a .....(fill-in-the-blank). Now here's a triple analysis using the standings on the morning of 20 January 2008:

ANALYSIS ONE (DIVISION):
In our division (Southeast of the Eastern Conference) we are 4 points out of first place, help by struggling Carolina. Yep, a lousy four points. We're also three points out of LAST place in our division -- thanks to Tampa. Fact is there's only a seven point spread between top and bottom in our division.

ANALYSIS TWO (CONFERENCE):
We are in a three-way tie (46points) for second to last place. Only Tampa (who is the only team we're ahead of in our division trails us). If we take the FIRST PLACE team in our division (Carolina) -- they would be tired for LAST in the Atlantic and only four points out of last in the Northeast. Yes, that's how bad our division is.

ANALYSIS THREE (LEAGUE):
It doesn't improve much by throwing (Los Angeles) with 38 points into the mix. Nobody else has less points than 47 in the entire Western Division. So we'd be tied for THIRD worst team in the NHL behind Tampa and LA. Carolina would be tied for last in the Central, second to last in Northwest, and tied for next to last in the Pacific. The Panthers would be last in every division except the Pacific owing to the graces of LA who can't apparently beat a rented mule.

That's pretty quick and I can expound further if there's interest.

In other news, that bitch Adrian stood me up for skating so I'm bored.

State of The Panthers Analysis

First and foremost, we have the talent in the stable. There is no reason the Panthers shouldn't be performing well above 0.500. I don't believe there's anyone who would argue this point. The only reason the Panthers are in the hunt right now is their shitty division, one we should be not only leading, but running away with. This division is full of crap, and we're, in theory, the stand-out team. Only they're not standing out.

Secondly, I feel our single biggest problem is lack of focus. Our team comes out either flat or strong but it never lasts. And the Panthers seem unable to correct the flatness or unable to maintain the strongness. The game against the Lightning on 12 January 2008 was a perfect example. They came out very strong, scored first blood in the first minute, and then after about 10 minutes apparently lost all interest in the game. I pick on this game because it more obvious than most, but the malaise has been with us for more than one season.

Worse when the team goes into the locker room, and Jacques Martin gives a motivational speech to the team, they come out and play worse -- it must me an Anti-motivational speech. Jacques Martin has got to go as coach. I would love anyone to come up with a case to the contrary. I feel he should stay as GM but he can't coach in the "New" NHL. The game has changed but he hasn't. He's playing a game and coaching a game that has passed him by. He simply isn't adjusting fast enough. By the time he's realized the game's slipped away, it's just too damned late.

Our leadership isn't leading. Our young un's mostly disappoint. The players all talk a good game about "people needing to step up" but they aren't benching those who don't. That's coaching, for the record, not reacting to what needs to be reacted to. Jokinen, Vokoun, Anderson, Murphy, and Booth are pretty consistent and good and get a hall pass. The rest all have bad nights, some far more than their fair share. Horton of the huge contract being one of the worst -- his head's been shoved up his arse all season. A good coach would work to fix this problem. It shouldn't take a season and a half.

The team can't maintain control the puck. The puck is everywhere and we routinely pass it to the wrong team. The game against the Avalanche (13 Jan 2008) was a fine example. We had perfect, beautiful scoring changes, and we try to pass the puck instead of taking an easy shot. Then we turn it over. In short, we fail the "8 seconds in the zone rule" which says if you can maintain control of the puck for a long count eight (8) seconds in the attacking zone, you will score most times.

As for team chemistry I do not believe we have a locker-room problem causing "bad chemistry" so it's just a simple problem and nothing like "who's the cancer in the room" (as we've had in the past). We have to leave the lines together for awhile and give them time to gel and not rotate them frequently as our coach seems to do. Again, another coaching issue.

Another coaching issue is the absurdly rapid shift changes. We seem to do this every 45 seconds regardless of whether we have the puck in the attacking or defensive zones and without regard to what is happening on the ice. Here's a fictitious sample of what's happening on the ice as called by a radio announcer:

HE'S GOT A BREAKAWAY! HE SKATES TOWARDS THE NET UNOPPOSED AND THE GOALIE'S OUT OF POSITION!

WHAT THE HELL?

HE'S SKATING TOWARDS THE BENCH. HE PASSED THE PUCK AWAY!!!

I GUESS HIS SHIFT WAS OVER!

If you want frustrating, watch the team play dump and chase -- or more accurately: dump and let someone else beat us on the chase. We never have anyone in the slot to pick up rebounds, and those rebounds are critical. A goal is a goal. It doesn't have to be pretty: ask ex-Panther Dino Ciccarelli who made a career of garbage goals. They win games. Finesse isn't required -- just being in position. You don't have to be Wayne Gretzky.

Player Analysis:

2 Branislav Mezei This man has more injuries than Evel Kneival. I think he's made of glass. He plays okay when he wants and when he can, but is that we want to settle for?

4 Jay Bouwmeester He keeps getting voted defencemen of the month by the fans? Yet I watch his play on the ice and wonder who the hell the fans are watching. Surely it's not #4 who has more turnovers than Pepperidge Farm. He can't keep the puck in the attacking zone, often watching it go by into the neutral zone and he can't clear the puck from the defending zone. He doesn't stop people from coming into our zone. Those, unless I don't know my sport, are his three main jobs and he just can't do them.

5 Bryan Allen Bryan's taken flack lately. I think he tries really hard and is a good influence on the team, though it's possible to try TOO hard. He can be better with very little work. I have hopes and I like him,

6 Magnus Johansson NEW. Comments withheld. Based on price paid, a good deal I think. He's impressed me with the two games he's played so far.

7 Steve Montador I still like Monty but he's got to step up and he hasn't. Half-hearted doesn't cut it.

9 Stephen Weiss Flashes of brilliance followed by moments of WTF did he just do? Given the money he makes, inexcusable. He won't be a start playing like this.

10 David Booth I am pleased with his performance. A standout among the unimpressive. He's not been perfect lately, but I like his style and effort. He wants to be in the NHL and it shows.

11 Gregory Campbell He made his mark last year. Apparently he thought that was enough. His effort this year hasn't impressed me. I like grit, too. He could still be another Billy Lindsay.

12 Olli Jokinen Overall I like Olli. He's had some not so good games. But the bottom line is he cares. He wants this team to win. Now he's got to get those other people to listen.

14 Radek "Barky" Dvorak is making strides. He's not the scorer he was, but he still is making plays. We all like him and he's a returning beloved ex-Panther so that gives him brownie points.

15 Jozef Stumpel Whither Stumpy? Last year a force to be reckoned with. Now? Who the hell knows.

16 Nathan Horton Nathan has his head shoved so far up his ass, it's absurd. I want to bitch slap him.

17 Garth Murray (IR) I liked what I saw for the few games he played. I hope the injury doesn't dampen his spirit. He'll be a good player for the long haul.

18 Ville Peltonen (IR) He's good. I like him. Just some bad luck with his injuries this year. He'll be back and he'll be strong as well.

20 Richard Zednik Another in the "I will play really well some games and others you won't know I'm here" camp. Consistency is needed desperately from him.

21 Cory Murphy (IR) By far our best Youngster. He will be a Big Star if he can return from this injury without having his confidence crushed (as happened to Stewart).

22 Jassen Cullimore No complaints. No comments. Solid but uninspiring. He's one of our few guys who appears to be good at face-offs.

24 Ruslan Salei Yawn. He should be doing so much more.

26 Mike Van Ryn (IR). He's done and won't be back. His career is probably over. He did so well last year. I won't rag on him this year only because I feel his wrist injury hampered his desire to do well. Spirit was willing but the body wasn't.

27 Noah Welch (IR). He'll probably do well if he's ever healthy. Same qualification as Stewart. Another Promising Youngster.

29 Tomas Vokoun Heart of a champion, desire of a champion, skill of a champion, and mouth of a champion. Unless you get a cheap goal and then he takes it personally and plays like shite the rest of the game -- that's his one flaw. Still, he's one of the better goalies in the NHL and one of the few capable of taking a team to the Cup if he maintains his focus. Most NHL goalies can't win their team a cup and Vokoun can and I don't believe there are any doubters.

31 Craig Anderson You couldn't get a better backup goalie if you tried. I have full confidence in him. When Vokoun can't play for a night you don't roll your eyes and think "well it's okay if we lose this game" because you know you still have a chance.

47 Martin Lojek Comments withheld. Haven't seen enough to say anything. I can tell you what the reports say, but I'd prefer to go by my own observations in case you hadn't noticed.

53 Brett McLean Here. There. Everywhere. Average. Wasn't he supposed to be an up-and-coming star? I don't see it because he's all over the place.

54 Kamil Kreps Also, Here. There. Everywhere. Average. He wants to be a star but his skills just aren't there. Maybe he needs more AHL playing time? I don't know.

57 Anthony Stewart This is the most disappointing guy on the team. Here's an example of what a simple injury can do to a player's psyche. He came to us as a hyped high-draft pick and now he's got all the moves of a water buffalo on ice. Why do we keep calling him up if he won't use his talent? I dub him trade-bait.

85 Rostislav Olesz Here's a guy who either has a good game or a bad game (invisible games count as bad). I expect more from him. I wish he expected more from himself, though he's been trying harder lately, I think.

This is just to prove I do know hockey. Someone recently wrote me and asked why at the Panthers Hockey Message Boards I don't often jump in. Quite honestly, I feel that I should let the membership have their say. My goal is to move conversations along and not create them. I like to participate but don't want to overwhelm the boards. I could, you know but I don't feel it would be fun for other people. Every now and then, though, I feel the need to really have at it with an in-depth article. I did, after all, write for LCS Guide to Hockey for three years as their Panthers correspondent.

And one last thing to plug while I'm here. Don't forget Panthershockey.net which is a great compendium of resources on the Panthers, and of course the message boards which I referenced above. Although there are others, this one is spam-free and full of people who know hockey. It's not the morass of me-too boards and whatnot others run.

Lastly, this topic doesn't allow commenting. You can comment on the original thread on the message boards.

The Rocket -- The Legend Of Rocket Richard

This movie has been released previously in Canada in French. The Rocket -- The Legend Of Rocket Richard
is now out on DVD having just been released 11 December. The DVD contains both English and French versions and I watched both to compare the two. Subtitles are also available -- but not recommended.

The film tells the “The Rocket” Richard (neé Maurice). Growing up a young French Canadian, Maurice Richard had a dream to play in the National Hockey League. In those days, there was an enormous amount of discrimination against French-Canadians, especially those who spoke little English -- and that, was Mr. Richard. Through sheer force of will he broke into the sport, facing down Campbell several times -- and after a particularly biased ruling, Montréal rioted in a historic moment in hockey history.

The Rocket played with a finesse, speed, and the fire that defied all odds and made him a legend, and a man beloved by all hockey fans. This movie is for fans and if you don't have a deep love for hockey, you may not like this film. I have that deep love of hockey.

Some quibbles: I noticed some differences between the spoken French and dubbed English but my French is pretty bad now so I shan't hold it against the film. The dubbed version irritates because you see mouths and voices out-of-synch which is common in all dubbed films and, more importantly, you lose a great deal because you don't realize when he speaks in English and/or in French. I strongly recommend watching in the original French with English subtitles. I know they put it here to widen the appeal, but the English version reduces the impact of the film. Also note that the English version doesn't translate the French text that appears on the screen throughout the film.

The film is rated "PG" for a few bloody hockey scenes and some foul words. Quite honestly, anyone over 10 can watch this film so don't keep the kiddies away if they love hockey. Richard is a role model you don't need to worry about, unlike modern day athletes.

Will the acting win an Oscar™? No. But it's serviceable and the characters are mostly believable. The cinematography is stellar. A journalist friend of mine also received a review copy. She told me the hockey scenes were well done. What an understatement! They were beautiful. Authentic down to the last detail -- skates, ice, uniforms, boards, chain link fences, everything. Even people in the crowd standing and blocking the camera view at times: a tour-de-force, mes amis! Pierre Gill and Michel Proulx deserve an Oscar™ for their work here.

Fans of current players can see cameos by:

• Sean Avery of the New York Rangers
• Pascal Dupuis of the Atlanta Thrashers
• Ian Laperriere of the Colorado Avalanche
• Vincent Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lightening
• Stéphane Quintal previously of the Montréal Canadiens
• Mike Ricci previously of the Phoenix Coyotes

The Richard Story must be seen by all true hockey fans. It's available at Amazon.Com.

12-23-07 SPECIAL CONTEST: Win a free copy of The Rocket. You must join our hockey message board to be eligible to win.


Disclaimer: I have been a fan of Maurice Richard for ages and even saw the tribute at the HHOF in his honour, so my review is probably slightly biased. I reviewed a press copy as provided by Palm Pictures.

NHL sued by NY Rangers (MSG)

For an interesting discussion, I give you this story and this related story. Madison Square Garden (owner of the NHL's NY Rangers) has sued the parent league, the NHL. This is interesting as hell to me, and his a great deal of significance to hockey fans everywhere.

The NHL, this year, took over every team's website. That is if you go to www.floridapanthers.com you're actually going to the main NHL website and you'll see your URL changed to http://panthers.nhl.com/. The site is designed, run, and maintained entirely by the NHL for the sake of league conformity. It might not seem like a big deal to you as a fan, but it's a big deal to at least one team. The NY Rangers feel they want to retain complete control over their site. I have to support them. The league may want conformity, but ultimately it's the Rangers' team that should decide how they present themselves to the outside world. Yes, I am down on record as supporting the NY Rangers in this matter*. I do not know what all the Rangers' beefs are with the NHL sites -- though I find them cluttered, boring, and lacking in any depth. If it's going to be fluff (and it's the blandest type of fluff, I might add), one might as well let the teams control it.

However, cynic that I am, must assume it's money. Let me quote an excerpt from the article:

MSG said it filed the suit in U.S. District Court because the NHL would begin fining the organization US$100,000 per day starting Friday (9-29-07) if the company did not give the league complete control over the Rangers' Web site and other promotions. The league is seeking to control the licensing of teams for all commercial purposes and to stop teams from marketing apparel, merchandise and memorabilia, the suit said. MSG asked that a judge order the league to stop limiting team promotions, and it also wants the court to clarify the boundaries of the league's rights.

As I said at the beginning, there are significant ramifications as a result of this. On the plus side, if you're a Panthers fan you'll be happy. Why? As you well know many very cool NHL items are only available in select teams. The NHL's intent is to make sure most items are available in all teams' logos and colours, though some regional items are expected to be exempt. As a Panthers fan, most items I've wanted to buy are not available for our team -- you all know that. On the minus side, when the team decides it wants to do something "special" for its own use, it can't. It's all controlled by the league -- including team promotions. So that cool giveaway you get at some games would also, in theory, be affected.

Although I understand the league's position. I think they've gone overboard. But it won't come down to what we, as fans, think. It'll come down to the rules that govern what the league can or can't do with respect to the teams. I suspect merchandising with a logo comes down to a league decision. Ultimately, I imagine it'll end up being like the NFL/NBA/MLB arrangement -- whatever that is. For me, I am most interested in the sentence in red above.

This case will give us all an interesting insight into how the league is run as well as to how much money is involved with merchandising, though I suspect this will be an unusually big year because of the jersey redesign. Lots of people are buying new, $390 authentic jerseys: at least that's our in-arena price -- less at NHL.com


* It's quite possible that the fact I agree with the NY Rangers is a sign of Armageddon.

1996 Florida Panthers Reunion Game

Almost eleven years after going to the Stanley Cup finals, the 1996 Panthers came together Saturday at the BankAtlantic Center for a reunion game against former Panther alumni plus some random people to fill out the opponent squad. A number of announced players didn’t show (Trevor Kidd, Chris Wells) and no explanation was provided. Local Channel 7 sportscaster, Mike DiPasquale filled in for Kidd and got pasted four times.

Panthers officials expected around 6 to 8 thousand people, and as a result only opened the lower bowl. It unexpectedly filled up to capacity and they ended up opening the club level to accommodate everyone. The tickets were free to season-ticket holders and $5 to everyone else — all for charity, so no complaints. The final attendance (and this was actual entries, not their usual counting method) was 11817. There were several autograph booths and the lines were overflowing with nearly a thousand people in them. There was no way to get everyone though the lines.

The final score was a misleading 9 to 5. The 1996 Panthers defeating the Florida Alumni. The first period was played mostly for real with only a Ian Vanbiesbrouck penalty shot on his dad being contrived. Papa left a wide left hole for his son, but his son fanned it, missing that shot. The only notable face-off moment was when Scott Skrudland faced-off against his dad.

As expected, every goal by the ’96 team was greeted with a shower of toy rats with the constant squeaking of the rats filling the arena. Although many announcements were made on the PA, due to some sort of echo problem nobody could actually understand any of them. Happily the fans knew what was going on, if maybe being ignorant who some of the “alumni” were. The introductions were greeted by heartfelt applause, the 1996 team getting near-universal thunderous applause to one long standing ovation.

The players were clearing having fun. Most, like Garpenlov, skated around with a big shit-eating grin on his face the entire time. Many played without helmets. There was one on and only one check the entire game when Eddie J plastered Denis Potvin into the boards and Potvin looked genuinely surprised and the crowd loved it. The game was ably called by old announcers Chris Moore and Jeff Rimer. The ice was painted to 1996 specifications down the small, round creases.

The game used running time, which means the clock started at 20 minutes and ran through to 0 without stopping. It was followed by an 8 minute intermission. The second intermission was cancelled after only 30 seconds, and the third period began with just 9 minutes on the clock with no explanation. The first period was played mostly for real. The second period was a bit less so with more humour injected. The third period had nothing to do with hockey.

Also in the game a fake penalty (a clear set-up) had Laus dropping the gloves against Worrell. There was a hug and a major penalty for dancing.

Goals for 1996 Panthers in order:
1. Barnes, Mellanby, Lindsay
2. Jovanovski, Fitzgerald
3. Mellanby, Smith
4. Lindsay Skrudland
5. Fitzgerald
6. Smith, Garpenlov
7. Sheppard, Hough, Barnes
8. Mellanby
9. Hough, Murphy

For the alumni team Pitlick assisted Belanger on a goal. Beezer was relieved by Fitzpatrick near the back of the second period.

Some quotes from the guys (as provided in a Panthers media release):
“Awesome,” said defenceman Geoff Smith, a member of the ’96 team. “What a turnout. There were always good fans down here. We were signing autographs and people were lined up, excited and talking about how they had waited for this moment for a long time.”

Doug MacLean, coach of the ’96 team, said of the turnout; “Guys were sitting on the bench and looking up in the stands and they couldn’t believe the turnout. For a Saturday afternoon at 3 pm? Incredible.” Asked the reason for the success of the ’96 team, he said, “It was heart. I haven’t seen anything like it in my 22 years of hockey.”

Scott Mellanby, who started the ‘Year of the Rat’ when he killed a rodent in the Panther dressing room, scored two goals Saturday and said: “I think this shows what a great relationship we had with the fans.”

Asked how he felt after playing the game, Mike Hough, an original Panther and member of the ’96 team, said; “I’m tired, but I got my first goal in nine years.”

Brian Skrudland, the Panthers’ captain from 1993-97, said the reunion game was “not only great for hockey, but great for South Florida. I think it helps to get people on board with the Florida Panthers.”

Keenan Florida Panthers Why

I monitor my blog's traffic to see what draws people in (see previous post) and it's mostly uninteresting except in a statistical sort of way. However, this Google hit from earlier today made me laugh: "keenan florida panthers why"

I can't stand Keenan because I think he's a prick. I don't have much nice to say about him. Someone's search terms perfectly sum up how I feel about Mike Keenan. I've gone over it and over it on my Panthers Message Boards, so won't rehash it here.

But it STILL made me laugh. Indeed: Mike Keenan, Florida Panthers, WHY?

Little fan's final joy sees Ottawa Senators off to Cup

Okay, I am rarely moved to tears. This one got me. What a fantastic piece, and it's a very sad story -- bittersweet and poignant. You've got a three-year old with a terminal illness and a bunch of hockey players. It proves some athletes can do good things for good people in unfortunate circumstances. A small excerpt follows, but read the whole article.

OTTAWA -- In the end, it was a hockey game Elgin-Alexander Fraser was not going to miss. The three-year-old spent his last hours at home, nestled between family and friends on a mattress on the living-room floor in front of the television watching the Ottawa Senators reach the Stanley Cup finals.

His right lung had collapsed and he breathed loudly, wheezing. When it became too hard to keep his heavy-lidded eyes open, because of the morphine, his family whispered the play-by-plays to him.

"Go if you want to go now bud," said his father, Hamish Fraser to his wee son, who weighed just over 30 pounds. "You don't have to hang on."

But that night, Elgin saw the Senators win. Two hours later, as his mother and father tightly held his hands and told him they loved him, he softly closed his eyes.

Eddie the Eagle takes Flight and Dances

Yep, Crazy Eddie is at it again. Eddie Belfour brought the house down with this beautiful performance worthy of an Emmy.



First, the background: Eric Staal was skating in the offensive zone near the boards. Bryan Allen was near him and was called for "tripping" which was dubious. But let's say it was legitimate for arguments sake despite the fact that any contact was questionable. Staal takes a swan dive worthy of an award clearly trying to draw a penalty. The worst call would have been two minutes on each -- two for tripping and two for diving, but to me it should have been two on Stall for diving only. That would have left it even strength. But instead, they just call the phantom trip. Eddie Belfour loses his cool -- as only Eddie The Eagle Can -- and does a mocking dance for the referee trying to show his opinion that it was a dive. Even Potvin was having a blast observing Eddie from the broadcast booth.

The fans were booing the official when his hand went up after Staal went down -- in fact if you listen to the audio of the clip above you can hear our reaction. We all thought it was bogus. Then Eddie got called for unsportsmanlike conduct -- a good call, actually. However we gave Eddie a standing ovation. That left the Panthers in a situation where we were guaranteed to lose the game, which is what happened moments later when the scored, mathematically eliminating us from the playoffs.

Okay, never use a penalty as an excuse for a game. I've said that repeatedly, even here in this blog. We should have won this game in regulation: we were winning 3 to 1 in the third and then we played really crappy for 10 minutes, which is what cost us the game. It should have never gone into overtime, but it did. I am not saying the call cost us the win, but I am saying the call on Allen was wrong and the non-call on Staal was even more wrong. The call on Eddie was warranted, but I've never been a big Eddie fan (nor a hater, just indifferent) until Sunday night. Eddie's dance made me a fan. ED-DIE! ED-DIE! ED-DIE!

You can discuss this with fellow Panther fans on our message board in this thread. You can read, but to post you must be a member. Memberships require moderator activation, and for fastest results e-mail the moderator as soon as you register.

Help this video out, go to YouTube and rate it, or maybe even post a comment.

Florida Panther Season Ticket Renewals Redux

In a previous entry on my blog (Florida Panther Season Ticket) I talked about the Panthers. Here's more news. I finally got an e-mail asking if I was going to renew. Here's my edited reply:

We had talked before and you were going to call me back. It's been about eight weeks. Anyway, that's besides the point. I am not renewing for a number of reasons, some of which you can control and some which you can't. (Fron here on down, when I say "you" I refer to the team and not you personally)

1. Cohen and Keenan deserve each other -- I on the other hand can't deal with them. It's like Jekyl and Hyde -- or maybe it's Sybil. I'm not sure.
2. You've turned into a marketing organization. You care far more about your sponsors than your fans. I hear this all over the arena. Everything has a sponsor. You've got so many ads in the arena you don't even have a CLOCK anymore. Yeah, no way to tell them time. Nice.
3. Important issues like fixing the broken lights on the B&W matrix LED displays go ignored. For an entire season I asked for this to be fixed so I could actually READ what was on the board. It's okay if you don't want to fix it, but I won't reward you for bad behaviour.
4. You send out letters insulting people who stuck with you -- renew now or else seems to be your attitude -- go ahead. Tell me whatever you want. When I got your playoff plan was the final insult. (I pay to park at the arena and even I was insulted by your organizations desire to charge people who chose to walk. Absolute lack of class and tact.)
5. I've written a few blog entries about my travails and opinions if you want further reading.
(A) nov 05 http://www.darsys.net/2005/11/whither-yon-nhl-florida-panthers.html
(b) feb 06 http://www.darsys.net/2006/02/florida-panther-season-ticket-renewals.html
6. And, when I come to the arena, I get raped at the concession stands.
7. 7pm games suck -- you start them at 7pm but I live in Dade county. You have basically said you don't want us Dade County folks there. We got the message. Thanks.
8. You make promises and fail to deliver. You promised us our season ticket holder gift and the season is almost over, dammit. And the in-arena 'premium' giveaways are, quite frankly, everything but premium. (Okay, the Panther Potato Head was REALLY cool. I admit it.)

All that being said, I support the team. I just don't support management. I'll probably just buy combo meals at Miami Subs and go on the free tickets they (or any of your 1,000,000,000 other sponsors give away). There is zero motivation to buy. [I'm sure you're a nice guy and you don't have to take it personally but I run a business and if I ran my business the way the Panthers did I'd have NO customers.]

I want to give Mario full credit. He actually called me after getting this e-mail. At least he isn't the typical cowardly rep that vanishes when things go wrong. He's going to come by my seats and introduce himself after the game Saturday -- something his predecessors haven't done in over five years.

NHL Florida Panthers Hockey Message Boards

Hello! Last week an exciting beta test began for a small group of hockey fans Today, I am pleased to open the beta test for everyone -- all hockey fans are welcome. I'll put the URL at the bottom of this post, but read on first.

I've created a Message Board System running phpBB -- a bulletin board system. It is fully customizable and works in many languages (so if you prefer to operate in, say, Spanish, I can install a language pack for you -- just ask me).

Optionally you can do many things, including:
a. add a little graphic "avatar" to identify yourself
b. Add links to email, IM clients, and homepages
c. Add your hometown
d. Post using italics, bold, fonts, and use hyperlinks
e. Use emoticons "smileys"
f. Change the default display style "theme" to one of several I have installed. [anyone who can help me make a Panther theme should e-mail me.]
g. Change the format of the date/time to your local format
h. Turn/on off many of the features if you prefer a stripped down version
i. hide/show your online status
j. Get an e-mail notification when someone replies to your posts

If you want to muck around, there is a TEST FORUM where you can post meaningless tripe, make new topics, and do whatever you want within reason to see how it works. When we go live, I will delete this test forum.

Only members will be allowed to post to the boards when they go live -- if you do not register you will not be able to post. Once you register and log-in, some additional hidden forums will appear.

I have made areas for Panthers, Affiliates, Prospects, Hockey (NOT Panthers), Not hockey (anything else), and there is a private area for PAID members of the Florida Panthers Booster Club. Booster club members must contact the club management and they must instruct me to add your name to this forum.

After you register and log-in for the first time, please go to the "From Your Moderator" section and read the READ ME FIRST post. Our main web-page TOS has been updated to reflect the message boards as well.

http://www.panthershockey.net/bbs.html this URL will always work no matter where I may move the board. The current board URL may not be final so stick with the one above :)

I look forward to your comments and suggestions.

-- E

Florida Panther Season Ticket Renewals and Playoff Tickets

INTRODUCTION
Originally written in my blog was this bit about the Panthers: Whither Yon NHL Florida Panthers? in which I wondered what the hell was wrong with the Florida Panthers and endeavoured to point out some of the things they've screwed up. Naturally, the response was tepid -- apparently unless I am writing about Why Led Zeppelin Sucks nobody wishes to comment which is ironic because of course I never said any such thing about Led Zeppelin :) Anyway, I digress. But before I move on, you really DO need to read the Original Post to help you make sense of this one.

Today, I got my renewal package and my playoff ticket packages -- all in a spiffy folder. I was more than amused[1] because, well, quite frankly, the Panthers and playoffs aren't something that should be in the same sentence without the use of the word not. It isn't that I am being pessimistic, I'm being a realist. The Panthers will go to playoffs only if a number of noticeably better teams experience a collapse for no reason; however generally it's South Florida teams that experience late season collapse -- it's a tradition in South Florida.

PLAYOFF TICKETS
The playoff payment process consists of three options:
1. "Pay as we play" in which they bill you as the games are played. You must renew your season tickets for next year (2006-2007) to select this option.
2. You can pay for the playoffs in full. Remaining funds for unplayed games gets applied to your account and not refunded. Again, you must renew your season tickets for next year (2006-2007) to select this option.
3. Pay for the tickets up front. In theory you can be refunded this money.

I pick option "4" which is to throw away the form. The options really don't differ that much. You're not really getting a choice, just the illusion of choice.

I am not sure why they think I would select any of these options given the state of the team. By the way, they did include Jacques Martin "State of the Team" address (apparently) in its entirety so I could read it. That's good because it made me glad I didn't actually go to the event. No offence, but the damned thing sounded more like a press release written by someone else. If you've ever actually listened to Mr. Martin talk, or ever talked to him, and are familiar with his speech patterns you will find this document, um, how shall we say, unusual. I mean no disrespect to Mr. Martin as I think he's a good coach.

2006-2007 RENEWALS
Also included in the packet were several pieces of advertising (heavens!) which again remind me of my original post Whither Yon NHL Florida Panthers? wherein I decry the deluge of same, though in this case I am not bothered as this actually the proper place for blatant advertising -- every sport sends tons of advertising with their tickets and ticket renewal packages. It all came in a very spiffy folder which I actually liked. It was something for free and of value from the Panthers, a rarity to be sure.

They're selling -- this is one of the ads -- for $59.99 a one-year subscription to "Panther Insider" which will debut next August. I am not sure why I'd want to spend $59.99 to subscribe to a magazine -- that's absurdly ludicrous for a one year magazine subscription-- especially since I am quite confident that it will be 99% advertising. I mean, seriously, look at the other stuff they put out: Unrestricted and Live On Stage. Why will this be different? (Oh, and would someone please point out to them that those newsrags they put out are not magazines. As they are printed on newsprint and of a certain size and content, they are properly classified as tabloids. They do not meet the proper definition of a magazine any more than the National Enquirer or Daily Mail.)

The cover letter, written by Yormark, talks about attendance, and I am quite amused by what the letter has to say. Quite amused. You've all been to the arena and seen the attendance and heard the announcements, looking around wondering where these "15,000" people have gone off to. The figures are quite simply put: an absolute sham. They are encouraging you to renew now, because starting April 1st they're going to try and sell 5,000 new tickets. Not a bad goal and I wish them luck, but they better make that 5,002 since mine are going back into the mix. Also, I think April Fool's Day is a very appropriate day for them to do this. It's hysterical. They have no concept of irony. None.

So, what do I get if I renew? Another year of Keenan hockey, which I am assuredly not interested in. Period. Another year of a Cohen run franchise ,which I also am not interested in. I also get another year of the shootout. I won't participate in the league due to the shootout and I understand this isn't the Panthers fault. I am so mystified, offended, and pissed by it, I can't begin to explain it. I do not understand why the NHL insists on pandering to fans with ADD who aren't bright enough to understand there is nothing wrong with a tie. Really. The world doesn't stop.

A lettered and numbered jersey, which I do not need as I have tons I am trying to sell off. A 3% rebate in the form of Panthers Bucks -- be sure and use the whole amount because no change is given at most concession stands. Worse, in the renewal packet, they advertise the Panther Bucks as "eat free at the arena" but that's just crap. You've paid for it up front and they're just giving you rebate coupons. That isn't eating free. From a legal standpoint, that's called false advertising. You also get priority concert rights which means you can get tickets to concerts before they go on sale to the public at large. I admit that I actually used this a number of times and will miss it greatly. You get discounted parking as well, if you purchase parking.

And you get to hold your ticket prices, which would be nice for me since I'm paying less than pretty much everyone in my price category. My tickets are way below face value :) However, my ticket prices are guaranteed to be held anyway so I'm not getting an additional benefit as they imply. Those of you who "locked in" all get this benefit regardless, so it's not something extra.

Yormark assures us, in his letter, of unprecedented success. If he's so damned sure of that, I'll make him a deal: I'll renew if I get a written guarantee that I get a cash (or check) refund of my entire season ticket price at the end of next season if the Panthers don't make the playoffs in the first 8 seeds[2]. I won't get that, I'm sure but I thought I'd make a concessionary offer nonetheless.

The Panthers further threaten that if you do not renew by March 14th, you may lose the rights to your seat location. I will save them the trouble now: you can have mine! It's too bad. I will dearly miss sitting with the Higgins family and even Karen the few times she actually bothered to show. They've become good friends and I will miss meeting them at games. I won't, however, miss the hellacious commute. Besides, with all the (almost) free tickets they're always offering, I can just get some of those next year.

Sorry, but the Panthers aren't doing the right thing by their fans or their players. I can't keep supporting it. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

For those of you renewing, I wish you all the best of luck -- I will continue to watch the Panthers on Center Ice. I will reactivate my subscription using a small part of my season ticket money and use the rest for something fun. I want to reiterate, I am still a Panthers fan. I will continue to support my team, but I will not give them my money anymore. That would just be wrong.

[If you're a member, please post any comments you may have on the Panthers Mailing list instead of here]


[1] Okay, I broke out in a paroxysm of laughter
[2] That's so if the number of playoff teams changes I'm covered -- that would be cheating on the league's part. And please don't get me started on the watering down of the playoffs by increasing the playoff pool.