AGonzalez11

Actually, Jackman is atrocious defensively - but adds some offense from the backend which we desperatley lack. He has a big shot and moves the puck well. He's a complete disaster in his own end, though, and very turnover prone. Keep his icetime 5 on 5 to a minimum and give him alot of PP minutes and we should be fine.

Manny Fernandez is having a much better season than Luongo, better GAA, better save%, and they play on very similar teams. And I may be a little partial on Lundvist, but we're not talking about the Hall of Fame. The guy has had an amazing season. Leads the NHL in GAA, leads the NHL in save %, and an instrumental part of the Swedish team. Henrik is producing, Luongo isn't. Manny Fernandez also splits the playing time with Dwayne Roloson - Luongo has to play 95% of the Panthers games. What Luongo is doing is unheard of for goaltenderes (18 straight games, i think) - especially in the compressed schedule we have had this year because of the Olympics. I'm not saying Fernandez isn't a good goalie, because he is, but he's not at Luongo's level....not even close. I also am not saying Lundquist isn't a good goalie or isn't having a better season than Roberto - but half a season doesn't make a career. Put Lundquist on a bad team like the Panthers and Luongo on the Ranger$ and lets see what happens.

Luongo is very good, top 10 no doubt, top 5 is very questionable. No way in hell is he the best tender in the league. I'd take Turco, Broduer, Lundqvist, Manny Fernandez, and Mikka Kipprusoff ahead of him in a second. Remember both guys are free agents very soon. Their overall trade worth will dip because of it. brodeur? sure kipprusoff? questionable, but ill give it to you because he is winning...even though his team is miles better than Luongo's. turco? no lundquist? last i checked half a season doesn't make a career...he has been impressive, but lets see what he is doing this time next year before we induct him into the hall of fame...ok? fernandez? you should be shot

The difference between Jovo and Bouwmeester is Jovo was and still is atrocious in his own end -- Bouwmeester is solid as a rock in his own end and is only 22 years old. He's on pace for 40 points and improving his physical game as well (he fought once earlier this year and has thrown some nice hip-checks) Jovo has Vancouver fans up the wall with his turnovers and mis-timed pinches. He's alot like Bryan McCabe -- one of the better offensive defensmen in the game, but probably one of the last guys you want on the ice protecting a one-goal lead. Bouwmeester will be a much more complete player IMO.

Got excited, I thought it was Jason Allison. :lol Sorry...couldn't resist. Jamie Allison is nothing special, at best a 7th defensman who will drop the mits from time to time -- I don't see why Keenan made this move at all considering we already have 4-5 "depth" defensman. Kwiatkowski, Semenov, Montador....and Sean Hill just sucks, so I guess if we had to classify him it would be as a depth defensman as well.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=154801&hubname=nhl

AGon, Havlat's a point-per game player, but he's never healthy. His career high for games played came as a rookie, and every year it's gone down, he's never played a full season in his NHL career. Add to that that he's recovering from pretty serious shoulder surgery and you see my reluctance. No, I hear that completely -- but like I said, Jokinen is a UFA after this year and that diminishes his value. If we had the chance to acquire a young superstar like Martin Havlat for him -- we'd have to jump on it, injury concerns or not. He's right there with guys like Marian Gaborik, Ales Hemsky, Alex Frolov, Henrik Zetterberg, etc. as the 2nd tier of young stars in the game. Not quite at an Ovechkin or Kovalchuk's level, but pretty damn close. When healthy, Havlat is a gamebreaker offensively, everything this team has lacked this year and then some -- Jokinen is a more complete player, better leader, but Havlat is younger and has a much higher ceiling. Plenty of young guys have injury problems....hell, just look at our own club. Horton, Olesz, Weiss, Mezei....I wouldn't deal any of those guys because of their injury history. It's concerning, but their upside is just too great to deal away. Havlat is the same way IMO.

Ignoring completely the ramifications any trade will have with Luongo (who I'd say is 60/40 out the door anyway), I'd hope it would take a lot more than Martin Havlat and a low 1st round pick to get Olli. You guys are insane -- Havlat is a 24 years old and had a PPG average the last NHL season (68 pts in 68 games -- 31 goals) -- and he was only 22 years old at the time. Olli's value is greatly diminished by his impending UFA status. He's a rental for any interested team -- why would the Senators trade a young star like Havlat for a guy who will bolt in the offseason? I love Olli as much as the next guy -- but his contract demands are pretty ridiculous. Mark Gandler is his agent, and for those that don't know he is the hockey's' version of Scott Boras/Drew Rosenhaus. It puts the Panthers in a tough spot -- they know they really need to re-sign Jokinen, but can't afford to overpay like Gandler and co. expect them to under the salary cap. Gandler rejected a 4 year, $16 million dollar deal and said "they aren't even in the same neighborhood as us" after -- so you can imagine what type of money he's asking for (probably $5-6 mil per year). Pavol Demitra, Ziggy Palffy, Alexei Kovalev, among others signed for around 4.5 million per last year. Hell, Peter Forsberg signed for 5.25 per.....is Jokinen really worth what he's asking for? Under these circumstances, if the Senators came calling and offered Havlat and a 1st for Jokinen I would take it and run away laughing -- that being said, that article was written by Garrioch and has almost no merit. If I were a betting man, I'd guess the Senators would package Vermette and Volchenkov for Olli -- and even that might be stretching it....not a very intriguing package for your leading scorer & team captain, but the it's the reality of our situation with Jokinen -- deal him for two good young players or lose him for nothing? I hope he wakes up and realizes he's asking for too much $ -- but it's not likely with Gandler brainwashing him.

We are 8 points back of the 8th spot and need to jump over 6 different teams to get there -- I don't see how that is "so close". Barring a miracle, I see us shipiing out Sean Hill, and possibly Chris Gratton/Olli Jokinen at the deadline if a deal can not be struck with the latter two.

I was watching that game live....I didn't think it was anything spectacular...Hainsey's shot deflected off someone's skate, went up, hit Vyborny in the mouth and went in...flukey, but nothing special. BTW, if you're a Jackets fan, I feel bad for you....not because your team is bad (you actually have tons of good young players with Zherdev, Klesla, Leclaire, Nash, Picard, etc.) but because you have to put up with Jeff Rimer....I had almost forgotten how awful he was. :banghead oh don't be such a hater, i liked jeff rimer...but imo strader sounds very similar Jeff Rimer is atrocious -- easily one of the worst announcer in hockey. He puts you to sleep and misses so many calls because he goes off topic for long periods of time -- TERRIBLE. I'd say he's the worst, but the Coyotes announcer (forgot his name) takes that honor. I was watching that game live....I didn't think it was anything spectacular...Hainsey's shot deflected off someone's skate, went up, hit Vyborny in the mouth and went in...flukey, but nothing special. BTW, if you're a Jackets fan, I feel bad for you....not because your team is bad (you actually have tons of good young players with Zherdev, Klesla, Leclaire, Nash, Picard, etc.) but because you have to put up with Jeff Rimer....I had almost forgotten how awful he was. :banghead Meh, we're not bad. We got hit with injuries early and that cost us. Since November, I think, we're one of the top 10 teams in the league. The team is just young at this point, I think next year if there aren't playoff implications you have to fire somebody, though. Because this team will be too good, if everything goes smoothly this offseason, to not make them. Read my post again, I'm not ripping the Jackets, they have a solid future. I like alot of their youth, and some of the additions they made, especially Foote. Taking on Fedorov's contract was a mistake, but hopefully he helps Zherdev develop -- that kid is damn impressive. I remember watching a Jackets-Hawks game earlier this season where Zherdev went coast to coast with 30 seconds left in the game to score the game tying goal. The Hawks were in a 1-2-2 and Zherdev still was able to stickhandle by every single player, get a good shot off, and put in his own rebound while in midair ala Billy Lindsay in '96. Easily one of the nicest goals I've seen in a LONG time. I hate Dave Strader, I wish Jiggs MacDonald or whatever his name is who substituted for Strader when he was doing the NBC games could take over full time. Why do you hate Strader? I think he's done a fine job -- he's very knowledgeable and objective -- my only complaint is he really has no ties with the Panthers so at times it seems as if he lacked emotion. He has improved in that area, though. I watched the Isles-Pens game this weekend and Strader brought up the Panthers about 5-6 times for no real reason at all. He's very well respected and well liked by most -- he was an announcer for ESPN for a long time and now does national broadcasts on NBC. I enjoy listening to the broadcasts now, unlike with Rimer where I felt like sticking a pencil in my ears

I was watching that game live....I didn't think it was anything spectacular...Hainsey's shot deflected off someone's skate, went up, hit Vyborny in the mouth and went in...flukey, but nothing special. BTW, if you're a Jackets fan, I feel bad for you....not because your team is bad (you actually have tons of good young players with Zherdev, Klesla, Leclaire, Nash, Picard, etc.) but because you have to put up with Jeff Rimer....I had almost forgotten how awful he was. :banghead

Sim is 28...how exactly is that "really young"? Sim is pretty useless...he's just a warm body to fill in who gives an honest effort every night. He's a fringe NHLer who doesn't add much offensively or defensively.

NBC has hockey? I honestly didn't know that. :lol Which probably explains the ratings...alot of others probably had no idea either. The Panthers FSN ratings are fine, attendance at the games is fine (with the exception of a couple of games this year). They aren't going to be breaking any records, but they also arent in any trouble with this market.

Not to mention having Michel Therrien as your head coach :lol Shame to see a great player like Palffy retire. This probably explains why he only had one goal in his past 18 games or so. He was still racking up assists, but it was probably killing him to shoot the puck. Good luck to Ziggy. BTW, strange to see both "high end" players the Panthers targeted this offseason suffer strange fates. First Mogilny is waived and sent to the AHL, and now Palffy retires midseason.

Jeff Conine would have been a good fit. It was silly letting him go. Last I checked it takes two sides to agree to a deal -- Conine didn't want to return to the Marlins -- how can you blame them for not re-signing someone who didn't want to return? I blame the Marlins for not resigning Conine mainly because they didn't offer him a contract when he wanted to stay with the team and play near home. Conine doesn't figure to join them. He has lived in South Florida for 11 years, he noted, "but you always want to be competitive." He will be looking to play somewhere else in 2006. And at the age of 39, he probably won't be around for World Series championship III for the Marlins, whenever and wherever that may be.

Having all these candidates on the same team will just end up working against the Marlins, as they will be competing against each other and take votes away from one another. If I was a betting man, I'd put my money on Prince Fiedler.

Luongo hopes to stay with team By Brian Biggane Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Sunday, January 15, 2006 SUNRISE ? Roberto Luongo has yet to respond to the Panthers' latest contract offer, but his agent said Saturday that the goalie wants to stay in Florida and hopes to get a long-term deal done no later than June. "Roberto wants to stay there and be honest with the organization," Gilles Lupien said. "He says that every time he talks to me. He wants to play there." Lupien said he hasn't discussed the Panthers' five-year, $30 million offer with Luongo since receiving it by fax from Keenan on Wednesday night. He disputed a report in a South Florida paper that Luongo had rejected the offer. "He didn't say no. Roberto doesn't want to work against the organization. I don't even want to hear about that," Lupien said. "There's a lot we have to look at ? look at the organization, the way everything is run." After turning down a five-year, $25 million offer last summer, Luongo said he would be reluctant to sign a long-term deal until he had confidence that the team was headed in the right direction. More recently, he said he has been encouraged by the leadership of Keenan and coach Jacques Martin. Lupien said the main reason he and Luongo would prefer to delay serious talks is to keep them from becoming a distraction during the season. "We don't want to have things in the paper because everywhere he goes, (the media is) going to be after him. We want to wait until June; the organization knows that, the owner knows that." Luongo, who was awarded $3.2 million for this season by an arbitrator, cannot become an unrestricted free agent until July 2007. Jokinen hopes to get deal done: The agent for Olli Jokinen, who unlike Luongo could become an unrestricted free agent this summer, said from Brazil that he has been in contact with General Manager Mike Keenan and expects contract talks to begin when he returns this week. Jokinen reiterated his previous stance that he has no intention to go elsewhere, also saying that he has been pleased by the team's newfound stability at the top. "We have our GM under a long-term deal, our coach under a long-term deal, and the organization is going the right way," he said. "I've been saying since the first day of camp I want to be part of that." Jokinen said he hopes to have a deal done by next month's Olympic break and, failing that, by the March 9 trade deadline. Noteworthy: Panthers announcer Denis Potvin, mentioned as a possible successor to Mike Milbury as general manager of the New York Islanders, said he's not interested in working for his former team.... Defenseman Lukas Krajicek returned to the lineup after missing one game with a sore knee.... Rostislav Olesz said his separated shoulder was feeling "much better," and he could return this week. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/panthers/cont...hnote_0115.html What does this all mean? Not much of anything. Luongo's future with the Panthers will be decided in the offseason.

Jeff Conine would have been a good fit. It was silly letting him go. Last I checked it takes two sides to agree to a deal -- Conine didn't want to return to the Marlins -- how can you blame them for not re-signing someone who didn't want to return?

Sources told Sportsnet Luongo has been offered a five-year deal believed to be worth as much as $30 million US. Sportsnet.ca -- Amid ongoing speculation Roberto Luongo is, or will be an available asset, Sportsnet has learned it is the Florida Panthers intent to sign their star goaltender to a multi-year contract. http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/article.jsp...112_175109_5088

Hopefully the Panthers don't play down to their opposition...a couple of times this season they haven't played very well against some pretty bad teams (50+ shots the the Caps in Washington, didn't look very good against Chicago, etc.) They need to show up tonight and play their hearts out, every game is a playoff game now, and you can't afford to throw away two points when you're on life support already. Go Cats!

I'd say there was a good 5,000 -6,000 red wing fans there last night -- and not only that, they were making sure they were heard, but all they ended up doing was pumping up the Panther fans. Every time they tried to start a "Lets Go Red Wings" chant they'd get drowned out immediatley by a much louder "Lets Go Panthers". It was a ton of fun, and is just a reminder of how great playoff hockey is, it was that kind of atmosphere, that type of game.....imagine how loud it can get if 19,250 are all rooting for the same team? As far as the game goes...we weren't outplayed that much at all, aside from that one four-minute shift where our penalty killers couldnt get off the ice. Luongo saved us there, and after that it was a pretty even contest. We'll see if they can use tese couple of wins as a building block....they better if they intend of even making this a season.

Potential? Hockey Pundits that I trust have always had him as a checking line forward. This is for the best. Hagman never fulfilled his potential. Right now, this team needs to get rid of its loose weight. It allows Serge Payer, who is a much better player than Hagman, to play. How is Serge Payer a much better player than Hagman? Payer is a fringe NHLer -- hell, I'd go as far as saying he'd be on most teams' AHL affiliates. He's a 13th forward at best. Hagman was dissapointing, but he hustled his ass off every game...I'd rather see a lazy slug like Jozef Stumpel shipped off, but since Keenan signed Stumpel it probably would bruise his ego to admit he made a mistake. :banghead

The Calgary Flames gave a boost to its offence on Friday, acquiring forward Kristian Huselius from the Florida Panthers for defenceman Steve Montador and centre Dustin Johner. ehh...Montador is ok...can't be any worse than Karpovtsev or Cairns I suppose.

Great game -- Panthers still need to work on some things (specifically the penalties) but overall a good effort. On a side note...that had to be the smallest crowd I've ever seen at a Panthers game. Don't know if it was because it was a re-scheduled game or if people are already losing interest. Hopefully it's the former...for those that didn't go missed a hell of a game!

WOW!!!!!!!! Sportsnet has learned the San Jose Sharks have traded Brad Stuart, Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau to Boston for Joe Thornton www.sportsnet.ca