July 1, 200719 yr Welcome to the third edition of the "The Week that Was," the blog's weekly recap of Panthers action. Each and every we will give a summary and analysis of the previous weeks events. Summary of Moves This week started out with the excitement of the previous week's dealings palpable throughout South Florida. On the heels of signing Nathan Horton to a franchise record 6-year deal and acquiring a franchise goaltender in Tomas Vokoun, many in South Florida were wondering with great anticipation what the Panthers' next move would be? The answer came Thursday: TSN reported that forward Jozef Stumpel had re-signed with the Panthers for two years, $4.5 million (TSN.ca). Later in the evening, Jacques Martin held a live online chat with Panthers fans on the Panthers' website. He stated that the Panthers were "very close to resigning Stumpy (Stumpel)." (Jacques Martin Chat Transcript) This seemed odd that the Panthers had no official press release regarding the signing of Stumpel to a two-year deal. The answer, much to the relief of Panthers fans, came the next day when the Panthers officially announced the re-signing of Stumpel to a two-year contract (Stumpel Re-Signs). The rest of the week was very quiet as anticipation is building for tomorrow's Free Agency bonanza. Of minor note, Dave Strader is leaving FSN Florida for Phoenix to work with close friend Darren Pang. (Strader leaving for Phoenix, More Strader news). Additionally, 790 has emerged as the front runner to become the Panthers radio home, replacing WQAM (See: More Strader news, above). Analysis of Moves Jozef Stumpel re-signs: Great move to retain the solid Stumpel. He has turned out to be by far the best free agent signing of the Mike Keenan era. Not only has he given the team two 50+ point seasons (52 in '05-'06 and 57 in '06-'07), but he had a career high in goals scored in a season this year with 23 goals. But his most enticing attribute has been the mentor role he has taken on with young Rostislav Olesz who has shown us his tantalizing talent and the reason why he was made a first round draft pick. There were points in time this season when Stumpy and Olesz played together and it was basically keep away from the other team. They were THAT dominant playing together. Look for Stumpel to not let up in his production and perhaps break the 60 point mark next season. Another great move in the JM era. Seriously, he can do no wrong right now. He's got a magic hand. Lets see what tomorrow at 12:01 PM brings us to South Florida. Will the Panthers sign Todd White and Victor Kozlov as rumored? Will the Panthers steal Slava Kozlov away from the hated Thrashers? Will Jason Blake become a Panther? Or will JM bring in Ladislav Nagy or Petr Sykora as Brian Biggane suggested in his interview with us this week? All I know is, I'm excited and you should be too. GO CATS! Panthers Daily Puck Thoughts?
July 1, 200719 yr Hate to see Strader leave. I think he's a very good announcer. As for who I wouldn't mind replacing him, two words: Mike Lange. Scratch my back with a hacksaw!
July 1, 200719 yr So much for the long rumored Todd White signing, Atlanta signed him today according to TSN. Let's get back at them and sign Kozlov away. Who is going to be our third center now? I know a lot of us just assumed it would be White...
July 1, 200719 yr Author So much for the long rumored Todd White signing, Atlanta signed him today according to TSN. Let's get back at them and sign Kozlov away. Who is going to be our third center now? I know a lot of us just assumed it would be White... Viktor Kozlov is a possibility...as is Mike Comrie. There was no way this team was going to give Todd White four years. Thats ridiculous to give that much to a third line player. 3 years is the max I would personally give.
July 1, 200719 yr Well it looks like we got our answer pretty quickly...Brett mcLean from the Avs reached a deal with the Panthers. He scored 15 goals and had 20 assists last year and was a +8. I guess he was JM's backup plan for White. Have to admit i have not heard of him before, but I don't really follow the Western Conf. Also, according to George Richards, the cats signed Richard Zednik. He had a disappointing year last year, but should be good for 15-20 or so goals depending on who's line he's on. They both signed cheap, under 2mil per year each. Now let's go get a top six winger. Here's the link: http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=212419&hubname=
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