Brock
Registered User
Who declawed the Panthers? That is the question that everyone in the HFNHL community is asking. Florida has not won a game since Day 34 on the schedule and are 0-10-1 in their last 11 games. The Panthers are also dead last in every defensive category in the HFNHL. They are giving up over 4 goals a game (0.5 greater than any other team), which can probably be considered the greatest reason for the current slump.
This is very disconcerning for a Panthers franchise that had a lot of optimisim coming into this season and who had started off the season well following the acquisition of defenseman Jason Smith. "We did not anticipate sitting 3rd last in the league approaching the half way point of the season. That is for sure," commented Panthers head coach Dave Lewis.
The Panthers management staff has tried everything to jump start this team out of the slump. Lines have been shuffled, players have been rotated out of the line up. Rumours have been swirling surrounding many of the teams veteran players and trade talks. Anything and everything has been attempted.
One casuality of the recent slump has been veteran forward Pierre Turgeon. He was waived prior to the game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night. Turgeon has spent the past few seasons as a valuable member of the Panthers, however his salary had just become to much of a burden for the franchise. Management gave notice to all teams of his availability and when no offers were receieved, he was waived. Turgeon has already informed management that he has no intention of playing in the HFAHL and will await for another team to pick him up.
"The responsibility has to be on both us, and the players," said General Manager Brock Otten. "I've been on the phone trying to shake things up via trade and nothing has worked for us. Dave has been working the lines and motivating the players to the best of his ability. Ultimately, the players just have to work harder and stop the bleeding themselves. We, as management, can only do so much. But we aren't on the ice playing."
So what's next for the Panthers? They take on the Phoenix Coyotes in the desert tomorrow night and will look to take a step forward in the right direction.
Esteban Santour,
Florida Post
This is very disconcerning for a Panthers franchise that had a lot of optimisim coming into this season and who had started off the season well following the acquisition of defenseman Jason Smith. "We did not anticipate sitting 3rd last in the league approaching the half way point of the season. That is for sure," commented Panthers head coach Dave Lewis.
The Panthers management staff has tried everything to jump start this team out of the slump. Lines have been shuffled, players have been rotated out of the line up. Rumours have been swirling surrounding many of the teams veteran players and trade talks. Anything and everything has been attempted.
One casuality of the recent slump has been veteran forward Pierre Turgeon. He was waived prior to the game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night. Turgeon has spent the past few seasons as a valuable member of the Panthers, however his salary had just become to much of a burden for the franchise. Management gave notice to all teams of his availability and when no offers were receieved, he was waived. Turgeon has already informed management that he has no intention of playing in the HFAHL and will await for another team to pick him up.
"The responsibility has to be on both us, and the players," said General Manager Brock Otten. "I've been on the phone trying to shake things up via trade and nothing has worked for us. Dave has been working the lines and motivating the players to the best of his ability. Ultimately, the players just have to work harder and stop the bleeding themselves. We, as management, can only do so much. But we aren't on the ice playing."
So what's next for the Panthers? They take on the Phoenix Coyotes in the desert tomorrow night and will look to take a step forward in the right direction.
Esteban Santour,
Florida Post
