The Florida Panthers have announced some much needed changes. Jacques Martin who has been the GM/Coach for the past two seasons of the team was relieved of his coaching duties. No word yet on if he will be brought back as GM.
In my mind, I doubt that he will. The Panthers have been swirling in mediocrity for much of the past decade, and don’t seem like they are on any kind of upswing, or downswing. Something needs to be done with this team, and the first thing in my opinion… is that it needs to be relocated.
Yup, RELOCATED. The fact that there are two NHL teams in the state of Florida and only 3 in both ends of Canada is beyond me. In fact, this has nothing to do with Canada period. Just move them to a place that actually has a hockey market! According to SI, just before the end of the season the Panthers averaged just over 15,000 fans, yet they report that there have been occasions in which the Panthers played in front of less than 10,000 people! Hell, last season, the Calgary Hitmen, a WHL team averaged 9,062 fans per game. A bunch of 16-19 year old kids have had a bigger audience then the Panthers at time!
Anyways! Next thing they need to do is just get rid of Martin. I willing to bet that the only reason he hasn’t been fired yet, is because ownership hasn’t found someone to take his place yet… but you can bet that they are looking. Besides Keenan, I think Martin has been the worse thing to happen to the Panthers since their inception. Under Martin’s direction, there hasn’t been many steps in the right direction, Vokoun and acquiring Matthias being the only exceptions that immediately comes to mind.
Hockey Talkie 
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