Martin Done As Panthers Coach

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.

“One Play” Commercial

So I was surfing around randomly just a little ago, and I ran into this commercial. Apparently its the NHL’s newest attempt at promoting the game. I’ll let you have a look at it before I give my two cents.

First off, I effin’ love it. There are so many details to it and it works on so many different levels. It incorporates vintage hockey footage, pond hockey, minor hockey, and today’s hockey. The beginning starts with probably two of the most recognizable faces in hockey, Gretzky and Crosby. It shows almost every team in the league, if not all, shows the stars of the game, the grace and skill needed to play the game and it is shown with great fluidity. The cuts between video clips are great. What ever company produced this commercial did an unreal job in making it seem like it was actually one play.

This commercial is leaps and bounds above the “I Pledge” and “Is This the Year?” commercials. It seems that the NHL may finally have taken a step in the right direction, and just in time for the playoffs. Finally.

DIGG ME 

The NHL Was Bright Today

I say bright, not because they were smart, because let’s face it, that is about as rare as a Wayne Gretzky rookie card. I say that because there was a lot of lighting up done today.

The Penguins, who are still relatively unhealthy, routed the Flyers with a 7-1 win. I don’t know if the Flyers are really intent on making the playoffs, but as of right now, if they don’t get their shiat together, they aren’t going to make it. With 2 losses in a row, things are looking dim as they hit the stretch run.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Florida Panthers are rattling off wins like there is no tomorrow. Maybe because if they don’t… there is no tomorrow. They have now won 7 in a row and sit 2 points behind the Flyers, but have played more games than all of the other teams on the cusp.

Speaking of rattling wins off, the Sharks finally lost! They went down to the Oilers tonight, in a shoot-out (go figure). Before tonight they had won 11 games in a row on their way to the Pacific Division lead, and with two games on hand on the Ducks, they are looking good to lock up 2nd in the West.

Finally, the other bright spot tonight was Joe Corvo, who lit up his former team. Corvo recorded a hat-trick in his first game against the Senators since he was traded just prior to the trade deadline. With Carolina climbing comfortably into the division lead, and playing much better hockey than the Senators, one might think that Corvo is happy with the trade that had him and Patrick Eaves sent to Raleigh for Commodore and Stillman.

Again, with every passing day, the play-off picture is starting to clear up, and I look forward to it. Look for my predictions as soon as the match-ups figure themselves out.