When NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika asked Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon about the struggles of his team, specifically after Sunday’s 3–0 loss to Calgary, Tallon replied, “I was pissed.” He’s not the only one.
Friedman notes in his latest 31 Thoughts article that Florida Panthers’ owner Vinny Viola is pretty upset as well. Viola spent more than $100 million in recent times to add names like Sergei Bobrovsky, coach Joel Quenneville and defenseman Anton Stralman, along with others. And, the team isn’t getting the results he expected.
Attendance is up a little, but still low and the Panthers may miss the playoffs again which means Viola won’t get the money coming to him from postseason games. In a market like Florida, playoffs can mean profits or losses on any given season.
Friedman wondered what the consequences were for all the failures in Florida and the answer was the team possibly shaking up the core of the organization. That plan may have started when the franchise traded Vincent Trocheck, despite many insiders being shocked that the team would do so and it probably not being the best idea.
What Are the Panthers Options?… Not Many
What does it mean for the Panthers to break up the team?
Well, Florida’s big names are Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, and Aaron Ekblad. While they also make the big salaries in Florida (outside of the struggling Sergei Bobrovsky) it’s hard to imagine the Panthers trading any of these players. If the team contemplated doing so, that means they’re really panicked.
Certainly, if they could move Bobrovsky, they might, but it’s almost impossible to imagine any team taking on his $10 million contract over the next six seasons, plus he has a full no-move clause. Keith Yandle is another piece the team might be willing to send out, but he too would need to waive his NMC.
In short, Florida may want to do a lot, but what can they really do?
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