So there's a lot that has happened - ownership rumors, GM speculation and some personnel news (albeit minor).
First up is a rumor from Al Strachan that the potential sale of the Panthers to Sports Properties Acquisition Corp. has fallen, or is about to fall through. No one else has reported anything similar, and Strachan's reliability is somewhere around that of paying my cat (she's not the smartest of cats, mind you) to file your tax return online.
All indications thus far would be that this sale is still being pursued, so until we hear otherwise, I'm going to hold on to hope that it happens - and that it turns out to be a good thing. But really, aren't we all hoping for that?
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Mike Brodeur, who basically singlehandedly turned Rochester around from being the undisputed worst team in the league to being "one of the worst", has rejected a Panthers offer. Brodeur won't be back, but don't worry about the Cats lowballing Brodeur. The Democrat and Chroncile reports that it was simply an offer Brodeur rejected because he believes he has better opportunity to play in the NHL with the Senators. And he may be right; the Sens have Alex Auld, Brian Elliott and Pascal Leclaire in goal.
Marc Cheverie and Brian Foster are presumably returning to college and Jacob Markström is still under contract in Sweden, so I would imagine that makes Alexander Salak the Amerks' goaltender for the time being, along with Tyler Plante and then maybe Shantz or Beckford-Tseu rounding things out.
These are all good things: Shantz and Plante have had their struggles at the pro level thus far, but the Panthers still have a good deal of confidence in Tyler Plante's future. The expecations for Shantz likely aren't as high. But Cheverie and Foster have been very good in college, and as posted at LetsGoAmerks.com, both looked good at the development camp - and then Salak and Markström get thrown in and the Panthers have some real opportunity to develop some true goaltending talent as opposed to acquiring it via trade. The future between the pipes should be exciting to watch it unfold.
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That leaves the GM search. News making the rounds is that former Panthers GM Rick Dudley (2002-2004; fired) had boarded a plane in Buffalo en route to South Florida the other day, but the interviewing process has already begun and, according to team president Michael Yormark, Bill Torrey has received nearly 100 inquiries for the position. So Dudley, having previous experience with the team may simply have been flown in for an interview given his knowledge of the roster. Or maybe he was just on vacation.
And then there's Jacques Lemaire. If you remember the rumor a few weeks back that Lemaire was seeking a consultant's position with the Panthers or Lightning (he lives on the west coast of Florida), this news could be interesting to you.
According to the St. Pete Times, Lemaire has rejected the Lightning's offer to become a senior consultant - on good terms. Reportedly, Lemaire "has another offer that has gained his interest and which he is pursuing."
When Jacques Martin was hired to coach the Canadiens, however, speculation swirled that Lemaire would join his former team soon after. That very well may be the case as Lemaire played with Montreal , winning the Stanley Cup EIGHT times. But, for the sake of pure speculation, Jacques Martin was still with the Panthers when the report came out some weeks ago of Lemaire's interest. Now, Florida needs a general manager. Now, Lemaire may be much more interested in a job close to home.
7:13 Edit: RDS (English translation) is now reporting that Lemaire is indeed talking with the Panthers about the GM position.
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