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head coach: Bryan Murray

roster: C - Ray Whitney, Kirk Muller, Rob Niedermayer, Dave Gagner, Chris Wells, Steve Washburn, Ryan Johnson. LW - Johan Garpenlov, Viktor Kozlov, Bill Lindsay, Radek Dvorak. RW - Scott Mellanby, Ray Sheppard, Dino Ciccarelli, Tom Fitzgerald. D - Robert Svehla, Gord Murphy, Ed Jovanovski, Paul Laus, Terry Carkner, Rhett Warrener, Jeff Norton. G - John Vanbiesbrouck, Kevin Weekes.

injuries: Rob Niedermayer, c (flu, day-to-day); Kevin Weekes, g (sprained knee, day-to-day).

transactions: Recalled Steve Washburn, Ryan Johnson, and John Jakopin from the AHL's Beast of New Haven; all but Jakopin have played for the Panthers this season. Dallas Eakins was reassigned to the Beast of New Haven after clearing waivers. John Jakopin was later returned to the Beast of New Haven, and Peter Worrell was called up to take his place. Terry Carkner, d, cleared waivers.

standings:

Eastern Conference - Atlantic Division   
Team         GP   W   L   T   PTS   GF   GA   
New Jersey   69  42  18   9    93  194  135
Philadelphia 68  36  21  11    83  204  159
Washington   69  32  26  11    75  183  175
NY Rangers   70  22  31  17    61  176  197
NY Islanders 68  23  35  10    56  175  193
Florida      68  18  38  12    48  159  214
Tampa Bay    68  16  43   9    41  134  215

game results:

03/09 at Montreal  L 6-1 
03/11 at Ottawa    L 5-3 
03/13 Edmonton     L 4-0 
03/15 Chicago      L 8-4 
03/17 Vancouver    L 4-2 
03/19 at Buffalo   L 6-1 
03/21 at Tampa Bay L 5-1 

team news:

by Eric Seiden, Florida Correspondent

"It's a hockey night in South Florida, and here come your Panthers," screamed the announcer with far more enthusiasm than the sparse (but sell-out) crowd felt. Though the game marked the 2.5 millionth Panther fan in attendance, there was little joy in Mudville. Oh wait, that's Miami. Same difference.

The transaction sheets hummed. By 3-11 there had been three recalls, one trade, plus Garpenlov had been placed on waivers. The new players taking the ice signalled management's concession that the season was lost. The youth would get some NHL experience at the expense of a final run for the last playoff berth.

Add to that management's removal of the Murray Radio Show's team. Joe Rose and Jeff DeForrest were pulled from the WQAM show by Panthers Vice President, Dean Jordan. While this was likely a political decision by management because the two were often critical of the team, management, and guests, the two hosts were not doing a stupendous job. On the downside, it means fans will be subjected to more of Chris Moore and Randy Moller who take over the show. Moore and Moller broadcast the games themselves.

In more bizarre news, the week started off with the appointment of former Panthers Head Coach Roger Neilson to the head job in Philadelphia. Panthers fans ordered mass quantities of ulcer medicine as their world and team crumbled around them.

Fan favorite, but likely departee Gord Murphy, is greatly desired by the Detroit Red Wings. The Miami Herald reports the Red Wings' General Manager was in Ottawa watching. Speaking of Ottawa, it was a horrendous day for normally solid players including Rhett Warrener and Billy Lindsay. The only positive news is that much maligned Viktor Kozlov looks to be back on track and might not be a bad addition to the team. Chris Wells, who was back in the line-up, scored.

Against Edmonton, Beezer proved his worth by sitting on the bench while goaltender Kevin Weekes fell apart. But the real story was the self-destruction of hot-tempered team captain Scott Mellanby who did his best to take two of the most boneheaded penalties of the game, once again throwing more fuel on the fire in the debate over his qualifications to be team captain. The game was marred by an ugly incident involving censorship of the worst kind -- see separate report below team report. The game was also brutally painful to watch as the Panthers squandered every chance they were given. Officiating was horribly lopsided, though by the time the game ran out, this reporter was one of only 18 people in his section still there to see the game. A sad day in Panthers history. The team's nine-game winless streak increased to ten. Though mathematically the Panthers are still in the playoff hunt, on this day the fat lady sang: and it was a very sad funeral dirge.

The game against Chicago was miserable. Beezer wasn't into the game and the 6-0 score at the end of the first period showed it. Beezer whined like a stuck pig in the next day's paper. Clearly at this point he is wanting to be traded. He will undoubtedly get his wish. His replacement, Kevin Weekes, did much better and was a rare bright spot in the debacle that unfolded before fans. Vast, loud derogatory cheers against Murray were heard throughout the night. While some fans booed the team on and off the ice (a crass thing to be sure), all the fans booed Murray on and off the ice with glee. The embarrassment named the Panthers continued to stink up the arena, though at the end of the game there were few people there to witness it. The fans are not so frustrated in the teams losing, but in the management's apparent unwillingness to do anything about it until after the season ends. Clearly the malaise affecting the team was not the fault of departed and much lamented Doug MacLean. This game was just too disgusting to discuss. Very little worked right for the Panthers except the door to the penalty box.

After the Vancouver game, Fox has dropped all remaining games involving Tampa and Florida. Because Fox can (and did) deny SportsChannel Florida (Florida) and Sunshine (Tampa) the rights to carry the games on their networks, the Lightning and Panthers have agreed to move the season finale game (4-18) to 7:35 pm which is outside the Fox window -- which is until 7pm. The game will be on the appropriate network for your area.

The next morning brought more unpleasant surprises. The Beezer has formally asked for a trade, though neither he nor Murray would rule out him re-signing with the Panthers. Beezer said basically nice things about Murray which indicates his problem is with other people (read as: Torrey and Huizenga) in management. The Panthers have already spoken with Philadelphia and New York. Murray said "He [Beezer] assured me he would play hard for the hockey team for the balance of his time here whether that's July or Monday or Tuesday."

When the Panthers lost their 10th game in a row, it was by far the best game the Panthers played in a very long time. Weekes was a marvel in goal. Simply amazing. The game got so good, people forgot about booing Murray for a while. An amazing performance by Garth Snow in goal for Vancouver was the only reason the Panthers didn't win. Sure, there were the occasional bone-headed plays, but there wasn't much to pick on after this one.

Also at the game, a nice guy gave out buttons with picture of Bryan Murray on it and circle with a line through it. I wore it with pride. Local radio celebrity Neil Rogers was waving a similar sign all through the game. Man he looked pissed.

Showing even more how disgusted fans were, a good 25% of all shirts the Panther Patrol shot in to the stands (free fan giveaways) were promptly thrown back by the fans that caught them. A sad sign to be sure.

After Buffalo's game, with Weekes hurt, Beezer is like it or not, our number one man for a few days. Expect to see one of the MacDonalds called up as backup but not to play. One can't imagine they'd let one of these kids play right now. They're trying to score a win just to save face. As all fans have said, everyone loves Weekes but the guy is ALWAYS hurt. Something to be concerned about for the future.

Speaking of the Beezer, the Panthers can't afford to let Beezer go for free so he WILL be traded or signed by Tuesday most likely. Despite Beezer's recent attack of bad attitude, he is still a fan favorite and the Panthers management is aware of that. They've been getting hit hard in the media. Expect to see more harsh notes soon in the press.

The Tampa game was marked by another loss in which Renberg scored three goals against the Panthers in the first period, plus four of the five goals were power-play goals, moving the Panthers to the bottom of almost every stat list in the league.

Things continue to get worse. Even Bill Torrey says, "We have failed this year. It's painful. We're proud so we're embarrassed. This shows though that our fans have strong feelings for the sport, for us. They care. It's better than indifference. We have young talent in New Haven, but nobody wants to hear that. Our entertainment is too expensive for that kind of talk."

Bill Torrey on Skrudland: "He had nothing left. He's on the trading block right now." Frankly, Bill, make him an offer. Maybe you feel he's washed up but the corpse known as the Panthers will show some signs of life if you put its heart back inside.

And the ultimate and final admission by Torrey on a topic that has been done to death: "The Barnes trade was a bad trade." Always denied as being bad, the truth comes out. There it is in black and white (or a similar color combination depending on your monitor).

There are even some final words from some guy named Doug MacLean. Maybe you remember him? "Has the environment been poisoned? I'm not answering that question. But it certainly doesn't feel very healthy."

Also, as much as I personally think we should send Murray down to the minors to coach the Rhode Island Roadkills, every single player and management interview has one thing in common. They all seem to admire and respect Bryan Murray as General Manager. So, I'm not going to lead the call for his head as General Manager. He needs to be removed from coaching, clearly. But at the same time remove the overly inept defensive coach, Joe Cirella, who is mostly at fault for our defensive failures.

In an interesting comment, the Miami Herald reports that the Panthers signing of Esa Tikkanen was orchestrated by H. Wayne Huizenga, owner of the team. Reportedly Wayne was upset at Tik's slaughter of the Panthers in the playoffs last year and basically forced him on the Panthers management. I'm not sure if I believe this because Wayne is known for not interfering with his teams' management very often -- then again he ran Don Shula (Coach of NFL Dolphins) off for Jimmy Johnson for which I will hate him until the day I die and possibly beyond.

For those keeping score of baby Panthers, Kirk Muller did not travel to Buffalo with the team's blessing. His wife is expecting a child any day and he stayed home to be with her. The Panthers used his absence to give other players ice time. In perhaps the only other positive note in the week, Sports Illustrated's March 16th issue named Paul Laus as one of the ten most notable fighters in the NHL.

Next year the Panthers move into a new arena, which they claim is basically sold out except for box seats, club seats, and an occasional single seat. But the bottom line is that it's fundamentally untrue. Season ticket holders have not had to place a deposit. So don't expect a high renewal rate for two reasons:

(A) Some people won't go because of the team's performance

(B) Some people will be pissed at their seat assignment and not go. That means a low renewal rate and lots of empty seats. If you were shut out, you'll have a chance for tickets.

RUMOR AND ANSWER
In the rumor mill, this is what's churning, presented in the form of Rumor And Answer:

(R) Gagner could go to the Hurricanes (via ESPN)
(A) Maybe. Gagner has lots of potential but the Panthers are down on age.

(R) Murphy to Detroit (ESPN, Miami Herald)
(A) Cow Pie Rumor. Murray himself said they wouldn't offer him anything.

(R) Skrudland to the Stars and not back to the Panthers (ESPN)
(A) He's not coming here because Torrey says he's washed up. See report elsewhere in this column.

(R) Panthers could be interested in Radek Bonk. (ESPN)
(A) Tonya Harding will skate for the Panthers before Bonk does. They didn't draft him when given the opportunity because he was a "head case" and that hasn't changed.

(R) Eddie Jovanovski and Mellanby or Sheppard to the Penguins for Nedved. (Pens newsgroup rumor)
(A) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Sorry. That rumor and 25 cents will get you a puck and a towel.

(R) Vanbiesbrouck to Philadelphia. (Widely reported)
(A) Likely for Burke. Not a given but with Clarke there it's possible.

(R) Vanbiesbrouck to Rangers. (Widely reported)
(A) They're as tired of Richter as we are of Beezer. However we don't want Richter. The Philadelphia trade is more likely.

(R) Vanbiesbrouck to Detroit. (Panthers mailing list and rec.sport.hockey)
(A) Beezer would love to go home, but Detroit doesn't like dealing with Murray and always makes him piss-poor offers. See the one Murray already turned down for Gord Murphy.

A LECTURE BY YOUR FRIENDLY REPORTER
(TO SOME FANS WHO ARE PATHETIC)
The booing is simply out of hand. There is absolutely no excuse to boo your team off the ice. Sure, you can boo an occasional bad play. However, booing your team is crass, and booing a particular player is simply puerile, infantile, moronic behavior. If you did that this last game, you should go crawl in to your little hole from whence you came. While I am currently down on Beezer and Eddie Jovanovski, I don't boo them. This doesn't mean I haven't occasionally screamed at them for a boneheaded play. But you do not ridicule or humiliate your own team's players. When you do, YOU become part of the problem. Shut up and grow up. Booing management is not booing your team -- clearly most of the fans at the arena figured it out. After the team left the ice, the boo's for Murray started. That's OK. But don't take your frustrations out on this team. If you feel the need to boo the team, your presence at this arena or the new one is not welcome nor is it helpful. Yeah, the team has trouble, but taking it out on the players isn't going to fix it. No real fan behaves in that fashion. I am, in a word, DISGUSTED with the fans at the arena. If you hate it that much, STAY HOME.

SPECIAL REPORT: CENSORSHIP AT THE ARENA
The quotes in this story belong to Marty, a member of the Florida Panthers Mailing List. He begins his story, "A lady sitting in section 236 at the Oilers-Panther game brought a sign that said something like 'Brian Murray ... you need to trade or fire yourself.' [There were] no dirty words or innuendo on the sign."

This was not the only "Fire Murray" sign spotted. There was also signs in section 222 and 226. A further discussion with Marty indicates the lady was sitting in 236 in approximately row P around the center of the row.

Marty continues his observation: "Security came up and asked her to give up the sign. She had it on her lap, and was not yelling, screaming, or acting out of line in any way whatsoever. She did not want to give up the sign, saying she was doing nothing wrong. People in the area took up her cause, though not necessarily agreeing with what the sign said. They were angry that she was not allowed to keep and show her sign. The security person said 'No negative signs are allowed.'"

There is no such rule at the arena except where the sign is offensive or vulgar. And this incident brings to mind when the NFL's Miami Dolphins first opened at Joe Robbie Stadium. Stadium staff went around confiscating signs until a great hue and cry about the First Amendment went up.

Now back to Marty's story. "Everyone around started yelling at the guard to leave her alone citing her free speech rights and to let her keep the sign as long as it was 'clean.' Security brought in a supervisor, and the sign was taken away. There were a lot of people booing very loudly. Most of us went to the guest relations desk and complained."

Marty rightfully asks, "What kind of nonsense is this that nothing negative (in whose opinion is it negative?) is allowed to be included on a sign? Since when? Is this more of Bryan Murray's and Panther management's paranoia? Are they going to 'police' us now to make sure we don't do or say anything they don't like? Who is the control freak that could have ordered security up to get the sign away?"

To answer Marty on the last question, it could have easily been Murray.

Marty comments that, "They lost more loyal-die-hard-fan goodwill and support with that one move -- than two years of a losing streak would have!"

Marty claims that the Panthers Public Relations department is aware of this. He says he ran into a friend in promotions after the game and that he said he heard about it. Apparently all the fans that said they were going to complain did just that. Marty says that, "My brother informed me that after he complained, a member of the Panthers organization asked if they could contact him for further information on the incident. Apparently the Panthers office does not necessarily agree with what was done, and would like to look into the incident."

On Monday, this first mentions of the incident, albeit brief, began to hit the local media. The negative publicity forced a Panther reaction. Apparently, according to Steve Dangerfield of the Panthers, the arena security was searching for another, vulgar sign held up during the evening and they supposedly got carried away when they confiscated this sign. The Panthers are trying to determine the fan security took the sign from, and will apologize to her if found. (Astute readers will notice this story was picked up by local media after I took it upon myself to forward it to them because I didn't feel it was a good idea for this not to get lots of local press.)

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