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Florida Panthers have been stuck in neutral for the better part of this decade and it would be a surprise if the 2008-09 edition of the Cats kicked it into high gear.
The Panthers haven't made the playoffs since 2000, giving them the longest current postseason drought in the NHL. In a move that's not likely going to help the club end that slump this year, the Panthers traded franchise centerman Olli Jokinen to the Phoenix Coyotes for defensemen Nick Boynton and Keith Ballard.
Florida also made a coaching switch over the summer vacation, as former head coach/general manager Jacques Martin was stripped of his coaching duties. Martin the GM then selected Peter DeBoer, a standout coach in the OHL, to take over on the bench.
The Panthers have a handful of talented youngsters on their lineup and DeBoer's task will be to help Florida make the transition from perpetual rebuilder to perennial contender.
FORWARDS - The Panthers struggled on offense last year and the loss of Jokinen, the franchise's all-time leader in goals and assists, isn't likely to help in that regard.
With the captain gone, the role of leading scorer will fall to 23-year-old forward Nathan Horton, who was second on the club in goals (27) and points (62) a year ago.
Horton played right wing the last few seasons, but DeBoer has decided to move the youngster back to center, a position Horton hasn't played since the 2003-04 campaign. The switch may place even more pressure on Horton, since not only does he have to replace Jokinen's production, but will literally have to fill in for him as the team's top-line center.
If the move works, however, it will give the Panthers added depth down the middle as center Stephen Weiss can move to the second line.
The Panthers added some offensive firepower through free agency this summer by signing veteran winger Cory Stillman to a three-year, $10.6 million deal. Stillman had 65 points (24 goals, 41 assists) in 79 combined games with Carolina and Ottawa last season and should be a staple on Florida's top line.
Florida had numerous injury problems last year and none was more serious than the neck laceration that caused winger Richard Zednik to miss the final two months of the season. Jokinen's skate clipped Zednik's carotid artery and the veteran was lucky that the accident wasn't fatal.
However, Zednik, who had 15 goals and 11 assists in 54 games before the injury, is expected to start the season at 100-percent and could also be on the team's top line following training camp.
The 25-year-old Weiss was the third-leading scorer for the Cats last season, notching 42 points in 74 games and will also be Florida's top faceoff man with Jokinen gone.
David Booth, a 23-year-old left wing, turned in a solid sophomore campaign last season, finishing third on the team with 22 goals and ending up with 40 points overall. He is pencilled in as a top-six forward on this year's Panthers squad.
The Panthers will fill out the remaining lines with a mixture of veterans like centerman Brett McLean and wingers such as Wade Belak, Radek Dvorak and Chad Kilger. However, don't be surprised if Shawn Matthias, a 20-year-old center, doesn't make the team out of training camp.
DEFENSE - Trading away a popular player like Jokinen is always a difficult move to sell a fan base, but Martin at least was able to get a pair of solid defensemen in return to help out Jay Bouwmeester, Florida's workhorse blueliner.
Bouwmeester led the entire NHL with an average of 27 minutes, 28 seconds per game. That shows the worth of the third overall pick in the 2002 draft, but is also probably too much to ask of a player who'll turn 25 years old just before the start of the season.
Bouwmeester played in all 82 games in 2007-08 and was the top-scoring defenseman on the club with 15 goals and 37 points.
Ballard will likely be paired with Bouwmeester after playing in 82 games with Phoenix last season. The 25-year-old had 21 points (6g, 15a) a year ago and was also an impressive plus-seven for the season.
Meanwhile, the 29-year-old Boynton is a steady pro who provides physical play at the back end. He had three goals and nine assists in 79 contests with Phoenix last year. Boynton could be paired with Bryan Allen, a 6-4, 220-pound rearguard with a penchant for dealing out timely body checks.
Elsewhere on the blueline, Noah Welch, Karlis Skrastins and Mike Van Ryn will compete for the remaining defensive spots.
GOALTENDING - The Panthers made one of the worst trades in league history by dealing franchise goaltender Roberto Luongo to Vancouver in the 2006 offseason and tried to right the situation by acquiring steady veteran Tomas Vokoun in a deal with Nashville last summer.
Vokoun hardly made folks forget about the Luongo debacle, but did give the Panthers some consistency between the pipes in 2007-08. The 32-year-old Czech backstop played in 69 games for Florida and was 30-29-8 with a 2.68 goals against average and a solid .919 save percentage.
The Panthers have also brought back Craig Anderson to use a backup to Vokoun. The 27-year-old was more than serviceable in the role last season, going 8-6-1 with a 2.25 GAA and .935 save percentage.
WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE - The Panthers are still a work in progress and will likely struggle to find their identity without Jokinen's invaluable leadership. A great deal will be asked of rising stars Horton and Bouwmeester, but DeBoer's track record in major junior hockey shows he is more than capable of handling young players. Once again Florida is unlikely to contend for a postseason spot, but fans in the Sunshine State should be used to that by now.
