November 15, 2007
Panthers contemplating change? TheFourthPeriod.com
With the Florida Panthers struggling on an overall level, captain Olli Jokinen called out his teammates saying they need to step up their games.
"Everybody has to be better," Jokinen told the South-Florida Sun-Sentinel. "It's not one guy or two guys. Whatever your role is, you have to be better. You can't just sit here and say, `Oh my God it's going to happen again,'."
"Expectations should be a lot higher. Expectations going into the game should be getting two points. That hasn't been here in the past, and I don't think it's been here lately. Every game lately we've been giving up goals in crucial situations. You can't have that happen."
It's believed Panthers coach and GM Jacques Martin has been manning the phones more often lately, seeing how the team can improve via the trade scene.
The Panthers plucked gritty forward Garth Murray off waivers from the Montreal Canadiens earlier this week to address their lack of toughness, but the team is also supposedly shopping defenseman Mike Van Ryn in an attempt to bolster their blueline.
Something needs to give, and soon, if the Panthers want to make a run at the playoffs this season. First off, Jokinen's completely bang on. The rest of the team really needs to pick up their butts and get their heads in the game. Nobody, outside of the team's captain, is playing at their potential and the Cats will need much more out of Nathan Horton, Stephen Weiss, Jay Bouwmeester, Richard Zednik.. this list goes on.. if they want to improve. But the team is also looking around at other options and seeing if they can improve by pulling the trigger on a trade. Van Ryn's struggled this year and the Panthers would need to add to him if they want an upgrade. On a seperate note, there's nothing new to report on the Bouwmeester contract situation. He'll be an RFA at the end of the season and the Panthers want to lock him up before other teams can get their hands on him.
