Florida Panthers: Light at the End of the Tunnel?

The Florida Panthers made franchise history this past season; unfortunately, it's not the type of history to be proud of.

The Panthers have now gone 10 seasons without making the playoffs. There are a litany of mistakes that have led to this record drought: poor ownership, poor management, poor coaching, mishandling of draft picks. I'm sure other fans will have other reasons too.

Ownership finally made a step in the right direction with the hiring of Dale Tallon as general manager last year. I'm in no way saying he'll be a saviour and that the Panthers will win like Chicago did, but to bring in someone with a proven track record who built a team from the ground up can only be a good thing when previous personnel moves have been questionable.

This summer is a big step in the reshaping and rebuilding of the franchise. Tallon had a great draft last year, according to sources, and looks to repeat that success this year starting with the No. 3 overall draft pick.

Tallon cleaned house at the trade deadline, bringing in draft picks and cap space for next year. The Panthers are close to $25 million under the cap floor. 

After letting Peter DeBoer go, Tallon can hire a coach he feels can take the team forward. The names being linked to the job most strongly are Mike Haviland, an assistant coach for the Blackhawks, and John Torchetti, associate coach for the Thrashers. There are many other coaches available too, so it really could be anyone.

Tallon is taking his time, as are other teams with coaching vacancies, so hopefully this will result in a clever hire and a coach who is the most suitable to lead this young team as well as someone who Tallon communicates well with.

Management has incredible resources available to reshape and rebuild this team. The Panthers are completely changing the look of the team, including brand new jerseys and an overall new look for next season.

This feels like it could be a Tampa Bay style revamp: not a quick fix looking for instant success, but radical changes meant for long-term achievement.

The Panthers' prospects were ranked second overall by hockeysfuture.com. The Panthers have some star talent, such as Jacob Markstrom and Erik Gudbranson, waiting in the wings. Tallon will look to build on that by drafting a future star at No. 3.

It's anybody's guess at the moment which prospect is going where. Some mock drafts are saying Gabriel Landeskog is a lock to go to Florida, while others say Adam Larsson or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins could be picked. It seems pretty clear that the top talent in this draft is strong and Tallon could pick a future franchise player. 

Given how the defense of the Panthers has some pretty strong prospects, like Gudbranson and current players, like Dmitry Kukilov, I feel Tallon needs to address the offense. 

What Tallon will do with the oodles of cap space will be very interesting. He needs to resign a few players, but that won't take up much cap space, and several players will probably be leaving. Tomas Vokoun has said he'd like to return, but it remains to be seen if something can be agreed upon.

Scott Clemmensen is not the answer to take over as starting goaltender, so we could see a short-term deal handed to a goalie during free agency until Markstrom is ready. 

I wouldn't be surprised if Tallon offers Brad Richards a deal, as he offered Ilya Kovalchuk a deal last year, but that has virtually no chance of success. Players like Brooks Laich and Jussi Jokinen could be targeted to provide veteran leadership to the younger players and provide some much needed offence.

Tallon could make a big trade and acquire a big name player like Peter Stasny, but this could mean getting rid of some good young prospects. 

Whoever Tallon and the Panthers target will need to be sold the 'blueprint,' as the rebuild plan is being called. Florida is a non-traditional hockey market but one that could attract players due to the climate and lack of media pressure.

Players who have played for the Panthers in the past have kept homes there, and players who have played in other non-traditional hockey markets, like Phoenix, have loved playing for such teams. So the market may not be the tough sell, its the rebuild and how committed ownership and management are to it that is.

Given Tallon's fire sale of players and draft last year, as well as his stock of draft picks this year, I'd say management is fully committed to turning the mess around. Hopefully, ownership will be patient enough to let Tallon complete his overhaul, and hopefully success will follow.

I fully believe Florida can be a good team and fans will want to see them. Tallon just needs to put everything together now the way previous management hasn't.