Morning Nips: All-Time Panthers

Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

We are currently stuck in the doldrums of summer where the news flow resembles a faucet in the Sahara, and the sunny days put hockey on the back burner. Nevertheless, there is still some news to report in hockey world so here we go:

• While not necessarily news, CBS Sports recently ran an article that complies an all time Panthers’ roster. Selecting one center, two wings, two d-men and a goaltender may sound like a tough task… but then you realize its the Panthers we are dealing with. In their 20 year history, there have been a number of memorable Panthers but I would certainly believe compiling this list for the Panthers is a much less daunting task than compiling the same list for a franchise with more history, like say, the Montreal Canadiens. Anyway the article is definitely worth the read and if you are too lazy to click the above link, here is the roster they came up with:

C: Olli Jokinen

Wings: Scott Mellanby, Pavel Bure

Defenders: Jay Bouwmeester, Robert Svehla

Goalies: Roberto Luongo

What do you think? Personally I would lean towards Weiss over Jokinen although if we are talking straight production Jokinen is probably the correct choice. I have no complaints with Mellanby or Bure (I’m the guy who’s lifelong number in any sport has been 27 because as a young’n my favorite player was none other Mr. Mellanby).

Finally I probably would have gone with Vanbiesbrouk over Luongo but I guess thats a matter of personal preference. Anyway, its a good read especially for the nostalgia leaning Panther fans out there.

• Also from the same article we get this gem of a video:

I was six years old in 1996, when the Panthers played in their one and only Stanley Cup, so this footage is completely foreign to me. Two things strike me from this short clip. One: really with the glowing puck? How did the powers that be let that fly? I only needed to see five seconds of footage to realize what a terrible idea that was. Two: Did the Panthers fans really throw rats onto the ice after EVERY goal during Florida’s cup run? That seems a bit obnoxious. The delays the cleaning of the rats incurred seem like they would incentivise opposing teams to redouble their defensive efforts.

• Another interesting Panther article comes to us from the Fansided Network. The folks over at Senshot, the Ottawa Senators’ fan site if you hadn’t already guessed, have been running a series called Chutes and Ladders where they pick one player from each team they expect to experience a decline next season and one player they expect to see improvement. For the Panthers they selected Scottie Upshall to slide down the “chute” and Erik Gudbranson to climb the “ladder”. I do not really have any disagreement with their selections although how much further can Upshall fall after his last two seasons in Florida?
• In some actual news, the Panthers re-signed Scott Timmins to a one year contract. Timmins, a sixth round pick in the 2009 NHL draft is a fringe prospect who has appeared in 24 career games with the Panthers. Timmins may be more well known for his embarrassing drunken adventure last season, than for anything he has done on the ice to date.