Florida Panthers: Change Seriously Needs to Come

After last night’s loss to Calgary, the Florida Panthers seriously need to make some changes, which starts on the bench.

For those who watched last night’s outing, I feel sorry for you. I also feel sorry for myself, sitting through a two-hour game to witness what I saw last night.

The two-goal lead that the Florida Panthers got off to really meant nothing. It’s been the same theme all season, and in case you haven’t guessed it, I’m basically saying that no lead is safe when the Panthers are in front.

Not that I want to come across or appear like I know it all – because obviously I don’t – but I knew right after Huberdeau’s goal that this lead wouldn’t last. And guess what? I was right!

The Flames suddenly woke up and the Panthers couldn’t handle them. For much of the second, the Cats were running around like headless chickens in their own end, struggling to get pucks out. Where have we seen this before?

To make matters worse, the coaching staff (largely Bob Boughner) did nothing to address this and have done nothing to tackle this issue which has been present for much of the year.

Those defensive breakdowns you saw last night – which ended up in the back of the net – have been occurring all season long and it looks like they aren’t going to stop.

In reality, it’s not like what the Panthers are doing wrong is hard to pinpoint – because it’s not. The mistakes they are making night in and night out are all basic hockey mistakes, yet assistant coach Jack Capuano (who takes care of the defense) has been another culprit who’s failed to take charge.

Yet here we are with this talent going to waste in another season with missed playoff hockey. The expectations were to make the playoffs, but you can kiss that goodbye with January’s performance alone.

The Panthers have realistically a better shot at drafting in the top three than they do playing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year. But what’s even more frustrating is the lack of responsibility taken by HC Bob Boughner.

After every game, the same recycled quotes are spoken. Last night, he mentioned that the team played well, but couldn’t “bury its chances.” The other night, his excuse was for running into a “hot goaltender,” which has been to the go-to line in the past.

I recognize that Bob Boughner may have had success as an assistant coach on a well-organized hockey team, but if there’s anything that’s been exposed out of his flawed coaching, it’s that he isn’t a good NHL head coach.

Ideally, Boughner isn’t going to take this team to the promise land, let alone the playoffs. The Panthers need to recognize this quick and understand that he isn’t the coach for the future.

If there’s any hope of one day competing for Lord Stanley, it’s going to come from a different bench boss. Knowing this team and how it runs, I don’t expect anything drastic to happen until the end of the season.

But once summer hits, it would be wise for Florida to ditch their current coach and pursue an alternative option. There’s a good coach sitting at home whose name I can’t quite put my finger on…

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