Post by Declan on Aug 15, 2009 22:10:04 GMT -5
I caught Panthers' coach Pete DeBoer on the phone Friday about David Booth, who's flying out of Detroit on Sunday for the USA hockey camp in Chicago.
Much props to DeBoer, who was in the midst of making the looooooooong drive back from Ontario to South Florida with his three kids in tow. I've made the drive from Gainesville to Michigan and back many times. Can't imagine his excursion will be much fun. But, hey, it's gotta be done.
Anyhow, Pete said that he's "getting very close" on a replacement for goalie coach Pierre Groulx, whose contract wasn't renewed after last season and is now up in Montreal working for new Canadiens' coach Jacques Martin. Pete said he expects to have a replacement named sometime next week.
Pete has indicated in the past few months that Pierre's replacement will be more of a consultant than a full-time assistant coach. For those of you wondering what that means, he clarified it Friday.
"When I say consultant, I just mean that we're not going to have a goalie coach that is with the team every day. We had Pierre in that role last year.
"I see our goaltending coach this year being a guy that spends three-quarters of his time with us and with [Scott] Clemmensen and [Tomas] Vokoun; is going to spend more time in Rochester than Pierre did last year with some of our young guys; is going to get over to Sweden and see [Jacob] Markstrom play a couple more times. That’s going to be the job description."
As for the roster the Panthers have right now, DeBoer didn't sound like he feels the team MUST add another player. But with the ongoing speculation about Alex Tanguay and whether the Panthers can sign the unrestricted free agent winger, he certainly isn't opposed to another by assistant general manager Randy Sexton.
"I don't think there's a coach in the NHL that wouldn't mind adding another piece if it's the right piece."
"We see the weaknesses on paper of our lineup just like everybody else does. The reality of our situation is we're not a cap team, and considering where we sit on the salary structure, I think we have a competitive team."
Just like y'all, Pete is curious to see how some guys do.
"We've got some guys I'm looking forward to seeing in training camp -- Shawn Matthias and [Keaton] Ellerby and [Dmitry] Kulikov and [Jason] Garrison and [Michal] Repik. To see if they're ready to make the jump. I'm looking forward to seeing [Jordan] Leopold and [Ville] Koistinen, who, I'll be honest with you, I don't know a lot about having both of them play in the other conference last year."
blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_hockey_panthers/2009/08/florida-panthers-deboer-talks-hockey.html