Martin Under the Gun

Some of the hardest times are upon the Florida Panthers right now, with head coach and general manager, Jacques Martin feeling the pressure. Most fans of the Panthers are very upset with how the team has been playing lately and I’m more than certain Jacques Martin and the players know this. They have been booed off the ice most nights. What is with this uninspired, lazy hockey? Why are they giving up third period leads and then in the final minutes just then trying to win it back? I’m more than certain this is a coaching problem. It just doesn’t seem like Jacques Martin has control of his own team.

I think if the Panthers were located in a more hockey dominant market, things would be much different. With as much of a band-wagoning state as Florida, the pressure is just not on the Panthers to perform like they should be, night in and night out. One may argue that firing Martin would just begin another revolving door of coaches and general managers that couldn’t get Florida into the playoffs. I tend to agree here, although I think Martin should resign from being coach but should stay on as general manager. I think getting rid of Martin completely would be a mistake. Believe it or not, the Panthers have never had a general manager that actually did what he was supposed to do. Martin is doing a fine job as general manager, so why take the chance at bringing in another one that may not know what they are doing? We’ve had enough of those.

Lets not toss all the blame on Martin though, a lot of this has to do with owner Alan Cohen. I’m very critical of him for good reasons, he wants to fire Jacques Martin for not making the playoffs. OK thats fine, but he doesn’t look at it any more than that. Martin had to inherit a mess of a team and has done a good job putting it together. I just think that he has done all that he can, coaching wise. I believe Cohen speaks of getting rid of Martin all together and like I said I think thats not a good idea at all. Now, Alan Cohen talks about not getting to the playoffs, but why doesn’t he look at himself as well, while throwing blame around. Cohen really has no hockey knowledge, but feels he needs to get his paws into hockey operations, and knows what should be done. In reality hes very financially strict and not giving Martin any breathing room in signing unrestricted free agents which could help our team dearly. Not only that but hes a complete control freak, we’ve had so many coaches and general managers in and out of this franchise in the Cohen era its ridiculous. It would be so much better if he just admitted he wasn’t that great with running a hockey organization and left most of the decision making to the people that are paid to run it and know what they are doing. Sadly that isn’t the case, and this is mostly why we have been doing circles since 2001.

Will Cohen keep firing coaches and general managers that cant build a winner in 3 seasons? Very tough to say, like I said bring in a new coach because Jacques Martin’s system is just not working, but keep him on as general manager, plus he has done nothing wrong to warrant being fired at that position anyway. If Cohen fires Martin all together, that will only bring more seasons of hopelessness and just keep this franchise in a tail spin.

Author Bio

Well first, I was born and raised in Naples, Florida. I've always loved the Panthers, especially after the magical 96' cup run. Since then, I've devoted a big portion of my life to hockey and the Panthers.

I've never been a fan of another sport, other sports just do not seem appealing to me. Funny huh? Hockey fans in Florida?!

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