Belak Clears. What Now?

PantherNation applauds the retention of fan-favorite Belak.

Popular Panther Wade Belak cleared waivers today, though it remains to be seen what direction his relationship with Coach DeBoer might take. Again, they're professionals, so I don't anticipate a further escalation of hostilities in this affair. George Richards at On Frozen Pond has the lowdown. The question now? When will we see him...

In a bit of sublime irony that could only apply to the Cats, defenseman Nick Boynton is out with a concussion. From GR himself: "Likely suffered in his fight Friday in Boston." The very fight Belak should've been on the ice for. Ya just can't write this stuff.

D-Man Welch moved to forward...

...for Sunday's practice, as reported by the Miami Herald. Given the shockingly low number of healthy up-fronters, someone had to fill the holes(s). I'm presuming defenseman Nick Boynton - who was replaced by Welch in a game last week - remained on the blueline. Too bad for me: I saw the name "Welch" and "Forward" in the same sentence, prompting dreams of hat tricks and four-point nights, resulting in the perceived value of my Welch-signed puck skyrocketing. Hey, when you're in the Southeast basement, that's all a fan's got to work with. Oh wait, hold on...we're in the conference basement. Ooops...lol...make that the league basement. Barkeep...?!

Jokinen on Florida: ..."And I hear they finally have a good coach."

Boooooyah! Care to volley it, JM?

No surprise to those of us Illustrious Twelve who follow the Panthers closely, but it does bear repeating: Phoenix hosts Florida tonight (9pm, FSN-HD) and a few eyes around the hockey universe will be cocked in the direction of the Jobing.com Arena (the what?).

Lots of sidebar stories, from seeing our old friend Dave Strader, to JovoCop, to Nick Boynton and Keith Ballard's return, to former Panther Olli Jokinen making his first start against the Cats since The Trade.

In the interest of time (I am at work right now, after all), here are a myriad of links relating to tonight's contest and the subplots surrounding it:

Miami Herald, "Former Florida Panther Jokinen loving life with Phoenix Coyotes"

Miami Herald, "Backup goalies have had success against Florida Panthers"

Miami Herald - On Frozen Pond, "Olli Versus Florida, NEXT!"

South Florida Sun-Sentinel, "Q & A with former Panther Olli Jokinen"

South Florida Sun-Sentinel, "Jokinen finds peace in desert"

South Florida Sun-Sentinel - Gorten Panthers' Blog, "Hangin' with Olli"

Arizona Republic, "Yotes, Jokinen 'fired up' for Panthers"

CBS Sportsline, "Phoenix vs. Florida"

Panthers Website, "Panthers-Coyotes Preview" Note: an AP article. Blah. Otherwise ignored.

Coyotes Website, (the main page, but has video and commentary on tonight's game)

On a personal note, I had real trouble locating anything - from the Phoenix area - more than the Republic article. We heard things are tight as far as coverage out there, but even I am rather amazed at the lack of attention this is matchup is getting. Then again, the Cats' website virtually ignores it as well. With JM in charge that is no surprise. Bet he wishes this game was on the non-televised list.

End of Two: Blues up 3-0

Mark my words on this one, Kids: Nick Boynton, The Beach himself, will explode. Something's got his goat, something bothersome enough to warrant his taking a penalty - while on the bench - for jawing at the officials. Later, he sought to go to war with Cam Janssen, trying in vain to egg the former Devil on while his twin Keith Ballard went off for slashing AND unsportsmanlike conduct. Beach let his opinion be known to anyone within earshot while leaving the ice at the end of the period, surprisingly not taking an unsportsmanlike call of his own. Even strength and PP goals were the flavor of this frame. The Panthers are being outplayed at every turn. They can't keep up, can't pass, and have I mentioned turnovers? A step behind and just plain confused. A one-minute 5-3 proved futile, the participants looking for the proverbial perfect play. St. Louis is making this look humorous.

Notes: Predicting a Belak-Janssen heavyweight matchup, if Boynton ends up going off the deep end. Either way, Boynton or not, something's got to give...and the options are running thin. Can a fight revive the Cats' chances? Period will begin with Ballard in the box. Panthers' PP absolutely, positively sucks. There is nothing even remotely scary about it. Pass here. Fake there. Out to Jay-Bo. In to Stillman. Completely by the book. This MUST improve now or the season is dead before the 10th game. As for the penalty kill, don't get me started...

Quickies: End of One - Cats up 1-0

Goal by Boynton, even strength, eeeeearly, off long rebound from crossbar. His second of the year (had 3 all last season!).

Notes: Panthers look much more poised than Thurday. Shots appear a bit more focused. DePietro shaky - lots of rebounds - in first start since March. Power play absolutely sucks (0-3). Vokoun awake. Better crowd than against Minny. No real physical stuff yet. Cats shooting. A lot. Not necessarily dead-on, but releasing. Ballard is the mini-Bouwmeester; all over the ice, slick moves on the PP, crisp passing. Hitting and board-work has increased over Thursday. Isles not without some pressure in Florida zone, couple of hairy moments. Can't get over Vokoun's tendency to rise slowly following a drop to the ice, even after a year of exposure. The primary word there is "exposure". Ballard and The Beach have obvious chemistry from three-plus years together. Jokinen trade not only supplied a good pair of D-men; it supplied a defensive line. Isles wwill start second on the PP.

On the Glass - Saturday: Belak, Booth, The Beach & Ballard

Looks like Wade Belak, he of no points in 17 games, brings far more to the table than sheer offensive numbers, his bench boss says.

"We want to make sure teams know when they're playing the Florida Panthers that it's not going to be an easy two points," said Panthers coach Peter DeBoer."

The (Saskatoon) Star Phoenix has the call.

Booooooooth! The Sun-Sentinel allows Cats' winger David Booth a few moments to explain why he feels this will be a year of great gains.

"Booth attributes much of his success last season to playing on the same line as Weiss and Nathan Horton — a combination dubbed "The Sunrise Express" by fans."

Love the kid and his tenacity, HATED the whole "Sunrise Express" we-must-have-a-non-offensive-moniker shenanigans. We're a long way from this.

The defense awakens. Further south at the Herald, the new (old) defensive pairing of Keith Ballard and Nick - The Beach - Boynton, longtime chums in Phoenix, continue to mesh well.

"Whereas Boynton is a physical presence, Ballard is an offensive-minded defenseman who can move the puck and provide a threat coming forward. Ballard scored 21 points for the Coyotes last season.

'It'd be a nice pair to keep together,' Coach DeBoer said."

A view from afar. The North Bay (Ontario) Nugget takes a quick peek at the Cats.

"McCabe can be a liability in his own end of the rink, but when he is on his game he can be an offensive catalyst."

That's not really an unknown portion of BM's game, but I'm really stoked to see the guy in action with the likes of J-Bo, Ballard, Beach, etc. Should be an interesting power play.

The Panthers are practicing this morning at 11:00, IncredibleICE, Coral Springs.

Stay tuned to TLB for a big announcement this afternoon...with a chance to win a pretty sweet prize...

The Beach speaks (am I the first to make the connection? Am I?)

A computer-generated image displaying Nick Boynton in his new togs.



A rather vanilla but nonetheless an "IT'S SOMETHING FROM NOTHING" few words out of newly-acquired defenseman Nick (henceforth, The Beach) Boynton, regaling us via the Arizona Republic's Jim Gintonio with such rich bromides as:

“Everybody plays the game because they want to, and those (trades) are the things that happen. It sucks sometimes, but things happen for a reason, and it’s probably for the best for me.”

At least he's possibly, maybe, perhaps, just a smidgen more pleased to be in Florida than another defenseman you never hear about.