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.

Dubious Distinction? Panthers Must Be Involved

I knew of the Jokinen/Charron No-Playoff Connection, but even I wasn't aware of the timing of next week's game. Spooky, and only in hockey does one see such cosmic weirdness.

Look What the Cat Dragged In: Jokinen Talk

Just watching the NHL Center Ice broadcast of the Coyotes/Blue Jackets game produced by Fox Sports Arizona (and Olli scored the first Phoenix goal of the year...classic OJ).

A horrendous broadcast duo...not even sure who they are - admittedly, I haven't even seen their names yet - but if you think Goldie and Denis are snooze-inducing (and I most emphatically do not) then you have a new world yet to be conquered. Almost zero noise from the ice or crowd, sounds like they're in a foam booth, using whatever may be at their disposal to lull you to sleep. Think football.

Anyhoo, the play-by-play guy - an older gentleman, I'm guessing (kinda similar to Fred whats-his-name from the Broons a few years back, minus the energy) - mentioned he had spoken to Olli earlier in the day and Number 12 had decided to share this little bromide (I'm pretty close on the phrasing, but not 100%, being that it was dropped like a bomb in 3 seconds and not replayed since this was a live broadcast):

"He (Jokinen) told them (Florida) he wanted out just before the draft, so he was dealt to Phoenix."

(Emphasis mine.)

Hmmm. Don't remember that quote from the former captain in the Sun-Sentinel or Herald.

Make of it what you will, but the world has labeled Panthers GM Jacques Martin as the evildoer in this affair (oh look...there goes Florida with another boneheaded trade). He may very well have been the instigator; the two were never on the same page. (The irony is that Olli would have flourished in a system such as Peter DeBoer has implemented. But I digress.)

So what. I already love Ballard and his brutal open-ice full-steam hip-checks. He's the modern Darius Kasparaitis, sans illegal parking habits.

I don't know how much validity, honesty, or accuracy in translation to file this away with, but in the end it really doesn't matter.

Olli Speaks

Ok...last time I use this. Maybe.

A quickie Q&A with former Cat Olli Jokinen is up at AZCentral.com.


(AZC): Have you circled 12th game of the year when Florida comes to town?

(Jokinen): "No, but my wife did."

Awesome Picture of the Day

Now that's dedication Former Cat Olli Jokinen leaps from the upper deck to provide his unique defensive style during a desperate scrum in the Florida end.

Captain Stillman? Weiss? Horton? Kirk? Crunch?

We are still seven weeks from the start of the new season, but inevitable speculation on the Cats' vacant captaincy role can't be helped.

The drama of the Jokinen deal has subsided (is it me or was the outcry in the aftermath pretty mellow? What does that say about Olli?) and the time is rapidly approaching when a new leader must(?) be named. There's always the possibility of Coach DeBoer going the rotation route a la Buffalo, or stick with a trio of alternates. I don't believe this will be case. The club needs a figurehead of strength, one man to turn to when the chips are down. Duh.

Jokinen was many things, but he left an aftertaste of, um, less than a full-blown, respected leader. His friendship with Nathan Horton is a not going to help Horton's cause in gaining the captaincy, if he indeed wants it. Several voices in the blogosphere have spoken about giving Nate the "C" in the thought that the team would be "his" and he would expand his role as scorer and all-around bad-ass. I don't agree that he's quite there yet. After following Olli's lead for so long, he's going to need a complete attitude change under a fresh new authority figure.

We'll obviously cover this subject in greater depth as the season draws closer. As for my take on who should be "The Man", I'm kinda warming up about McCabe's potential arrival. Could be an interesting choice for the "C". "A"s to Weiss, Horton, and Stillman, with all due respect to Bryan Allen. Just a thought.

In any case, James Mirtle had great post this morning featuring polls asking who should be captain of each team with the position open. A lot more vacancies than I imagined.

Bizarre...

Is he growing his hair?

Thanks to George Richards/Miami Herald for the heads-up.