The Florida Panthers are regularly portrayed as an NHL basket case. (Elliott Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images)

By Stu Hackel

What is this lockout about? That is something that the NHL’s team owners have never clearly articulated, but one thing we’ve been led to believe is that while a group of established clubs are generating huge revenues, many more are not and some are losing boatloads of money. One franchise that is frequently cited as drowning in red ink is the Florida Panthers, which Forbes Magazine pegged as having lost $7 million last year. During the last nine years, Florida supposedly took a $68 million bath, about $7.5 million annually.

But in a new post, Johnathan Willis of The Edmonton Journal’s Cult of Hockey blog writes about how he hunted down and examined publicly available documents of the Panthers’ parent company’s finances and they show a much different and more complicated picture. Sunrise Sports & Entertainment, which owns the team and controls its arena, actually showed a profit of $117.4 million between 1998 and 2012, including a stretch in which the Panthers missed the playoffs for 10 consecutive seasons.

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Until last season’s playoff run, their first berth since 2000, the Panthers were a mediocre to poor club and tough box office sell, factors that have nothing to do with the NHL’s expired CBA. (Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images)

By Stu Hackel

On Monday, we looked at Jimmy Devellano’s strange remarks about NHL players, who he suggested are viewed by ownership as “cattle.” How many owners actually feel that way might be in question, but another of his remarks might be a more accurate representation of this group’s sentiment as the lockout continues. “The owners simply aren’t going to let a union push them around,” Jimmy D. said. “It’s not going to happen.”

And, apparently, they are going to assert themselves even if it means losing another entire season — or maybe even two, or however long it takes until they can get the players to yield. When former Florida Panthers executive Stu Siegel writes in this week’s issue of Sports Illustrated that he’s “depressed” to see another work stoppage and notes “there’s plenty of blame to go around,” you have to take into consideration that the owners’ intransigence is a big component.

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Defenseman P.K. Subban is a desirable restricted free agent, but the Canadiens are not an easy franchise to raid. (Minas Panagiotakis/Icon SMI)

By Stu Hackel

Among the most buzz-y stories this week has been the plight of Pernell Karl Subban, the Canadiens’ restricted free agent defenseman who remains unsigned. It’s worth questioning, however, if this story is worth all the buzz, although almost everything involving P.K. grabs the hockey world by the lapels and screams for attention, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

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Flyers GM Paul Holmgren expressed his disappointment with not landing Shea Weber, but still thinks they have a fine defensive corps. (AP)

By Stu Hackel

The talk around the Flyers on Wednesday was of disappointment that their offer sheet to Shea Weber was matched by the Predators. But disappointment is the summer theme for the Flyers and their GM Paul Holmgren when it comes to chasing the available top talent, be it via free agency or trade. They lost out on Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, even though they reportedly offered the duo more than Minnesota. They lost out on Rick Nash, who now plays for their hated rivals from Manhattan. They couldn’t re-sign defenseman Matt Carle and seem unwilling to trade what Ducks GM Bob Murray is asking for scoring winger Bobby Ryan, a local product. They’re still trying to land right winger Shane Doan (more on that later), but so are 15 other teams, and their former bad boy, Dan Carcillo, is saying bad things about them.

It’s enough to make one wonder if the Flyers have lost their luster as one of the NHL’s marquee franchises.

That’s not likely true. Yes, the Flyers have had some setbacks, but it would be an overreaction to say they’re no longer an attractive destination for some players who have designs on winning a Stanley Cup — even though it’s been 37 years since their last one. You have to keep in mind that Weber wanted to come to Philly before jumping to the conclusion that this is somehow a franchise in decline. As long as owner Ed Snider is willing to throw around his considerable wealth in an effort to win the Cup again, this club will be vital and able to bounce back when things don’t go their way.

Still, because of the amount, the term and the nefarious way in which the offer sheet was structured, there was great belief Weber would be a Flyer within a week. Some prematurely counted their defensemen before he was matched. “If they land Weber,” wrote Sam Carchidi on his Philadelphia Inquirer blog, “they would probably have the league’s best defense, one that might look like this: Weber and Kimmo Timonen, his former Nashville teammate; Braydon Coburn and Nick Grossmann; and Andrej Meszaros and Luke Schenn.” Carchidi was wise enough to include sentiments such as “Then again, can Nashville afford NOT signing Weber after failing to get Suter back in the fold?” in his post, but it didn’t stop the Orange Army from overlooking that minor detail. There was no little hubris in items like this, which further fueled the self-deception that they’d certainly be cheering for the Norris Trophy runner-up next season.

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The current NHL is really just a rough battle between “haves” like the Flyers and “have-not” teams like the Predators. (John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images)

By Stu Hackel

Much of the discussion surrounding the Flyers’ offer sheet to Predators RFA Shea Weber centers on whether Nashville will match it — and many believe they must and will — but Philadelphia’s stab at snaring the All-Star defenseman also tells us a great deal about the negotiations between the NHL’s owners and players for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Yes, the talks are between labor and management, but the Weber situation reveals that the basic issue confronting the two sides is actually the owners vs. themselves. It’s their collective inability to figure out how to solve their business problems that have been created by their own record revenues. The solution in their opening proposal seeks to shift the burden of fixing them onto the players. and as long as this remains their course, the problems of inequity among the 30 franchises probably can’t be solved.

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It’s been a cruel summer in Nashville, where captain Shea Weber (left) may soon follow his former All-Star defense partner Ryan Suter out of town and leave the once-promising Predators in a shambles. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

By Stu Hackel

There have been a few huge bombshells dropped during this offseason and two of the biggest have fallen on Nashville. The Flyers signing restricted free agent defenseman Shea Weber late Wednesday to a mammoth 14-year offer sheet worth a reported $110 million comes two weeks after Ryan Suter, Weber’s partner in the NHL’s best defensive tandem, signed a 13-year, $98 million deal with Minnesota as an unrestricted free agent. Thanks to the Flyers’ offer sheet, a Predators team aiming to join the ranks of the NHL’s best is now at a crossroads.

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With many suitors calling, free agent Shane Doan won’t let the Coyotes’ arena hassles and cloudy ownership hold him hostage. (Christian Peterson/Getty Images)

By Stu Hackel

Perhaps some day soon, Shane Doan will decide that he’ll forgo being captain of the Phoenix Coyotes and start working his unrestricted free agent status. He wants to remain in the desert, but if and when that desire changes, the line for getting his name on a contract will form on the right. Step right up, step right up. Who will be ready with their pitch and their pen? The Blues, Sabres, Red Wings, Maple Leafs, Hurricanes, Rangers, Flyers, Sharks, Penguins, Blackhawks, Kings, Canucks, and Canadiens. Those are just the teams we know about. Doan’s agent says the number is closer to 16. Anyone else? The Stars perhaps? Or the Avalanche? How about the Oilers? A return to Winnipeg?

It might be easier to list the clubs we know won’t pursue Doan. There’s some thought that he wants to stay out West, but the Eastern teams listed above haven’t been dissuaded by his agent, Terry Bross, who seems fond of telling all who inquire that “Shane is interested” in whatever team asks about him. Except the Bruins, for some strange reason. Doan would be a great Bruin.

Everyone loves Shane Doan. What’s not to love, especially in a free agent market where the elite items have already been snapped off the shelves? At 35 years old (36 in October), Doan is a proven power forward, always good for around 20 goals. He gets his assists, too, although that number dropped from 40 to 28 last season, his lowest output since 2006-07. A rugged customer, Doan’s fine hockey IQ makes up for what he lacks in foot speed. Probably of most significance, he is a proven leader, among the best in the sport. Look at how well the Coyotes have done during the last few years, sticking together and staying competitive despite playing in the most screwed up situation in the league, if not pro sports. For their success, they have Doan’s leadership to thank as much as anyone’s.

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In new Hall of Famer Adam Oates (right), the Caps hired a superb teacher. (Shelly Castellano/Icon SMI)

By Stu Hackel

You won’t see a guy have a better day than Adam Oates had on Tuesday, being officially announced as the head coach of the Washington Capitals and an honored member of the Hockey Hall of Fame (video) within the space of a few hours. “Obviously an absolutely fantastic day,” Oates said. “I don’t know if that’s ever happened before. I have to go out and play Lotto, I think.  Two huge honors.”

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Jordean Staal’s desire to play with brother Eric (right) set the stage for an intriguing free agent season. (Gregory Shamus/NHLI via Getty Images)

By Stu Hackel

The NHL barged into its offseason with an Entry Draft weekend marked as much by what didn’t happened as what didn’t. What follows, in short order, will be NHLPA meetings early this week, then perhaps the first session of collective bargaining between the players and owners, followed by the opening of free agency on July 1.

While the draft didn’t evolve into the wholesale swap-meet that some expected (and we chronicled many of the rumors here, here and here), a few significant deals did go down, whetting appetites for what may ensue when the free agents hit the market and the clubs that don’t sign their own look elsewhere to fill holes. Thus the rumors will continue.

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Nixing a deal with the Pens made Jordan Staal a hot topic. (Gregory Shamus/NHLI via Getty Images)

By Stu Hackel

Will Gary Bettman lean into the microphone at the podium during tonight’s first round of the NHL Entry Draft and utter the words so many expect to hear  — “We have a trade?”

If you believe the rumors, lots of big names could be in different sweaters next season, but whether it happens before or during the draft, at some point afterward or never, all that’s really certain is the confluence of a few trends: the relative weakness of this year’s draft class, the desires of teams to make immediate improvements to their rosters, salary cap issues, pending free agents whose rights could be dealt, and a number of disgruntled players. These things have created a perfect storm for hockey gossip mongers.

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