Post by Nemits - Former Minnesota GM on Jan 5, 2009 19:56:28 GMT -5
Welcome to the first edition of Sit Down & Shut up Hard Core Hockey Talk. On this League Show we will be discussing everything, and answering questions from you, the viewer. We will have a show one or two times a week. If you would like to be interviewed, send me a PM.
This first edition is a simple interview with the Panthers, not really hard core. Yet. I will be doing interviews with a lot of teams, and also be personally reviewing my no holds bar opinions on the Draft, UFA, Season, Playoffs, everything.
Q. What do you hope to accomplish with the Free Agents. You have 24 million in cap, are you going to sign depth, or try and trade for another star?
A. We will see what happens when the Free Agent door opens and all the offers flood into the players. I am not gonna go rush out and overpay on some FAs. If I don't get who I want, I am pretty sure that there will be a team out there that is over the cap and I will be here with 24 million in cap space.
Q: You got the 3rd overall pick from Nashville. Who are you going to pick up with that pick?
A: Lets just say that I have my eye on one or two players.
Q: You traded Chara, one of the best defenders in the league. How do you think this will affect your team this season?
No doubt that Chara is one of the best defenders in the NHL now, but with his contract off our books it opens up so many possibilities for this club. We will need to resign Cheechoo and Kovalchuk in the next few seasons and that is key for us.
Q: 1 Word - Kovalchuk. You have no doubt acquired one of the best players in the league. What are your expectations for him this season? Will he play along side Cheechoo, who recorded over 100 points last season?
Yes Kovalchuk will play on the same line as Cheechoo and hopefully they will both be on thier games like they were last season. If both of them can record over 100 points next season, that would be amazing. It was sad to see Dany Heatley leave though, he was a major part of the dressing room last season.
Q: Your Offense excels, but some would say your goaltending and defensive core aren't tops in the league, do you plan to address those, or do you have faith?
I have faith in my goaltending and defense. Hiller and Anderson got us to the playoffs last season which is more than what I expected to be honest. With the loss of Chara though, some of our younger guys will have to step up. I have all the faith in the world in Komisarek, Pietrangelo, Phillips and Ballard. If an opportunity arises where I can acquire another dman or goalie, I would take it, it never hurts to have more dmen.
Q: Where do you expect to finish this season?
Its hard to say really. A lot of teams have been making moves this off season in record numbers. We feel that our team can compete with the best in this league. In my opinion any team that has Kovalchuk and/or Cheechoo on it, really stands a chance at making it to the playoffs.
Q: How long does the coaching staff have?
The coaches here have as much time as they need. I know that the changes that were made this off season may damage the team, but we honestly feel that when the puck drops on next season, we will have a much better team than the one last season.
Thanks again to the Florida Panthers GM for doing this interview.