Martin Signing Good? Maybe Not...

So the decision has been made to keep Panthers GM Jacques Martin through the 2011-2012 season.

Thanks for the heads up.

By guarenteeing Martin another three years with the franchise, the Panthers are putting all their eggs in one man's basket. In my opinion, a one-year-prove-yourself-by-getting-this-team-a-playoff-roster contract should have been in order.

But as usual, the Panthers jumped the gun. Too often they gave up on young talent too fast, and now, they were too quick to sign someone who has yet to really prove himself as the answer.

Yes, Martin has pulled the trigger on some great deals. Getting Shawn Matthias out of a busted trade was a great move, and for those of you who don't know who this kid is, you will soon. Getting Tomas Vokoun was another strong move, although it will handicap the Panthers this draft. However, Martin has not done what it takes to get this team over the hump.

Last offseason, a couple of bonafide scorers could have put this team over the top. Instead, Martin took a chance and loaded up on "role players" designed to put up 10-15 goals per season. Although Richard Zednik, Brett McLean, and to a smaller extent Radek Dvorak all made an impact, none of them were consistent enough to make the Panthers a sure fire contender.

If Martin goes out this offseason and grabs a guy like Marian Hossa, Brian Rolston, or even Pavol Demitra, I will have second thoughts about my negative feelings towards this signing. Many experts right now are saying that the Panthers franchise will not be back in contention until Martin is gone, plus two years to undo the damage. That may be very pessimistic, but that would put the Panthers out of the playoffs until at least 2014. I don't think anybody will be left if that happens.

All I can say is, Jacques, go sign Bouwmeester, Frolik, a motivational driven coach, and some goal scorers this free agency period. If you can check off those four items, I will write a blog apologizing and praising this signing.