New NHL Panthers Owners Vow Greater Accountability

Michael Yormark (r) Monday Introduces New Owners Cliff Viner (l) and Stu Siegel (c)

New NHL Panthers co-General Partners Cliff Viner and Stu Siegel took control of the club yesterday and "promised more accountability, greater professionalism and an unwillingness to accept mediocrity," according to Barry Jackson of the MIAMI HERALD. Viner said, "We are going to make people accountable to winning. Period. Stability is an important asset, but it's also important that everyone in the organization be constantly evaluated for their performance and be accountable to our expectations. If they don't meet that, then we should probably make changes." Siegel indicated that the player payroll will "remain in its current range" at around $53.3M, just under the league's $56.8M salary cap. Viner said he and Siegel Thursday will meet with Panthers President & COO Michael Yormark, GM Randy Sexton and coach Pete DeBoer to evaluate "the state of the franchise and the season." Viner: "We didn't do things like that before. There's now open communications between the owners and the business and hockey (sides)." Meanwhile, Yormark yesterday said that while former Majority Owner Alan Cohen will "retain a piece of the franchise," Siegel, Viner and Palm Beach businessman James Nederlander now will own the largest stake. Siegel will serve as CEO & Governor, while Viner will be Chair & Alternate Governor. Siegel and Viner have "made one change" already, as Sexton will report to Yormark instead of the owners (MIAMI HERALD, 11/17). Viner emphasized that Yormark "will not be involved in hockey decisions." But he said, "Michael understands every part of what it takes for us to be successful as a total hockey franchise" (PALM BEACH POST, 11/17). In Ft. Lauderdale, Sarah Talalay reports Siegel and Viner yesterday met with their minority partners to "urge them to use their business expertise to improve the franchise." Nederlander, President of Broadway theater producer Nederlander Organization, is "increasing his investment in the team and is to help bring more entertainment acts to BankAtlantic Center" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 11/17).

COMING TO THE RESCUE: The GLOBE & MAIL's David Shoalts cites sources as saying that the Panthers were "headed in the same direction" as the Coyotes before Viner and Siegel were "convinced to rescue the club" after the NHL rejected Cohen's sale to Sports Properties Acquisition Corp. By assuming the Panthers' $80M debt from Cohen, Viner and Siegel are "saving it, for now, from the same fate as the Coyotes." The Panthers are "considered the second-worst financial basket case in the NHL," and their revenue is "consistently among the bottom five teams." Not even the fact that "their arena, BankAtlantic Center, is profitable because of a bustling concert business, can erase the losses due to terrible attendance" (GLOBE & MAIL, 11/17). Meanwhile, in West Palm Beach, Brian Biggane writes "no member of the Panthers' ownership group has taken more interest in the on-ice product in recent years than Cliff Viner," and "no member of that same group has a more impressive hockey background than Stu Siegel" (PALM BEACH POST, 11/17).

Panthers Never Made The Playoffs In Eight  Years Under Alan Cohen's Ownership

TIME TO MOVE ON: The SUN-SENTINEL's Talalay noted the team "missed the playoffs every year, endured coaching and general manager changes and traded some of its best players" during Cohen's eight-year ownership. Siegel, who joined as an investor in '08, said, "As much as we like to think we've been the ultimate professional organization, I think that in some ways, from a leadership standpoint we may have failed in that. ... In the end, obviously, we didn't have a winning culture here" (SUN-SENTINEL.com, 11/16). In South Florida, Ethan Skolnick notes the Panthers "lost lots of games during Cohen's tenure," but "worse, the community lost confidence in the franchise's leadership and lost interest in the sport." Cohen "inherited a mess and made it worse" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 11/17). But also in Ft. Lauderdale, Steve Gorten noted while Cohen has "been a punching bag for Panthers' fans for some time," he did "genuinely care about this franchise being successful." He "didn't make enough right" decisions, but his "heart was in the right place" (SUN-SENTINEL.com, 11/16).

FLASH DANCE: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed that the 60-day windows given to Lightning co-Owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie to "buy each other out are moot, meaning the process, for now, is open ended." Bettman: "The timetable is really Oren and Len's. If there is uncertainty, if ownership is not agreeing on how to run things and that's having an impact, then you want to see that fixed as quickly as possible." Bettman noted it is possible previous owner Palace Sports & Entertainment, who financed $67M of the $200M sale, could again assume control of the Lightning, but said, "I don't envision that being the case." But he added, "That's why people I think can take comfort in the fact that Palace stands behind the franchise. That's why the franchise isn't at risk. So, all that speculation about it being at risk is unfounded" (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 11/17).