In Ft. Lauderdale, Dave Hyde wrote the Panthers "waited a quarter-century for a run like last season" when they won the Presidents Trophy and won a playoff round for the first time since 1996. But they begin their season tonight against the Islanders, and do not want “a season at all like last season,” when they were swept out of the second round by the Lightning. There is a new coach, Paul Maurice, with a "new system" and a "changed roster." The best-managed organizations can self-scout themselves, and "we’re about to find out if the Panthers have graduated to one of those." Panthers GM Bill Zito has made "some smart moves in his time." This is his "biggest gamble," this offseason shake-up to take the Panthers "from good to great" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 10/12).
STARTED FROM THE BOTTOM: In Montreal, Stu Cowan wrote Canadiens GM Kent Hughes “is an optimist,” which is a "good thing with the massive job he has taken on trying to rebuild the Canadiens after they finished with the worst record in the NHL last season." Hughes is not “going to measure success in wins and losses this season.” Instead, he wants the players and team to “grow together while creating a winning culture for the future.” Hughes: “We need to see growth in the collective” (MONTREAL GAZETTE, 10/12).
NOW WE'RE HERE: In Minneapolis, Chip Scoggins writes a “competitive rebuild sounds an awful lot like Bill Guerin's plan to extricate” the Wild from the buyouts of LW Zach Parise and D Ryan Suter while “remaining relevant as a playoff contender.” The Wild begin their season tonight against the Rangers with “roughly 15% of their salary cap devoted to dead money tied to the Parise-Suter buyouts.” Guerin created his own “cap quagmire by jettisoning those two highly compensated veterans, thus willing to deal with the consequences by betting on his vision.” The context for “version 2.0 is unmistakable: Give a nucleus of young players time and opportunity to develop with the hope of remaining a playoff team while simultaneously waiting for the Parise/Suter cap crunch to disappear in three years” (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 10/13).
