The Eagle has flown- Eddie Belfour no longer wanted by the Florida Panthers
In the wake of the Tomas Vokoun deal, Florida management has decided they no longer need the veteran goaltender.
General manager/coach Jacques Martin said Friday it will not be Ed Belfour, 42. Belfour played in 58 games last season and set the franchise record for consecutive starts, but he will not be invited back.
Look for Florida to re-sign Alex Auld and Craig Anderson, and have them compete for the spot in training camp. The loser will have to look for work elsewhere.
Eddie did a good job in goal last year before tiring near season’s end. Besides Auld and Anderson, do the Panthers’ have anyone in the minors worth giving a shot to? I don’t much about Florida’s farm system, but what I know of Auld and looking at Anderson’s stats, don’t make me confident in their ability to be an adequate backup. Who knows I could be wrong.
The Panthers chose Keaton Ellerby in the first round of this weekend’s NHL Draft. One scouting expert wasn’t impressed.
But draft guru Kyle Woodlief isn’t so sure.
Woodlief, who publishes the independent Red Line Report and is considered hockey’s answer to Mel Kiper Jr., said Ellerby failed to progress in his third season of junior hockey last season and had enough conflicts with Kamloops coach Dean Clark that he was benched for a time.
“I just think he lacks hockey sense,” Woodlief said. “He’s a big kid, he skates well … (but) I expected him to step up and take a dominant position this year and he didn’t do that.”
Woodlief said Clark almost never disciplines a player, but decided he had no option with Ellerby.
“He wasn’t listening to the coaches, (he was) really full of himself. Dean Clark had to sit him for a game or two. And it’s tough to get on Dean Clark’s bad side.”
Woodlief rated Ellerby the No. 21 prospect in the draft, while the NHL’s Central Scouting had him No. 5. In his comment on Ellerby, Woodlief wrote: “Has even less hockey sense than (NHL Commissioner) Gary Bettman.”
Ouch! A player with a big head before turning pro is liable to only have it increase in size. We’ll have to wait a few years to see if Florida management or Woodlief is right about Ellerby.
- Will George Richards of the Miami Herald please pick up the Black courtesy phone
- Florida Panthers sign Nathan Horton
- Playoffs mean big payday for Ed Belfour
- Ed Belfour ties Tony Esposito on the all-time NHL shutout list
- Craig Anderson completes his 2nd straght shutout, Florida beats Boston 1-0
- Cleveland Browns go back to Derek Anderson as starting QB
- Goalie Craig Anderson and Florida Panthers shut down Ottawa 3-1
- Florida Panthers- Out of gas
- Colorado and Goalie Craig Anderson blank Vancouver 3-0
- Florida’s 6-3 win over Boston puts them one point out of division lead
- Eight is Enough- Edmonton beats Chicago 8-4
- Lydia Ko wins New South Wales Open
- The Comeback I- Pittsburgh Penguins beat NY Islanders 5-0
- Seattle Mariners Outfielder Greg Halman stabbed to death at age 24
- Hee Young Park wins CME Titleholders Championship
- Oklahoma State Women’s Basketball Coach Kurt Budke dead at 50
- Costly mistake- Blackhawks waive Rostislav Olesz
- Manager Tony La Russa announces retirement
- Puck Drop- Florida Panthers start the 2011-12 NHL season
- 13-time PGA Tour winner Dave Hill dead at 74
Vokoun is a good pick up, he bounced back well from injury last season. They have other pieces in place already so they have a good shot at making a run for a 7-8 spot…of course that could all change after July 1st.
Comments are Closed