Finally!

Stephen Weiss is now a Panther for six years, worth $18.6 million. I'm so happy the powers that be read my blog and realized how much sense it made (uh huh). Management is sticking true to its word in keeping the young core of this team together. Although under the radar in South Florida, this is truly a remarkable time in this organization's history. Weiss' improvement should continue, as well as the rest of the young team. Panther fans should rejoice at this news, as the team will be loaded when camp starts in a few weeks. Go Cats!

The Stephen Weiss Situation

With the "buzz" growing louder about the upcoming Panther season, the organization finds themselves in an uncomfortable situation regarding the signing of Stephen Weiss to a long-term contract.

Recent reports are saying the Panthers and Weiss are not close to an agreement, but it seems that might not be the case. There is no doubt that reason would dictate that Weiss is not worth Nathan Horton money, as he has not achieved such statistics...yet. Both Horton and Weiss have had injury problems in their young careers, but Weiss' have been especially debilitating, having wrist surgery and knee problems.

The optimism surrounding this team is largely due to the young nucleus the Panthers have developed within the system that are now ready for stardom. It can be argued that Weiss is at the very center of this group, and should be wearing a "C" on the uniform in the near future (hopefully not too soon with a rumored Olli Jokinen trade on the horizon). He is an exceptional two-way player and is vital to the team.

His camp has apparently snuffed a $2.5 million multi-year offer, instead asking for closer to Horton money (6 years, $24 million). It is not hard to see why Weiss thinks he is worth more. He has improved every year and is now healthy. His contributions on defense are much more valuable than anything Horton has showed on that end, with an offensive touch that continues to blossom.

The Panther organization has said it's budget for players is in the $45 million range this year, which compared to previous years, is a monetary explosion. Fans should be excited about this. But when this budget was announced, it was mentioned that number could rise if the situation presented itself to greatly better the club. I know that was said in regards to the upcoming free agent crop at the time, but wouldn't this also be considered one of those times?

Obviously the Panthers could hurt themselves by not giving in a bit and signing Stephen long term, just as Stephen could hurt himself by signing a one-year tender here or elsewhere and then having a sub-par year. But Alan Cohen and Jacques Martin have repeatedly said they are now in a position to show the fans they are dedicated to putting a winner on the ice. Obviously they have done well in healing some of the wounds left by the Luongo debacle (Keenan, you idiot), but this is one of those times where Panther management has to prove to the fans once again they mean what they say.

Apparently the discrepancy is approximately $750,000 annually. There is obviously wiggle room here to get a deal done. Wouldn't the eventual compromise be worth it to the Panthers in the long run to get a deal done, even if it puts them over their budget by a few hundred thousand dollars? Wouldn't this send a message to future free agents that the Panthers are indeed dedicated to righting the ship? Nothing but good can come from locking Stephen up for 4-6 years, and paying slightly more than the original offer.

Other teams are lurking to give him an offer sheet, and you can bet some of them are probably in our division (the stinkin' Lightning). The Panthers could be in an even worse situation letting him go to such a team or having them force the Panthers to inflate their budget further. With the Kevin Lowe's of the world destroying the intended structure of free agency and once again creating ridiculous ballooned salaries, the Panthers need to act fast. This summer has finally been a good one for Panther fans. This is a PR nightmare the organization needs to avoid.