J-Bo's End is Near

"Take a look again at things you have collected
In the end it all ties up so tall
To one big nothing, one big nothing at all"

--Dave Matthews Band

It must suck to be a Florida Panthers fan. When a King fan is the one uttering that statement, you know things are pretty messed up. The cornerstone to the franchise, the future of their blueline, and the face of their franchise (Jay Bouwmeester) just straight out said that he doesn’t want a long-term extension because he doesn’t want to play in Florida. Honestly, I can’t blame the guy.

We always talk about how we want our athletes to care about winning. Here’s a guy who wants his team to show some kind of direction and they don’t seem to be willing to do so. "Bouwmeester would not agree to sign anything longer than a one-year contract, telling the Panthers he wants to see what direction the organization is headed." I have to respect where Bouwmeester is coming from. By signing this 1 year $4.8 million contract, he’s obviously taking a sizable pay cut to have the option to become an unrestricted free agent after the season.

Normally, players want to become free agents so they can have their big cash-grab. By taking the 1 year deal to leave himself some options, he’s already turned down cash. The rumor was that the Panthers GM was offering 6 years at $6 million per year. I know that’s just a rumor, but that sounds like the terms that Florida was looking for. If that is true, then Bouwmeester just left $1.2 million on the table this year, not to mention the $30 million over the 5 following years.

Of course, if he signs a gigantic contract with a team like the Islanders or the Thrashers next year, then all of this is moot. But from everything that keeps coming out of his agent’s mouth, this is not about money. It’s about the future of the Panthers and the type of team that he’ll be playing with for the peak years of his career. After 5 seasons of losing with Florida, I doubt he wants his entire career following the same path. Since the Panthers just traded away their captain, still do not look like they have a visible direction for their franchise, and just hired a new coach, who knows what will happen with the team next year. If they continue to tread water near the bottom of the league, why should he stay? If he was the type of guy that didn’t care about winning and was willing to stay with a losing franchise, he wouldn’t be worth any money anyway.

I’m sorry Panther fans; this move just prolongs the inevitable. Whether he’s traded at the deadline or he leaves as a free agent next July, Jay Bouwmeester’s days’ in South Florida look to be numbered.

To the other 29 NHL teams: the line for his services starts to the left. Take a number.

(Side note: Earthquakes suck.)