Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Boughner expects bounce back
The Florida Panthers’ fall from grace last season was precipitous, yet new coach Bob Boughner expressed confidence in a quick turnaround.
The Panthers entered the 2016-17 season with great expectations after former coach Gerard Gallant guided them to a franchiserecord 47 wins, 103 points and the Atlantic Division title.
The sky began to fall in a tumultuous offseason with an inexplicable amount of turnover on and off the ice. The Panthers never truly recovered from preseason injuries to top-6 forwards Jonathan Huberdeau and Nick Bjugstad as they plunged to the bottom of the Eastern Conference (13th of 16 teams) with 81 points.
“Absolutely,” Boughner replied Monday when asked about a quick fix. “I don’t think there’s any reason. We’re a confident group and I’m a confident guy. I think I’ll be able to get the best out of this group, absolutely.”
Boughner witnessed such a turnaround in his first season as assistant coach with the San Jose Sharks under former Panthers coach Pete DeBoer. The Sharks fired coach Todd McLellan after San Jose missed the playoffs with 89 points for a fifth-place finish in the tough Pacific Division in 2014-15.
In came Deboer and a new staff, including Boughner. The Sharks bounced back with 98 points and a thrilling run to the Stanley Cup Final where they were dispatched in six games by the Pittsburgh Pen-
guins.
“I think the whole team is sort of looking for a bounce-back and I think [defenseman Aaron Ekblad] is no exception,” said Boughner, a close friend of the Windsor-based Ekblad family. “I talked to him a few days ago. They’re excited for a new guy to come in, have a clean slate . ...
“It’s sort of what we did in San Jose two years ago when Pete took over and I was his assistant. They missed the playoffs the year before, a whole new staff came in, a new system came in and the players bought in and they took off with it. That’s obviously what we’re looking to do.”
Ekblad has been speaking regularly to Boughner, and he believes Boughner will bring a “fresh confidence,” that will rally his teammates.
“We’re definitely going to throw [last season] in the garbage, learn from it as much as possible,” Ekblad said Monday. “A player’s coach that has structure and can really teach us a few things is exactly what we have now. I think everyone’s going to love him, but everyone will be held accountable and that’s the most important thing.”
One reason Boughner jumped at the job was because of the young talent throughout Florida’s roster. He knows 20-something players such as Huberdeau, Bjugstad, Ekblad, Vincent Trocheck, Aleksander Barkov and defenseman Mike Matheson have only scratched the surface of their potential.
“The set up here for the future is unbelievable,” Boughner said. “If you ask around anyone in the NHL about the Florida Panthers and their lineup — and I know from talking to a lot of assistant coaches the last couple of days in Canada — they all say the same thing. It’s exciting and the future looks bright … because they know the personnel is very strong.”
While interim coach Tom Rowe was unable to get the most out of the injurydecimated Panthers when he took over for Gallant last season, several other midseason hires led to dramatic improvements.
The New York Islanders were 17-17-8 when coach Jack Capuano was replaced by first-year head coach Doug Weight, who guided the Islanders to a 24-12-4 finish.
The Boston Bruins were 26-23-6 when they fired Claude Julien less than six seasons after he directed them to a Stanley Cup title. His replacement Bruce Cassidy led the Bruins to an 18-8-1 finish and a playoff berth.
Former Minnesota Wild coach Mike Yeo, 43, was supposed to be Ken Hitchcock’s future successor in St. Louis. But he took the reins in January and led the Blues to a 22-8-2 finish and a second-round playoff loss to the Nashville Predators.
After guiding the Penguins to their second consecutive Stanley Cup, no midseason hire could possibly top Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan since taking over for Mike Johnston early in the 2015-16 season.
“Watching [Boughner] over the past few years and knowing the way he played is a perfect combination for our team right now,” said Panthers captain Derek MacKenzie, who played for Boughner when he was an assistant with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2010-11.