Coaching and front-office changes, not to mention a "For Sale" sign outside the National Car Rental Center, made for a difficult season in South Florida. A 1-6-3-3 start to the 2000-01 season led to the firing of coach Terry Murray and his brother, general manager Bryan. The remainder of the season basically was geared toward helping Pavel Bure win the Maurice Richard Trophy with 59 goals and learning if coach Duane Sutter could lead the team on a full-time basis.

	2000-01 by the numbers
	Record: 22-38-13-9, 66 points (T26th overall, 12th East, 3rd Southeast) Man-games lost to injury: 374 (3rd) Goals for: 200/2.44 (24th) Goals against: 246/3.00 (T23rd) Differential: -46 (26th overall) 20-goal scorers: Pavel Bure (59) 50-point scorers: Bure (92)

Although the Panthers were 16-24-6 under Sutter, there were signs of a turnaround. The season ended with an encouraging 3-0 win against the Rangers in front of a home crowd of 18,389 -- showing both that a lot of Florida retirees like the Rangers and that fans would come to see the Panthers play -- and win.

Looking at next season
Sutter now has a two-year contract. The esteemed and bow-tied Bill Torrey runs the hockey operation. H. Wayne Huizenga sold the franchise. In terms of infrastructure, the hockey life of the Panthers in South Florida already looks sunnier.

On the ice, things also will look quite different, although offseason optimism cannot hide some obvious holes. Gone from the roster from early last season are Ray Whitney, Rob Niedermayer, Igor Larionov, Scott Mellanby and Mike Sillinger. The return on all that movement won't make an immediate impact, but the addition of Valeri Bure and Jason Wiemer in the trade with Calgary certainly helps in a few ways -- Valeri joins his brother Pavel, while Wiemer provides a strong and tough identity, perhaps lost when Mellanby went to St. Louis.

The Panthers remain thin on offense after the Bure brothers at right wing; however, the organization expects another right wing, Denis Shvidki, a first-round pick in 1999, to make significant strides after scoring six goals in 43 games last season -- his first in the NHL. To take pressure off Pavel Bure, a productive second line must emerge, but it's doubtful 2001 first-round pick Stephen Weiss could step right out of junior hockey and be a No. 2 center. If Weiss proves worthy of a roster spot out of training camp, he will help provide much-needed depth.

The most promising position outside of right wing might be in net, where goalie Roberto Luongo looks poised to establish himself as an elite goalie at the age of 22. Luongo's final numbers from '00-01 were 12-24-7, 2.44 GAA and .920 save percentage, but in his last 12 starts, he was 4-3-5 and stopped 354 of 382 shots. Luongo continues to improve, and despite losing 38 of 61 career starts, his confidence hasn't been shaken.

Luongo received pretty solid support from his defensemen last season. The Panthers allowed a respectable if unspectacular 246 goals, and there's a nice mix of youth and experience on the blue line. Youngsters Dan Boyle (12 power-play assists) and the towering John Jakopin (6-foot-5, 240 pounds) complement 30-year-old Bret Hedican (15 assists, minus-7) and Robert Svehla. Giving up 27-year-old Jaroslav Spacek in an early season trade with Chicago proved costly because Spacek thrived in Chicago with 18 assists, five goals and a plus-7 on a dreadful team. On defense, there is decent depth and a lot of competition for playing time, so the blueliners should stay sharp.

Ultimately, the fate of Florida's playoff hopes rest on scoring depth. If Pavel Bure's line is the only one that scores, the Panthers will be hard-pressed to challenge for the postseason. After Bure's league-leading 384 shots, only eight other Panthers had more than 100, and three of them are no longer with the team. Since the Panthers added nothing in free agency, more shots and goals will have to come from the current roster -- which is a relatively big risk.

Brian A. Shactman covers the NHL for ESPN.com.