panoo

By BRIAN BIGGANE
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Right wing Radek Dvorak is getting a healthy raise in his second go-round with the Florida Panthers.

Dvorak, who made $1 million with the St. Louis Blues last season, will get $1.5 million this year and $1.6 million in 2008-09 after signing a two-year contract this week.

It is the cost of doing business in today's market, Coach and General Manager Jacques Martin said Tuesday.

"When you go to free agency you're basically at the mercy of the player," Martin said. "If other teams want (a player), the price goes up.

"St. Louis wanted him back, and there were other teams in the bidding, as well. You end up getting to a number you feel is going to bring him here. But I feel very comfortable with that. I don't think we overpaid."

Dvorak, 30, was a first-round pick of the Panthers in 1995, and in his rookie year Florida reached the Stanley Cup finals. He averaged 15 goals in his four full seasons in Florida before being traded in December 1999 to the New York Rangers, where he had a career-high 31 in 2000-01. But he has scored only 43 goals in his past five seasons, including 10 last year.

"It's been hard for me to figure out my scoring," Dvorak said in a conference call from Spain, where he is vacationing. "I don't know what's been holding me back."

Martin said he compares Dvorak to Ville Peltonen, another European veteran who overcame some early struggles last season to score 17 goals, 12 in the second half.

"Dvorak is a smart player, like Peltonen," said Martin, who noted that Dvorak spent a lot of time on the third and fourth lines last season. "He's not the best finisher, but he could put up some numbers for us."

This week's free-agent additions of Dvorak, left wing Richard Zednik and center Brett McLean give the Panthers 20 players under contract with a payroll of slightly less than $40 million. Martin is working toward securing long-term deals with defenseman Jay Bouwmeester - who already is signed for next season at $2.25 million - and center Stephen Weiss, with one forward spot left to fill.

"I wanted to leave that open, because there are a number of options," he said.

One possibility is re-signing Martin Gelinas.

"Maybe we'll get an opportunity to acquire a tough guy," Martin added. "Maybe we could acquire a forward through a trade, or maybe come training camp a guy like (Kamil) Kreps or (Anthony) Stewart shows he's ready to play."

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