Vokoun likes what he sees

Tomas Vokoun acknowledged it wasn’t always easy last season.

Admitting last week it was “somewhat of a shock” to him he had been traded from Nashville last June to Florida – from cowboy boots to bathing suits – Vokoun spent a sometimes trying season in South Florida.

He was a bonafide all-star – winning 30 or more games for the third time in four seasons and more than 25 for the fifth consecutive season - but he couldn’t single-handedly lift his team into the post season. He gave the Panthers a shot to win every night, but he was peppered by a league-high 2,213 shots. He was a team leader, but sometimes frustrated by night’s end.

“There were times last year I took things too hard,” he reflected last week. “But that’s the way I am.”

But Vokoun, who has always worn his heart on his sleeve, enters the season more comfortable. He’s settled with his family in Florida, he feels optimistic about the team’s direction, and, more importantly, he returns for his second season with the Panthers looking at a new and improved

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