August 6, 2008 Panthers' GM Jacques Martin said Tuesday afternoon that he doesn't expect suspended winger Chad Kilger to play for Florida this season, according to the Miami Herald. Despite that Kilger's Toronto Maple Leafs were staying in Fort Lauderdale at the time, Kilger never reported to the Panthers. Initially, Florida allowed him to return to Canada because of family issues. Kilger was later suspended from the team without pay after failing to join the team. Kilger is scheduled to make $700,000 this season, but since he is suspended, Florida will not be required to pay Kilger unless he changes his mind and reports to camp. Martin said, "He's still dealing with some personal issues, and at this point, I don't think he'll be playing. We still hold his rights. He's indicated to me that if he were to play, he'd want to play for us. We're not the issue."
March 5, 2008 Chad Kilger, who was granted a leave of absence to attend to personal matters, has not returned to the club and as a result he was suspended without pay on Wednesday, this according to the AP. At this point we don't know what the issues are that Kilger is dealing with, but we do know that Kilger is not fantasy relevant given his totals of 10 goals, 17 points and 18 PIM in 53 games this season.
February 29, 2008 Panthers coach Jacques Martin said he gave newly acquired winger Chad Kilger a leave of absence "for a couple of days" to "attend to some personal matters," according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Before the trade, Kilger missed five games in the past month due to the same personal matter, of which Martin knew before completing the deal. It's not clear at this point exactly when Kilger will make his debut with the Panthers.
