''I wasn't prepared for it,'' Potvin said by phone, after being summoned for a meeting with Panthers management earlier in the day. ``They had talked about renegotiating at a lower rate. We never got to that. . . . This is new to me. I've never been fired. I'm not done, not by a long shot. It's been an exciting, good run. . . . Once you're somewhere for so long, you think you're a lifer. But times are different now. Once they told me I was done, I walked out.''

Panthers president Michael Yormark said he was unaware of any discussions with Potvin about taking a pay cut and insisted the decision was not financially driven. He said the team likes the idea of having a prominent former Panthers player in the TV booth.

''Denis does a great job, but we're looking for something different,'' Yormark said. ``Billy is one of the most popular players in the history of this franchise. He lives in the market, and that was very important to us. We want our broadcasters to live here 12 months a year.''

Potvin spends part of the summer in Canada ''and that was a factor'' in the decision to drop him, Yormark said.

Lindsay, who had been the team's analyst on 790 The Ticket, will join Steve Goldstein for 71 telecasts next season on Fox Sports Florida. Play-by-play announcer Randy Moller will work alone on 790 The Ticket. The Panthers' contract with Fox Sports Florida gives the team considerable influence over broadcast matters, including announcer selection.