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NHL Offseason Caterwaul: Florida Panthers Friday Open Forum

Ron Francis was officially named the first ever general manager of Seattle’s incoming National Hockey League franchise on Thursday. Francis was the GM of the Carolina Hurricanes for four years before being let go after Tom Dundon purchased the team. The Hurricanes didn’t make the playoffs during his tenure, but Francis did put a lot of the pieces together that made a surprise run to the Eastern Conference final this season. I think this is a good hire by Seattle. Francis has shown himself to be a pretty solid GM and should be better having a bigger budget to work with. The 56-year-old will have two seasons to prepare for the 2021 expansion draft where he will pluck a player from the Florida Panthers and 29 of the league’s other teams.

Hockey Headlines

Could the Montreal Canadiens have their own Patrice Bergeron in Phillip Danault? (Eyes On The Prize)

Improvement from its goalie tandem of Carter Hutton and Linus Ullmark is much-needed by the Buffalo Sabres next season. (Die By The Blade)

The Brampton Beast will continue on as the ECHL affililiate of the Ottawa Senators. (Silver Seven)

Former player Chris Kelly and Andrew Dickson join the Boston Bruins front office. (Stanley Cup of Chowder)

The Tampa Bay Lightning signed defenseman Dominik Masin to a one-year, one-way contract. Masin, a second-rounder in 2014 has spent the last three seasons with the Syracuse Crunch.  (Raw Charge)

Joe Hicketts signed a new two-year to remain with the Detroit Red Wings organization. The 23-year-old defenseman has made 16 appearances with the Red Wings over the last two seasons. (Winging It In Motown)

The Colorado Avalanche have signed RFA forward J.T. Compher to a four-year contract worth $14 million, avoiding arbitration. Compher set career highs in goals (16), assists (16) and points (32) last season. (Mile High Hockey)

UFA Phillip Di Giuseppe signed a one-year, two-way deal with the New York Rangers. Di Giuseppe played for the Nashville Predators and Carolina Hurricanes in 2018-19. (Blueshirt Banter)

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