This story broke somewhat late Saturday evening, so we’re playing catch-up along with the rest of the hockey world here.
Though not “official” official – as in the team has yet to issue a press release – several media outlets have reported on a massive shake-up at the top of the Panthers’ management hierarchy. LBC was able to confirm these reports with a representative of the club this morning.
What we’ve learned…
- Longtime GM Dale Tallon will become Florida’s president of hockey operations. General manager since spring of 2010, Tallon currently wears several hats with the organization: in addition to the GM slot he also serves as executive vice president of hockey & business operations and alternate governor.
- Assistant GM Tom Rowe is the incoming general manager. Onboard with the parent club since December, he most recently served as head coach of the AHL’s Portland Pirates & San Antonio Rampage. Rowe boasts a massive management history in various capacities with several organizations over a 25-year front office career. He’s no newbie.
- Current vice president of legal and business affairs Steve Werier will be one of two assistant GMs on Rowe’s staff. Though the title above sounds a bit stiff, it translates to him being the “Cap and Contracts” guru, which any successful club needs working in close proximity to the general manager in the modern age.
- Eric Joyce – vice president, Florida’s assistant GM & general manager of the Portland Pirates – will round out Rowe’s troika as AGM alongside Werier. From the club: “Eric is responsible for the Panthers’ Advanced Analytics Department”, meaning advanced statistics are now clearly embraced by the organization as a tool every bit important as a proficient scouting staff./
Other moves may be on the horizon in coming days as the positions shake themselves out for the long haul, so stay tuned. Certainly wouldn’t expect any changes from the coaching or scouting departments.
As stated above this is all breaking rather quickly so let’s call it a fluid situation. For more check out the Miami Herald and Sun-Sentinel’s recent reports on the story.