SUNRISE, Fla.
Wholesale NFL Jerseys . -- With a relatively young team, Florida Panthers general manager Dale Tallon is of the belief that
the club needs an experienced coach behind the bench. And with that, Peter
Horacheks time as interim coach is over. The Panthers fired Horachek on Tuesday,
after Florida went 26-36-4 under him this past season. Horachek had no previous
NHL coaching experience before replacing Kevin Dineen on Nov. 8 and while Tallon
lauded the interim coachs work with the club, he simply thinks that a change in
direction is needed. "We just felt as a group that it wasnt quite the right fit
with the direction that were headed in," Tallon said. Tallon said theres no
timetable for finding a new coach, other than that the team wants to make a hire
before the draft in late June. He said Peter Laviolette -- who was fired by the
Philadelphia Flyers after only three games of this season -- is on his list of
candidates, and theres also speculation that he could target former Nashville
coach Barry Trotz. "Were going to interview every possible candidate and take
our time and make the right decision," Tallon said. Horachek had been the coach
of Floridas AHL affiliate in San Antonio before being summoned to lead the
Panthers. Tallon said Horachek will not remain with the organization in any
capacity. The team will urge the next coach to keep assistant coaches
John Madden and Brian Skrudland, both of whom Tallon has in high regard.
Horacheks fate was decided in the last few days and he accepted the move when
told Tuesday in a "classy" manner, Tallon said. The coaching decision is one of
many changes for the Panthers in recent months, with more moves coming. The team
was bought last fall by New York businessman Vincent Viola, had a change in the
executive ranks when Michael Yormark left as team president earlier this year,
and the Panthers brought back longtime fan favourite Roberto Luongo late in this
season. Plus, the team has stockpiled plenty of picks in the next two drafts and
won the right to draft No. 1 overall this year. "Were not starting over," Tallon
said. "Weve got a lot of young players on our team now, well have a few more
added each year as we move forward and now we have to surround them with the
right NHL players and pieces that we will attack in free agency or by trading
some of these assets that we have." The Panthers have had seven different
coaches in their last 10 seasons, with Dineen the only one in the group to take
Florida to the playoffs. And the next coach will be Tallons third since he took
over in Florida. Hes hoping history repeats itself with this move. Tallon was
most recently the GM in Chicago and his third coach there was Joel Quenneville
-- who led the Blackhawks to Stanley Cup titles in 2010 and 2013. "It took me
three in Chicago to get it right," Tallon said. "So its not an easy task. Its
all about getting it right. Yeah, its important. Thats why were going to take
our time and really investigate and interview various candidates and do our
homework and try to get the right fit." Florida finished with the second-lowest
point total in the NHL this season and missed the playoffs for the 12th time in
13 seasons. The Panthers last won a playoff series in 1996, the year they lost
to Colorado in the Stanley Cup finals. "He did a good job," Tallon said of
Horachek. "He came in a worked hard and tried to turn things around in a hurry."
Florida ranked 29th in the 30-team NHL in goals scored this season, plus were
abysmal on special teams. The Panthers ranked last in the league with a 10 per
cent power-play success rate -- the worst percentage posted by any team since
2000-01 -- along with a 76 per cent penalty-kill rate. The Panthers were out of
the playoff race early once again, finishing 27 points out of the eighth and
last post-season spot in the Eastern Conference.
NFL Jerseys Cheap Authentic . The 37-year-old Wolf, making a comeback from the second Tommy John surgery of his career, allowed three hits and one run. He
struck out seven, walked one and won for the first time since he pitched
Baltimore past Tampa Bay on Sept.
NFL Jerseys China . -- Kevin Durant insists he and Russell Westbrook arent turning their first-round series into a two-man
show, even if the NBA scoring champ says they may be shooting too much. The
Texas Rangers first tried to get Tommy Hanson as part of what was a
franchise-changing trade seven years ago. Now they have signed the free agent
right-hander to a one-year contract in their search for depth in a rotation
dealing with injury concerns. Hanson signed for $2 million plus possible
incentives Friday, two days before Rangers pitchers and catchers report to
spring training in Surprise, Ariz. "Hes a guy we followed for a long time,"
general manager Jon Daniels said. "Probably back to the Mark Teixeira trade in
07, followed his career and happy to have the opportunity to bring him in and
looking forward to seeing him compete." Texas also avoided salary arbitration
with first baseman Mitch Moreland by agreeing to a $2.65 million contract for
this season, a raise of more than $2 million. The two sides were scheduled for
an arbitration hearing Wednesday, but agreed to a number just more than midway
between the salary figures they exchanged. The 27-year-old Hanson was 4-3 with a
5.42 ERA in 15 games (13 starts) in a difficult season with the Los Angeles
Angels that included a right forearm injury and the death of his stepbrother.
"Mentally, I dont think I was where I needed to be last year," Hanson said. "It
wasnt only me. My whole family was dealing with that. Its hard to see your
family struggle. Its difficult, something I dont really like to talk about. I
feel like Im in a lot better place now than I was last year." Hanson said hes
glad that is in the past. Physically, he said he feels great after two months of
throwing. The Rangers made room for Hanson by putting left-handed reliever
Joseph Ortiz on the 60-day disabled list with a broken left foot. He had surgery
last month after he was run over by a motorcycle while home in Venezuela. The
Angels traded for Hanson after he won at least 10 gamess in all four major
league seasons (2009-12) with Atlanta, the organization he was with when the
Rangers traded Teixeira in the deal that brought shortstop Elvis Andrus,
left-hander Matt Harrison and Neftali Feliz -- all since All-Stars and part of
two teams in Texas that reached the World Series.
Wholesale Jerseys China. . Daniels and the Rangers also inquired about Hanson in that deal. "But he was a guy that Atlanta rightfully didnt want to give up
on," Daniels said. Texas lefty Derek Holland, who had a Rangers-high 33 starts
and career-high 213 innings last season, could miss more than half the season
after microfracture surgery on the left knee injured when he was tripped by his
dog on the stairs at his home. Harrison, last years opening day starter, is
coming off a season when he made only two starts before two operations on a
herniated disk in his back. Hanson said there were "quite of few teams"
interested in him, but that Texas was the best fit for him. "Being able to go in
and make the rotation, and be a big part of the team," Hanson said. "Ultimately
we thought Texas was the best choice and here we are now." Moreland was
displaced as a starting first baseman when Texas acquired slugger Prince Fielder
in a trade from Detroit. The Rangers still plan to use the left-handed Moreland
as a designated hitter while playing some first base and maybe the outfield. In
a career-high 147 games last season, Moreland hit .232 with 24 doubles, 23 home
runs, and 60 RBIs. He made his major league debut in the second half of the 2010
season, and was the only Texas player with a hit in all five World Series games
against San Francisco, when he hit a team-best .462 (6 of 13) and homered in the
only Rangers victory. The Rangers havent had to go a salary arbitration hearing
since 2000, against Lee Stevens.
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