According to Harvey Fialkov of the Sun Sentinel, Florida Panthers head coach and general manager Tom Rowe will not return to the bench next season. Rowe took over after the firing of Gerard Gallant, and will likely remain with the organization in another position. Though he still holds the title of GM, Rowe has turned over much of the day to day operations to Dale Tallon and his staff after moving behind the bench. It will be interesting to see if Tallon will continue there, as there have recently been rumors of him being headhunted by other teams around the league.
Rowe took over in November after the team lost an evening match against the Carolina Hurricanes to push their record to 11-10-1. It was a move that shocked the hockey world, as Gallant had taken a young Panthers team to the top of the Atlantic Division just a year prior. Since then, the Panthers have fared much worse going 22-25-10 and falling out of playoff contention. While injuries are to blame for much of that, the team never could turn it around for very long even when their star players returned.
The Gallant-Rowe drama took on a life of its own among hockey fans and media members, playing a surrogate role in the fight between “old” and “new school” hockey analysis. Whether Rowe does represent a more analytical, statistical option it has been his big coaching decisions that have taken a toll. As Fialkov notes, Rowe admits that his decision to put Aaron Ekblad back into the lineup only for the star defenseman to suffer a setback was a mistake. So was publicly critiquing Reilly Smith after a poor defensive effort. While the team wasn’t performing exceptionally under Gallant, there was never much doubt that he was a respected coach and man.
Next year will be a big one for the Panthers to show that the core that they so deftly locked up this summer can be enough to take them to the playoffs. Giving extensions to Ekblad, Smith, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Derek MacKenzie, while signing James Reimer, Jason Demers and Keith Yandle to long-term deals all look tenuous at best after a down season. Each of the players better step up and perform, or the Panthers could be in for a long stint at the bottom of the standings.
Hopefully they can turn it around. Too much talent not too.