GM Dale Tallon wears his heart on his sleeve and is all smiles these days. After a grinding season that entailed multiple winning and losing streaks, as well as over 300 man games lost due to injury, his Florida Panthers won the Southeast Division and are now preparing for the New Jersey Devils Friday night.
After Monday's practice, Tallon met with the media for the first time and had many insightful things to say as the Panthers move forward. Here are his key points:
When did Dale think not only they could not only make the playoffs but win a division title?
- "What was the date on Saturday?" [laughs] "Every night your stomach is in turmoil and tied in knots every night, if you care. It was exciting to come to the rink this last month. The last 7 or 8 games were pretty exciting but it was all worth it."
About Pete DeBoer, who Tallon fired in favor of Kevin Dineen, being back in town coaching the opposition:
- "I think both teams are very happy. I am happy for Pete. He's a great guy and great coach. He did a hell of a job in New Jersey. Congratulations to them. I don't have any animosity towards him. I wish him all the best in the world and I hope we beat him in overtime in Game 7 to win the series."
On his familiarity with Kevin Dineen:
- "He has a similar attitude and approach. We're very comfortable with each other. We're open and honest and have great dialogue. He's been through the wars as a player and coach in the minors. It just worked for me. I had a good feeling about it and I'm happy we made the decision."
On not naming a team captain:
- "I like everybody to be a leader. We have a lot of leaders in our locker room. We have a lot of choices, which makes it difficult. If you decide on one it might upset 3 or 4 other guys. To me it's just a letter on a jersey. It's what comes from within from your heart and your stomach and we have a lot of those types of people in the locker room. The longer we decided not to and we were going well it was the right decision to make. It is not an easy choice when you have so many leaders."
On experiencing success this season without deviating from the Blueprint and young talent on the way:
- "That is what is really exciting is the fun begins now. With Drew Shore down in San Antonio and Petrovic down there as well. Moving forward we didn't disrupt our future to get success early here in the present. We have a bright future ahead of us and now we can keep adding pieces to this core that is really a good strong core now so we are in good shape as far as the organization is concerned."
On the addition of John Madden and what he brings to the table:
- "He has been terrific for us. His attitude in the locker room. His winning approach. He knows how to get it done. Our veteran guys really came to the front here under pressure and knew what to expect and how to get ready and how to handle it and John has been terrific for us, especially the last half dozen games where we really needed his veteran leadership and his good play. Really smart play."
On how he celebrated the division title Saturday night:
- "I went home and tried to get some sleep for the first time in a month. I just took it easy and a lot of texts and a lot of emails from a lot of people around the league. I have a lot of friends as I find out as we move forward. The more you win the more friends you seem to have [laughs].
Florida Panthers Blogger • 
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