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Panthers, Luukko Define Roles...Still Tallon's Team; Monday's Buzzcast

May 16, 2016, 12:46 PM ET [20 Comments]
Eklund
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I just got off of the Panthers press conference announcing the "re-organization of management," which essentially began with Panthers Executive chairman Peter Luukko saying that this announcement was just a way of defining roles that already were pretty much in place. The Panthers, like a growing number of teams, are a group effort. Luukko compared Tallon to Holmgren in Philly and Shanahan in Toronto who both oversee hockey ops, but are also very much at the forefront of hockey player decisions despite not technically being "GM."

Dale Tallon sounded frankly thrilled to be part of a future where he would NOT have to do so much paperwork involving contracts, while instead getting back to traveling and more scouting talent...which is why you hire a Dale Tallon in the first place, right?

The new man with the official General Manager title, Tom Rowe, even said this is still Dale Tallon's team, while Peter Luukko, when asked who would have final say on decisions involving player decisions like the draft, added, "If it comes to a coin toss, Dale will toss that coin."

Also addressed at the press conference was the firing of former NHLer, coach John Madden...Madden had run the defense and special teams to perfection in Florida. Rowe noted that despite what had been reported, Madden's departure was really more mutual, even more on Madden, when he said, "John had expressed interest in pursuing head coaching possibilities..."

There are many out there who want to compare this move to the move made by the Blackhawks in 2009 when Tallon was removed as GM and "promoted" pretty much out of the decision making process for the Chicago Blackhawks, a team Tallon basically built into a dynasty. I covered that situation as well, and without getting into some of the truly ugly, almost sinister, stuff that went down in Chicago, this situation couldn't be more different.

Here it is apparent that the Panthers, and Peter Luukko specifically, quite obviously know what they have in Dale Tallon. Having covered Peter in Philly, this is a very Peter Luukko-style move. Luukko thrives on recognizing the strengths of individuals working around him and then putting them into situations where they can best succeed without encumbrances of the parts of their "position" which may be keeping them away from doing what they do best. Essentially Dale Tallon is a team builder and the star of this show; let him scout and come up with trade concepts... we will find other people who can take care of the rest.

The Panthers continue to impress.

We will discuss all this and more on today's HockeyBuzzCast Podcast coming to you live at 1pm.





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