A Way Too Early Look At Potential Florida Panthers General Manager Candidates
By Ant Barberio
With the qualifying rounds over, the Florida Panthers aren’t bringing back GM Dale Tallon.
After ten years, the marriage in South Florida between general manager Dale Tallon and the Florida Panthers has ended. We can’t say that we didn’t see it coming, though. The Panthers entered the season with high expectations, bringing aboard Joel Quenneville and their $10 million dollar man between the pipes in Sergei Bobrovsky.
Even if a Stanley Cup was too much to ask for, they were expected to be a playoff contender in a stacked Atlantic Division. Instead, they were sent home after losing their qualifier round to the New York Islanders.
Tallon might have been let go this morning, but it’s never too early to speculate who his replacement might be. Immediate speculation was that the Panthers will look for an internal general manager candidate.
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If they try to expand their search to outside candidates as well, three potential possibilities could be John Chayka, Ray Shero, or Roberto Luongo. Let’s take a way too early look at each of them.
John Chayka
John Chayka is the recently departed general manager of the Arizona Coyotes. It might have taken a few years, but he built the Coyotes to a turn to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2012.
Part of the Coyotes success has been fostering their young talent, along with a good bit of cap maneuvering and strategy. Remember the Pavel Datsyuk trade that saw the Magic Man get “traded” to Arizona? With Florida’s young core and large contracts (remember Bobrovsky is on the books for ten million a year). He’s worth taking a look at.
Then again there was his less than pleasant departure from Arizona at the beginning of the playoffs. He didn’t leave because of poor performance. But rather backstage front office drama. Even if Chayka has proven his talents as general manager, the way he left Arizona might be cause for concern.
Ray Shero
Ray Shero was recently fired by the New Jersey Devils. He has a Stanley Cup championship on his resume from his previous tenure with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009, but not much success after that.
The Penguins continuously underperformed in the playoffs after that cup win, leading to his replacement. The fact the Penguins won back to back Stanley Cups with virtually the same roster (plus a few notable additions) after his departure doesn’t help.
Then there was his tenure with the Devils. After legendary general manager Lou Lamoriello handed over the reins, the team was far from its former glory. Through drafting and trades, Shero added the likes of Kyle Palmieri, Nico Hischier, and Jack Hughes.
Unfortunately, his six-year career in New Jersey only saw one playoff appearance. He’s best remembered for his “the trade is one for one” acquisition of Taylor Hall, who won the Hart Trophy under Shero. Still, Shero scores high in the experience department, but maybe not so much in the success department.
Roberto Luongo
Then there’s Roberto Luongo, who might be the way too early front runner for the position. Luongo is easily the most beloved player in the Panther short and rather uneventful history, as well as the first player to have his number retired. Fans would love the hire and expect big things. Fans would also give him a longer lease and less pressure because of how much they appreciate him, which would be a good thing for a rookie general manager.
Luongo has close to zero front office experience. His only experience is being an advisor to Dale Tallon after he retired, so a potential promotion would be an easy one. Luongo has a lot to offer the Panthers, but perhaps he’s better suited for a position such as goaltending coach to help Bobrovsky who hasn’t lived up to expectations.
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A lot can happen before the Panthers name their next general manager. If they happen to win the draft lottery for the first overall pick tonight that much put pressure on them to speed up the process. Tallon may have had some bright spots, but now the Panthers are looking for someone who can bring them sustained success.