The Florida Panthers have fired general manager Rick Dudley, and the coach Dudley fired earlier in the season is poised to take his job.
The Panthers have scheduled a news conference for Wednesday to announce their new general manager and head coach. Multiple sources have told TSN that former Panthers head coach Mike Keenan will likely take over as general manager with long-time friend and former Ottawa Senators bench boss Jacques Martin taking over as head coach. Keenan has denied talking to the Panthers about the job, but multiple sources have told TSN that the Keenan and Martin tandem will be unveiled on Wednesday.
Keenan and Martin have a long history together. Both attended St. Lawrence University in New York in the 1970s and then went on to work with the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League in the 1980s. Martin then spent two years as an assistant to Keenan with the Chicago Blackhawks from 1988-90.
Martin has coached 852 NHL games, winning 407, losing 326 with 119 ties.
Martin, 51, won 341 games with the Senators and led them to four 100-point seasons and three division titles. Even though the Senators came within a victory of the Stanley Cup finals last year after posting the league's top regular-season record, Martin otherwise had little success in the playoffs.
Ottawa failed to get past the opening round in five of its eight post-season trips. Martin's playoff record was 31-38, and the Senators were eliminated by rival Toronto in four of the past five years - including this season.
Ironically, Dudley and team owner Alan Cohen interviewed Martin about the Panthers' coaching position early in May.
``This is a situation we felt we had to look at,'' said Dudley after talking with Martin. ``We have a very good relationship and we thought it would be prudent to talk to him. And we do have interest.'' Dudley was general manager in Ottawa and worked with Martin during the 1998-99 season.
The Panthers extended Dudley's contract in January for the 2004-05 season. He has been offered another position within the organization, but told the Canadian Press that he was not given a reason for his dismissal during a two minute meeting with Cohen.
``Sometimes your senses tell you things,'' Dudley told CP. ``Sometimes you get the feeling that you're not as appreciated as you once were, and I had that feeling.''
Dudley said he didn't know if Martin would be introduced Wednesday.
``Alan has expressed a great deal of interest in Jacques, and that was the direction it took,'' Dudley said. ``But I have no idea what that means. Maybe Jacques will be the GM, too. I have no way of knowing.''
After stepping aside to give John Torchetti the interim coaching job, Dudley made little secret he would prefer his former assistant be hired permanently. He was in contract talks with Torchetti when Martin was fired by Ottawa on April 22.
``My feelings were very simple: Torch will be a brilliant coach,'' said Dudley, who also hired John Tortorella to coach Tampa Bay in January 2001 to lead the Lightning's turnaround.
Dudley came to the Panthers following 2½ seasons in Tampa Bay, where he lured a group of players that included goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, forward Martin St. Louis (the NHL's leading scorer in both the regular season and playoffs so far), captain Dave Andreychuk, left wing Fredrik Modin (16 playoff points) and veteran centre Tim Taylor.
Florida increased its point total during both of Dudley's seasons, but is still looking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2000. The Panthers have had nine coaches in 12 years, three last season alone.
``I like to build things,'' Dudley said. ``When I left Tampa, it was a very good-positioned hockey team. This team's close, but they still need to get a few things done. If I'm worried about one thing, it's that the group of people that are here won't get to take the same path that Tampa took.''
There is young talent in Florida, including all-star goalie Roberto Luongo, defenceman Jay Bouwmeester, and forwards Nathan Horton, Stephen Weiss and Olli Jokinen. Luongo set an NHL record for most saves (2,303) this season, while finishing third in save percentage (.931), becoming a Vezina Trophy finalist, and being named to Team Canada's roster for the upcoming World Cup of Hockey.
``I'd like to see somebody come in who understands what they've got,'' Dudley said. ``This team could be special.''