rmackman Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 ESPN.com says:MIAMI -- Mike Keenan spent the offseason assembling a roster that he believes could vault the Florida Panthers into playoff contention for the first time since 2000.He won't be around to see if his moves were good enough.Keenan resigned Sunday as the Panthers' general manager, stepping down after a little more than two years running the team's day-to-day operations. Panthers coach Jacques Martin, who came to the club with Keenan in May 2004, assumes the GM duties.Martin's assumption of both coaching and GM duties is a "permanent" move, and the team is not looking for a new GM or a new coach, team executive Michael Yormark told the Miami Herald."I feel well-prepared for this challenge," Martin said. "I've been close friends with Mike for a lot of years and we've worked together for a long time. And this club is in a much better position now than when we came here two years ago."Keenan -- who led the New York Rangers to the Stanley Cup as coach in 1994 and has coached six other NHL teams, including the Panthers -- was not made available for comment. There was no word on whether Keenan would be paid the remaining money left on his contract.Martin said he learned the move was looming late last week, when team owner Alan Cohen told him that Keenan was resigning and asked if he'd be comfortable adding the GM chores."I told him that I could fulfill both jobs," Martin said. "I'm excited. Part of it is because of the quality people we have in the organization. When you have good people working around you, it becomes a great opportunity."The Panthers first hired Keenan as coach in December 2001, then fired him 23 months later after Florida won only 45 of 153 games played with him behind the bench. Keenan returned to the organization in May 2004, part of a two-pronged move that also brought Martin in as coach.Keenan made some stirring moves in the past year, in which the Panthers -- who haven't won a playoff series since making the Stanley Cup finals in 1996 -- failed to reach the playoffs for the fifth straight season.Most notably, Keenan opted to trade All-Star goaltender Roberto Luongo to the Vancouver Canucks in June, a move that stunned Luongo -- who thought he was on the cusp of agreeing to a long-term deal with the club.Instead, Keenan made the swap to acquire forward Todd Bertuzzi, defenseman Bryan Allen and goalie Alex Auld from the Canucks, and insisted afterward that it was the best direction for the franchise."Mike has done a tremendous job over the past two years in positioning this franchise for immediate and future success. ... He has assembled the most talented team in our franchise's history," Cohen said.Martin agreed with that assessment, and credited Keenan for the job he did in Florida."I think Mike did a tremendous job," Martin said. "All our players are signed for this coming season and we signed some free agents that we think will help our hockey club. I don't think it's going to be a distraction. We're very excited about our hockey club and the coming season." After trading Roberto Luongo he deserves this. He's been running the Panthers into the ground! Oh...and I know Mr. Cohen says this is the most talented team in Panthers history, but I beg to differ on that: "Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be eaten. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you'd better be running." - Unknown | Check out my articles on jerseys at Bacon Sports Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred T. Jane Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 http://boards.sportslogos.net/index.php?sh...ndpost&p=606012 [Croatia National Team Manager Slavan] Bilic then went on to explain how Croatia's success can partially be put down to his progressive man-management techniques. "Sometimes I lie in the bed with my players. I go to the room of Vedran Corluka and Luka Modric when I see they have a problem and I lie in bed with them and we talk for 10 minutes." Maybe Capello could try getting through to his players this way too? Although how far he'd get with Joe Cole jumping up and down on the mattress and Rooney demanding to be read his favourite page from The Very Hungry Caterpillar is open to question. --The Guardian's Fiver, 08 September 2008 Attention: In order to obtain maximum enjoyment from your stay at the CCSLC, the reader is advised that the above post may contain large amounts of sarcasm, dry humour, or statements which should not be taken in any true sort of seriousness. As a result, the above poster absolves himself of any and all blame in the event that a forum user responds to the aforementioned post without taking the previous notice into account. Thank you for your cooperation, and enjoy your stay at the CCSLC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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