The Florida Panthers lost to the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 last night. The players weren’t the only losers that ning in the organization though, as both head coach Gerard Gallant and assistant coach Mike Kelly were fired. The moves were so sudden. While nothing should come as a surprise (proof is this offseason) with the Panthers who had started the 2017 campaign at  11-10-1, this move was so sudden. Gallant was 96-65-25 in his two and a quarter seasons with the Panthers and posted a .583 point percentage which was the best for a Panthers coach in history.

Why did it happen? Well it was philosophical differences between him and management. He wanted bigger players but management wanted more analytics. His undoing might have been the article done last week by the official NHL on NBC sports website where he was concerned about the lack of toughness in Florida. Plus the 2nd period collapse in Carolina was bad.

Tom Rowe, the GM of the team will be the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Assistant General Managers Steve Werier and Eric Joyce along with Former General Manager now President of Hockey Operations Dale Tallon will handle the General Manager duties.

Rowe’s first game will be tomorrow night against the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago at 8:30pm.