Ikarusbusse » the-moment as a new chapter of Jack and Brians story was

SUNRISE, Fla. -- With a relatively young team, Florida Panthers general manager Dale Tallon is of the belief that the club needs an experienced coach behind the bench. And with that, Peter Horacheks time as interim coach is over. The Panthers fired Horachek on Tuesday, after Florida went 26-36-4 under him this past season. Horachek had no previous NHL coaching experience before replacing Kevin Dineen on Nov. 8 and while Tallon lauded the interim coachs work with the club, he simply thinks that a change in direction is needed. "We just felt as a group that it wasnt quite the right fit with the direction that were headed in," Tallon said. Tallon said theres no timetable for finding a new coach, other than that the team wants to make a hire before the draft in late June. He said Peter Laviolette -- who was fired by the Philadelphia Flyers after only three games of this season -- is on his list of candidates, and theres also speculation that he could target former Nashville coach Barry Trotz. "Were going to interview every possible candidate and take our time and make the right decision," Tallon said. Horachek had been the coach of Floridas AHL affiliate in San Antonio before being summoned to lead the Panthers. Tallon said Horachek will not remain with the organization in any capacity. The team will urge the next coach to keep assistant coaches John Madden and Brian Skrudland, both of whom Tallon has in high regard. Horacheks fate was decided in the last few days and he accepted the move when told Tuesday in a "classy" manner, Tallon said. The coaching decision is one of many changes for the Panthers in recent months, with more moves coming. The team was bought last fall by New York businessman Vincent Viola, had a change in the executive ranks when Michael Yormark left as team president earlier this year, and the Panthers brought back longtime fan favourite Roberto Luongo late in this season. Plus, the team has stockpiled plenty of picks in the next two drafts and won the right to draft No. 1 overall this year. "Were not starting over," Tallon said. "Weve got a lot of young players on our team now, well have a few more added each year as we move forward and now we have to surround them with the right NHL players and pieces that we will attack in free agency or by trading some of these assets that we have." The Panthers have had seven different coaches in their last 10 seasons, with Dineen the only one in the group to take Florida to the playoffs. And the next coach will be Tallons third since he took over in Florida. Hes hoping history repeats itself with this move. Tallon was most recently the GM in Chicago and his third coach there was Joel Quenneville -- who led the Blackhawks to Stanley Cup titles in 2010 and 2013. "It took me three in Chicago to get it right," Tallon said. "So its not an easy task. Its all about getting it right. Yeah, its important. Thats why were going to take our time and really investigate and interview various candidates and do our homework and try to get the right fit." Florida finished with the second-lowest point total in the NHL this season and missed the playoffs for the 12th time in 13 seasons. The Panthers last won a playoff series in 1996, the year they lost to Colorado in the Stanley Cup finals. "He did a good job," Tallon said of Horachek. "He came in a worked hard and tried to turn things around in a hurry." Florida ranked 29th in the 30-team NHL in goals scored this season, plus were abysmal on special teams. The Panthers ranked last in the league with a 10 per cent power-play success rate -- the worst percentage posted by any team since 2000-01 -- along with a 76 per cent penalty-kill rate. The Panthers were out of the playoff race early once again, finishing 27 points out of the eighth and last post-season spot in the Eastern Conference. Cheap Jerseys .com) - Manchester City will face a steep test in the Champions League knockout stage as the English champions were drawn with Barcelona on Monday. China NHL Jerseys . A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press the Steelers will part ways with the former Pro Bowler, a move that hardly serves as a surprise after fifth-year linebacker Jason Worilds agreed to accept a "transition player" tag last week. http://www.chinajerseysnhlwholesale.com/ . -- Cordell Cato scored his first goal of the season and the San Jose Earthquakes survived a full half playing a man down to beat FC Dallas 2-1 Saturday night. Wholesale NFL Jerseys For Sale . Gordon reportedly failed another drug test and is facing a one-year ban. Gordon led the NFL in yards receiving last season despite being suspended two games for violating the leagues substance-abuse policy. Wholesale China Jerseys . Claude Noel will be the man behind the bench when the team hits the ice of the MTS Centre to begin its inaugural season.As part of the CFL ON TSNs Thanksgiving Day pre-game show, the network highlighted an inspirational story thats touched the hearts of many around the league. Jack & Brian is a TSN Original Feature that tells the tale of the friendship forged through football between Saskatchewan Roughriders Brian Peters and a young boy from Chicago named Jack Marshall. Fronted by Brian Williams and directed by Ross Rheaume, the feature aired yesterday afternoon in the lead-up to the Thanksgiving Day matchup between the Roughriders and the Montreal Alouettes. Rheaume provided this description of the making of the feature: There are several pretty amazing moments in the Jack Marshall and Brian Peters story, moments that make you pause and ask, Can this really be true? A boy who was told hed never walk again, inspired by a football player to prove everyone wrong. When he beats the odds and attends the last football game of the season, that player makes the game-saving fumble recovery. It might seem unbelievable, but what Ive found in shooting this feature over the last couple months, however, is that the closer you get to their story, the more you begin to think, Thats just typical Jack and Brian. When I read the 2011 article on Jack and Brian by Lake The Posts, and watched the subsequent Big Ten Network feature online, I was inspired to find out more. My main question was, Whats their relationship like now, three years later? From the moment I got on the phone with Jacks mother, Joanna, it was clear nothing had changed. BP, as hes referred to by the Marshall family, flew down to Jacks school and surprised all the kids after he won the Grey Cup last year.ddddddddddddHe went to Jacks birthday party as well. I had to be ready to get off the phone at any minute because BP might be calling in from Regina to ask about Jacks baseball game. Or maybe to chat about Jacks ongoing rehab. Or maybe just to chat about guy stuff. Theyre still best buds. When the Riders caught wind of the story and wanted to help surprise Jack with a jersey and tickets to a game, our feature cameras were given a unique opportunity – to be there in-the-moment as a new chapter of Jack and Brians story was written. Normally, we recount stories that have happened in the past, but this time, we were going to experience this great friendship in real time. The rest is right there in the feature: Jack surprised Brian on the field before the game and got his wish to cheer his hero alongside Rider Nation. A Chicago kid living out his dream in Regina. Great story, right? We were in for something more. In overtime, the Riders needed a big play to prevent a game-tying field goal. As the kick went up, a hand reached above the fray and blocked it. The Riders won, the stadium erupted, and Jack and his parents went wild. Amid the sea of euphoria on the sideline, Brian Peters emerged, pointed up to Jack in the stands, and waved him and his family down to the sideline. As Jack got to the rail, Brian handed him his game-worn gloves and said, I blocked it. Typical Jack and Brian. Check out the video above to watch the TSN Original Feature Jack & Brian. ' ' '