GAME DAY: vs. Florida
Jackets host Panthers in penultimate home game
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Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Florida Panthers 
WATCH: FOX Sports Ohio (HD) | LISTEN: 97.1 FM & BlueJackets.com
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| Two years ago, Panthers GM Dale Tallon took over a team saddled by bad contracts and a lack of direction. The architect of the 2010 Stanley Cup winning Chicago Blackhawks team had a vision for both the short-term and long-term in South Florida, and immediately got to work re-shaping the club that, in 2011-12, has been one of the biggest surprises around the National Hockey League.
Tallon garnered headlines this past offseason with an extravagant shopping spree of trades and free-agent signings that drew heavy criticism from around the hockey media sphere. Before the brand-new roster took shape, however, Tallon let former head coach Peter DeBoer go and brought in Kevin Dineen – a longtime NHL player and successful coach with the AHL’s Portland Pirates. With another piece of the puzzle in place, the Panthers moved forward and got to work on the roster. Tallon traded for Brian Campbell from Chicago (they won a cup together), signed a new starting goaltender in Jose Theodore, and completely revamped the forward group. Tomas Fleischmann, Kris Versteeg (trade), Scottie Upshall, Tomas Kopecky, Sean Bergenheim and others were brought in on multi-year deals to be part of the next chapter in Sunrise. Tallon traded power forward David Booth to the Canucks early in the season, bringing veterans Mikael Samuelsson and Marco Sturm in return. How would these players fit? Would they have cohesion, or would it be a complete failure? The results have spoken for themselves: the Panthers currently lead the Southeast Division and are holding down the third seed in the Eastern Conference, and are closing in on securing their first playoff appearance in over a decade. Much of their success can be credited to Dineen’s even-handed approach, which has been revered by his players and kept them from experiencing any significant swoons over the course of a long regular season. With Theodore playing last night in Minnesota, it’s possible that Scott Clemmensen plays tonight in Columbus against the Blue Jackets.
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