When the Florida Panthers' season ends on Sunday in Washington, D.C., a search for a new head coach will begin in earnest as a source confirmed to the Sun Sentinel on Tuesday morning that interim coach Tom Rowe will not return behind the bench next season.
Rowe took over as interim coach on Nov. 27 after head coach Gerard Gallant was fired via phone by Panthers owner Vinnie Viola following a 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Rowe, 60, who was promoted from associate general manager to general manager following the Panthers' first-round playoff loss to the New York Islanders last April, accepted Viola's request to coach the team on an interim basis. Panthers president of hockey operations Dale Tallon took over the daily GM duties when Rowe became the coach.
A year ago, the Panthers defeated Montreal, 4-1, to clinch the Atlantic Division title, but the Canadiens returned the favor Monday as they clinched the division with a 4-1 win. The Panthers have lost five in a row and have gone 5-15-1 since a franchise-best 5-0 road trip catapulted them into the playoff picture on Feb. 20, and are one point out of last place in the Atlantic Division with three games remaining in the regular season.
It's not known if Rowe will retain his role as general manager once the season ends. He has repeatedly praised Tallon for his personnel moves and draft picks. Rowe is believed to be held in high regard by the Panthers owners and is expected to be involved in the organization in some capacity.
Rowe, a first-time NHL head coach, said recently he loves the job, but had basically given up on the idea of becoming a coach a few years ago. He told his wife he'd be content to be a scout. Rowe, a former assistant coach of the Hurricanes, heard the chants of, "Rowe must go" from disgruntled Panthers' fans Monday night.
"Fans pay good money to come watch us play. When they're not happy, you know what, I'm a big boy with thick skin," Rowe said. "We've got a great franchise, we got great players. I want to tell the fans it's been a disappointing year, but we'll definitely be back next year and we'll be in the playoffs."
When asked if anyone was more disappointed than him in the Panthers' collapse, Rowe smiled and said: "No, I don't think so. It's part of the business. I knew coming in this would be part of it. If things didn't go well I knew I'd be taking the brunt of it.
"That's fine. Like I said I can handle it and the fans pay great money to come watch us play. It's their prerogative to speak their mind, I have no problem with that."
The Panthers are 22-26-10 record under Rowe and were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention during their 0-4 road trip last week. Gallant was 11-9-1 when he was canned.
The players expressed their frustration after the game, including 24-year-old center Nick Bjugstad, who has just six goals in another injury-plagued season.
"We're just not good. It's frustrating,'' Bjugstad said. "We've got to re-evaluate ourselves during the summer. That's a good team. Last year we were right there with them. I got to be better. They just outplayed us.
"It's no fun. I experience it my first year here and then we got to experience what it's like to make the playoffs. It's definitely frustrating. ... We're not happy obviously, we just have to be better.''
Forward Jonathan Marchessault, one of the offseason additions that has reaped major dividends, was in no mood to celebrate his team-leading 30th goal Monday.
"We play up and down, good game, bad game, the same way for periods," he said. "We don't show up for two out of the three periods. It's just the way it goes. It's disappointing. Not only the [bad] passes. Our focus isn't there.
"It's an empty feeling. If you don't make the playoffs it's almost for nothing. Obviously, it's great, I play with great players, but our team's not good enough and it's just disappointing."
Rowe recently said he made a mistake by allowing 21-year-old defenseman Aaron Ekblad to play against the Hurricanes on March 21 after missing four games with a concussion. Ekblad suffered a relapse and is unlikely to play in the final three games of the season.
Rowe also said he learned a lesson when he called out veteran forward Reilly Smith for, "blowing the zone and doing exactly what he's not supposed to be doing," after a 2-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on March 4. The Panthers have lost 10 of 14 since then. Rowe admitted that the ploy didn't pay off.
After a disheartening 4-2 road loss to the Buffalo Sabres on March 27 that all but ended any hope of the Panthers reaching the playoffs, Rowe warned his players with long-term contracts that if they don't play hard they would be traded.
"Just because guys ... have contracts, doesn't mean they can't get traded either," Rowe said. "They got to perform. Last night was unacceptable. We beat Chicago 7-0 playing good, then we got into Buffalo for a very, very big game and we come up with a 4-2 loss and they didn't compete the way they were supposed to.
"At the end of the day, contracts are great. We did it for salary-cap reasons, but it doesn't mean guys are going to retire [with the Panthers] if they keep playing like they did."
At the end of the day, it's Rowe who will not return in the same role next season.
.png?w=600)
