Tallon’s biggest talent is finding big talents

Six Stanley Cup-winning ex-Hawks battled last night Panthers GM knows how to build a team

By: Gary Lawless Posted: 1:00 AM CDT Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon couldn't help but smile with pride at what he saw on the ice Monday night.

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon couldn't help but smile with pride at what he saw on the ice Monday night.

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon couldn’t help but smile with pride at what he saw on the ice Monday night.

Tallon was the mastermind behind the 2010 Chicago Blackhawks roster that went on to win a Stanley Cup under Stan Bowman, one season after Tallon was dismissed.

Six players who were Cup winners as Hawks were on the ice in Monday, with Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Ladd skating for the Winnipeg Jets, while Brian Campbell, Tomas Kopecky, Jack Skille and Kris Versteeg were in the Florida Panthers lineup.

“We put together enough talent to stock a lot of teams and we’re going to do the same thing here,” said Tallon, in his second year running the Panthers. “We’ll build through the draft, make good trades and add through free agency. We’ve got a good, strong nucleus here and we have a solid foundation that we can build on for years to come. We have a better team and a better organization as far as depth is concerned. We’ve got a blueprint we’re going to follow and build a championship organization and team here.”

The Panthers reside in the Southeast Division with the Jets and with re-alignment on the horizon, Tallon wants to see the league cut into four divisions rather than the current six.

“We’re in a situation where travel is an issue for us and some of these places are a long way to go. I’m probably in favour of the four divisions and divisional playoffs to develop rivalries. That’s what I like. Our assistant GM Mike Santos has devised a setup with two divisions of seven and two of eight and the first round of the playoffs would be in the division with one against four and two against three. We had those rivalries in the old days and they would carry over to the next year and help sell tickets.”

NOT REALLY A ROOKIE: Panthers coach Kevin Dineen may be in his first year behind an NHL bench but has none of the usual trademarks of a rookie coach.

“(Dineen) has a way he wants his players to play and he demands it,” said Panthers blue-liner Ed Jovanovski. “If it doesn’t go that way, we know what happens. He’s been a players-coach guy so far. He knows what guys need and he’s done a great job so far. When someone has played that many games in the NHL as he has, had success at the minor league level and paid his dues…

“It’s like a kid playing in the Swedish Elite League for three or four years and coming into the (NHL) at 22, 23, and adapting a lot quicker (than a player out of junior). That’s kind of been the scenario for Kevin.”

Dineen played in 1,188 NHL games and spent five years as head coach of the AHL’s Portland Pirates before joining the Panthers this summer.

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @garylawless