TAMPA, Florida, 28 May 2004 — The Florida Panthers announced the hiring of Jacques Martin as coach and Mike Keenan as general manager on Wednesday, grabbing the spotlight from their Sunshine State rivals the Tampa Bay Lightning.
With the Lightning and Calgary Flames preparing for Game Two of the Stanley Cup final in Tampa, the Panthers took the advantage of the off day to introduce their new signings.
Martin, who guided the Ottawa Senators for nine seasons but was fired last month after his team fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the playoffs, becomes the Panthers ninth head coach. He takes over a team that had just 28 wins last season and has not qualified for the playoffs since 2000.
Keenan returns to the Panthers following a two-year stint as coach. The much-traveled Keenan, who has coached seven different teams and ranks fifth on the all-time coaching list in both games, moves into the front office replacing Rick Dudley, the man who sacked him six months ago.
