Kopfgelt » Carolina. Assistant coach Mike Kelly also was

CHICAGO -- New Florida coach Tom Rowe met with captain Derek MacKenzie and the rest of the Panthers leadership on Monday. He talked to the whole team on Tuesday.Rowe knows Gerald Gallant is well-liked in Floridas locker room, and he wanted to be as transparent as possible on why the coach was let go just 22 games into the season.I came in and I told them, I said `Listen, were not going to change a whole lot. We need to tweak a few things, Rowe said. But if I came in here and wasnt sensitive to that, it just wouldnt work. I love our room. I love our leadership group, and weve got the right guys to help us get going.The good news for Rowe is Florida doesnt have to move very far to get into a playoff spot. The Panthers are just one point out of a wild card after a 2-1 shootout loss at Chicago on Tuesday night in Rowes first game behind the bench.We feel that were on the right track after this game today and after, obviously, the events that happened before this, defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. We think were headed in the right direction.Gallant was believed to be the right guy for Florida after he coached the Panthers to a franchise-record 103 points and the Atlantic Division title last season. He got a contract extension last January that runs through the 2018-19 season, and then-general manager Dale Tallon called him an ideal fit for our group.Not so much anymore. At least from the perspective of Floridas front office.The Panthers dropped to 11-10-1 when they blew a 2-0 lead in a 3-2 loss at Carolina on Sunday night, and that was it for Gallant. The players were informed of Gallants dismissal and the coachs luggage was taken off the team bus headed to the airport in Raleigh, North Carolina. Assistant coach Mike Kelly also was fired.They were pretty blunt, center Vincent Trocheck said. Made a coaching change, that was it.Gallant, who played parts of 11 seasons in the NHL, mostly with the Detroit Red Wings, then departed the arena in a taxi, drawing criticism from some of the teams fans.It was bad the way it all happened, unfortunately, said Rowe, who was promoted to general manager in May in a front-office shake-up that elevated Tallon to president of hockey operations. It didnt look good, but Ill tell you right now, we respect him and like him and Gerard and I had a good relationship.The Panthers ownership and other team officials rely heavily on advanced statistics, and Gallant was not the biggest fan of analytics. But Rowe, who returns to the bench on an interim basis, made it sound as if he was only planning small changes, beginning with Floridas defensive zone coverage.Really big believer in the D-zone being more area than man on man, he said.Rowe coached Floridas AHL affiliates in Portland and San Antonio before moving into the Panthers front office. He also served as an assistant with the Hurricanes from 2008-11.Hes hard-nosed, old-school kind of guy, said Trocheck, who played for Rowe in the minors. He gets the most of his players by getting them to work hard, make sure everybodys playing the right way.But Trocheck, who liked a handful of pro-Gallant messages on Twitter after his dismissal, said he didnt think coaching was the reason for Floridas disappointing start.Its just a matter of us kind of pulling it together, he said before the loss to Chicago. Got to come together as a group and realize that we havent been playing our best hockey and we have a lot more to go.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap Fred Lynn Angels Jersey . -- Matt Ryan needed one of the best games of his career to lead the Falcons and their depleted offence out of their three-game losing streak last week. Dick Williams Jersey . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position. https://www.cheapangels.com/2733j-dillon-peters-jersey-angels.html . The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book. Luis Garcia Jersey . All of the scoring came in the final 20:04. Lucic scored on a power play at 15:46 of the third period, when he tipped a shot over Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen for a 3-1 lead. Tim Salmon Angels Jersey .J. -- Seven games into a disappointing season, New York Giants defensive catalyst Jason Pierre-Paul is getting the feeling hes back. The Rugby Football Unions new Heads of Agreement deal with Premiership Rugby is good news for Eddie Jones mission to turn England into the most dominant side in the world but it will not see any change to the national teams overseas player policy.The policy -- which was activated in the wake of the 2011 World Cup -- said the England coach was not allowed to pick players who were playing their domestic rugby outside of the Aviva Premiership unless there was an exceptional circumstance. In the new agreement between the RFU and PRL, which was announced on Monday, this now has added clarity with Eddie Jones only allowed to select players outside of the English top flight in the event of an injury crisis.This means unless there is an unparalleled list of players sidelined in the back-row, Jones will not be allowed to pick Ospreys Sam Underhill for the November Tests despite previously suggesting he was keen to bring him into camp.We discussed it again with Eddie and we agreed with the exceptional circumstances clause and it is left where it is, RFU CEO Ian Ritchie said. I think everybody is clear what it is and Eddie is very good at communicating it to players.We think it is a good clause and the right clause. That is the situation that will sustain during the agreement.PRL CEO Mark McCafferty added:?When we wrote the first agreement it was always injury related, we just never wrote it in as specific as that.We have clarified it only in the sense of writing what we had in mind eight years ago. If you get big injuries ahead of playing a tier-one country -- maybe the next in line is inexperienced and almost to a point of safety issues.Under those circumstances that would definitely be exceptional and you might have to look elsewhere.Ritchie ruled out any chance of the organisation brokering a deal to bring Underhill to the Premiership, meaning if Underhill -- the much-admired 20-year old who is playing in the PRO12 and studying at Cardiff University -- is to play for England then one of the 12 top flight clubs must sign him from the Welsh region.Other than those restrictions, the new deals various conditions are positive for Jones. The previous week-long August training camp is now shortened alllowing Jones to bring players into England camp in October and for an extra spell before the Six Nations while those in the national team will have more mandatory rest periods.ddddddddddddJones can also pick a larger Elite Player Squad, now 45 players up from 33, and can delay confirming that make up until early October where before it had to be named before the seasons start.Ritchie said Jones, who has masterminded a remarkable nine-game unbeaten run since taking over England at the turn of the year, was heavily involved in all the situations around the deal and is very supportive.Eddie has come to meet with our board on a couple of occasions to explain his view of the English game and where he was hoping to take it, McCafferty said. One of the things he explained very clearly having worked all over the world was that we have the best set-up in the world in terms of facilities, back-up and support.But he also explained his frustration that because of that and with the player base we have, that we need to be more successful at club and international level.For the clubs they will receive more money than ever before from the RFU and despite concerns raised by some over increasing player wages - Exeter Chiefs chairman Tony Rowe and Gloucester CEO Stephen Vaughan have both voiced worries over the raising salaries - McCafferty says this deal will give the Premiership teams long-term stability and room to grow on and off the field.We expect success in the same way England expect success. The clubs are investing in a whole series of areas -- training facilities, stands etc. When they walk down to the local bank manager and they want to see whether they can support that financing, knowing there are these long-term deals with TV partners, commercial partners and the RFU, it gives the funding sources the certainty to back the clubs on the development.Thats all part of a system which is capable of generating success. The game is growing very quickly at this level and its been well-supported and I think itll be another period of accelerated growth over the next few years. ' ' '