SUNRISE, Fla., May 10 (UPI) -- The Florida Panthers shook up their front office Friday, firing interim general manager Chuck Fletcher and replacing him with Rick Dudley.
Fletcher had taken over for Bill Torrey on Dec. 3, and was instrumental in trading superstar right wing Pavel Bure from a team that finished 28th in the NHL at 22-44-10-6.
Dudley was general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning for three seasons before resigning in February. He acquired goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin from Phoenix, but was strapped by a limited payroll and watched the team go 63-123-21-14 during his stint.
In Florida, Dudley will have to decide on the future of Mike Keenan as coach. He also has the top choice in the 2002 draft and the job of turning around a franchise that has gone 44-82-23-15 the past two seasons.
Panthers ownership partner Jordan Zimmerman said Friday's move is "another positive step in securing the future success" of the team, citing Dudley's excellence at every level of professional hockey.
Dudley played six NHL seasons, then coached the Buffalo Sabres to an 85-72-31 record from 1989-92. But he has made his mark in hockey as a GM, leading teams to the finals eight times in
12 years in three different minor leagues.
In 1998, Dudley got his first NHL front office job as GM of the Senators. He helped build a team that went 44-23-15, a 20-point improvement, during the 1998-99 season.
Dudley took over in Tampa Bay the following year, and retooled the Lightning back to respectability, thanks in part to the acquisition of Khabibulin.
"We feel he is the right man to lead out organization into the future, continue the growth of the Panthers' team and stress the importance of our partnership with the South Florida community," Zimmerman said.
The Panthers have been to the playoffs just three times in their history, failing to win a pair of series since their improbable run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1996.
This past season, Florida traded Bure, the best player in franchise history. He led the league in goals the previous two seasons.
