coach behind the bench.
SUNRISE, Fla. Authentic Vlade Divac Jersey . -- With a relatively young team, Florida Panthers general manager Dale Tallon is of the belief that the club needs an experienced coach behind the bench. And with that, Peter Horacheks time as interim coach is over. The Panthers fired Horachek on Tuesday, after Florida went 26-36-4 under him this past season. Horachek had no previous NHL coaching experience before replacing Kevin Dineen on Nov. 8 and while Tallon lauded the interim coachs work with the club, he simply thinks that a change in direction is needed. "We just felt as a group that it wasnt quite the right fit with the direction that were headed in," Tallon said. Tallon said theres no timetable for finding a new coach, other than that the team wants to make a hire before the draft in late June. He said Peter Laviolette -- who was fired by the Philadelphia Flyers after only three games of this season -- is on his list of candidates, and theres also speculation that he could target former Nashville coach Barry Trotz. "Were going to interview every possible candidate and take our time and make the right decision," Tallon said. Horachek had been the coach of Floridas AHL affiliate in San Antonio before being summoned to lead the Panthers. Tallon said Horachek will not remain with the organization in any capacity. The team will urge the next coach to keep assistant coaches John Madden and Brian Skrudland, both of whom Tallon has in high regard. Horacheks fate was decided in the last few days and he accepted the move when told Tuesday in a "classy" manner, Tallon said. The coaching decision is one of many changes for the Panthers in recent months, with more moves coming. The team was bought last fall by New York businessman Vincent Viola, had a change in the executive ranks when Michael Yormark left as team president earlier this year, and the Panthers brought back longtime fan favourite Roberto Luongo late in this season. Plus, the team has stockpiled plenty of picks in the next two drafts and won the right to draft No. 1 overall this year. "Were not starting over," Tallon said. "Weve got a lot of young players on our team now, well have a few more added each year as we move forward and now we have to surround them with the right NHL players and pieces that we will attack in free agency or by trading some of these assets that we have." The Panthers have had seven different coaches in their last 10 seasons, with Dineen the only one in the group to take Florida to the playoffs. And the next coach will be Tallons third since he took over in Florida. Hes hoping history repeats itself with this move. Tallon was most recently the GM in Chicago and his third coach there was Joel Quenneville -- who led the Blackhawks to Stanley Cup titles in 2010 and 2013. "It took me three in Chicago to get it right," Tallon said. "So its not an easy task. Its all about getting it right. Yeah, its important. Thats why were going to take our time and really investigate and interview various candidates and do our homework and try to get the right fit." Florida finished with the second-lowest point total in the NHL this season and missed the playoffs for the 12th time in 13 seasons. The Panthers last won a playoff series in 1996, the year they lost to Colorado in the Stanley Cup finals. "He did a good job," Tallon said of Horachek. "He came in a worked hard and tried to turn things around in a hurry." Florida ranked 29th in the 30-team NHL in goals scored this season, plus were abysmal on special teams. The Panthers ranked last in the league with a 10 per cent power-play success rate -- the worst percentage posted by any team since 2000-01 -- along with a 76 per cent penalty-kill rate. The Panthers were out of the playoff race early once again, finishing 27 points out of the eighth and last post-season spot in the Eastern Conference. Authentic Yogi Ferrell Jersey . This weeks Raptors Report puts a bow on Gays brief, 10-month tenure in Toronto and ponders how his absence will affect the teams offence. Are they a better team without him? In addition to acquiring some valuable cap flexibility, what impact will the four incoming players have this season and beyond? Click here for the Dec. Authentic Harry Giles Jersey . Murray, the defending champion and No. 3 seed, claimed his first match win at Queens in 2005 and went on to win the Wimbledon warmup three times. But he failed to take advantage of eight set points after leading the first-set tiebreaker 6-2, and Stepanek survived to convert with his second set point.ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Braves agreed to eight-year contract with first baseman Freddie Freeman that is worth about $125 million on Tuesday. The deal was confirmed by the team on Tuesday night. Earlier in the day, outfielder Jason Heyward and the Braves agreed to a $13.3 million, two-year contract. Heyward and Freeman had filed for salary arbitration last month. The 24-year-old Freeman was an All-Star last year when he hit .319 with 23 homers and 109 RBIs. He matched his career high in home runs and set highs in batting average and RBIs which finishing fifth in NL MVP voting. He has topped 20 home runs in three straight seasons. "Freddie has established himself as one of the best young talents in the game," Braves general manager Frank Wren said. "We are excited to sign one of our own homegrown players to a contract that will keep him in a Braves uniform for the next eight seasons." Closer Craig Kimbrel is the Braves only player left in arbitration. Heyward, also 24, and Freeman are key members of the Braves core of young stars. Kimbrel, shortstop Andrelton Simmons, outfielder Justin Upton and starting pitchers Julio Teheran and Mike Minor are 26 or younger. Evan Gattis, 27, is replacing Brian McCann as the starting catcher. Heyward was happy to avoid arbitration. "In my head it basically says to me, lets go play some baseball," he said. Heyward is coming off an injury-filled season, and Wren said the relative lack of playing time complicated the arbitration process and helped make the two-year contract possible. Heyward hit .254 with 14 homers and 38 RBIs in a career-low 104 games during his fourth season with the Braves. He had an appendectomy on April 22 and broke his jaw on Aug. 21 when he was hit by a pitch from New York Mets left-hander Jon Niese. "Last year was such a tough year physically, through no fault of his own, with the appendectomy and getting hit in the face," Wren said. "So it also made it tough for both sides in an arbitration situation because its hard to pin a number when youre comparing to players who played a lot more." Heywardd said he has moved past his injuries. Authentic Justin Jackson Jersey. "Physically, I feel great, being 24 years old and being blessed with some genetics to go along with that," he said. "Im growing up still in this game and Im looking forward to what my body is going to allow me to do going forward." Heywards deal calls for a $1 million signing bonus, payable in equal installments on May 1 and July 1, and salaries of $4.5 million this year and $7.8 million in 2015. The 2015 salary would escalate based on a points system for 2014 accomplishments, going up $500,000 for 20 points and then by $25,000 for each additional point. Heyward would earn 10 points each for 502 plate appearances, All-Star game selection, a Gold Glove award, a Silver Slugger award and finishing 11th-to-20th in MVP voting. He would receive 15 points for 6th-to-10th in MVP, 25 points for third-to-fifth and 35 points for first or second. Heyward enjoyed his best season in 2012, when he hit .269 and set career highs with 27 homers, 82 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. Heywards injuries did not prevent him from showcasing his versatility. A 2012 Gold Glove winner in right field, Heyward started 20 games in centre last year. He spent most of the season hitting second in the order before he was moved to the leadoff spot by manager Fredi Gonzalez on July 27. Over his next 22 games, Heyward hit .349 with five homers, 15 RBIs and 23 runs. Heyward is projected as Atlantas leadoff hitter. "He provides a great presence," Wren said. "The one thing we saw, especially after Fredi moved him to the leadoff spot, it allowed him to utilize his speed, it allowed him to utilize his ability to get on base even to a greater degree. "I think other teams felt pressure from the very first pitch of the game, because all of a sudden now youve got a 6-foot-6, 230-pound leadoff hitter that can do some damage from the get-go. That came back to us time and time again, that theres no let up. It starts right away." Heyward is eligible for free agency after the 2015 season. He had asked for a raise from $3.65 million to $5.5 million in arbitration and had been offered $5.2 million. 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