The Florida Panthers officially announced today that
Kelly has been named one of the team’s new assistant coaches. Manchester Monarchs head coach Mark Morris was
also hired as an assistant.
“We are pleased to welcome
Mike and Mark to our coaching staff,” said Panthers general manager Dale Tallon
in a release. “They bring to our club a wealth of hockey knowledge and
experience and will be the perfect fit to work together with Gerard, John
(Madden) and Robb (Tallas). I would also like to sincerely thank Brian
(Skrudland) for his hard work and dedication, after stepping in last season to
serve as an assistant coach. We are happy to have him return to his previous
role and oversee the growth and development of our prospects.”
The Sea Dogs hired Gallant as head coach and Kelly as
associate coach and director of hockey operations in 2009. The duo guided Saint
John to three straight 50 win seasons, three consecutive President’s Cup final
appearance, two President’s Cup titles, and a Memorial Cup championship.
After Gallant left Saint John for the Montreal
Canadiens in 2012, Kelly was quickly named head coach of the Dogs. He acted as
head coach and GM until he was fired last October.
As the Panthers release notes, “Kelly spent three years with the Vancouver Canucks organization
(2005-2008) as an assistant coach with both the Canucks and the Manitoba
Moose.”
It’ll be interesting to see how these two work things at
the NHL level and how Jonathan Huberdeau’s play/role adjusts.
Florida's pre-season begins on September 24 against Dallas. Their regular season opens on October 9 in Tampa Bay.
Florida's pre-season begins on September 24 against Dallas. Their regular season opens on October 9 in Tampa Bay.
Says a lot about Turk's loyalty that he'd take a chance on Kelly after he couldn't hold the SJ job
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