SUNRISE, Fla. James Washington 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. Terrell Edmunds Steelers Jersey .Y. -- Cory Schneider has to make the most of his opportunities to guard the New Jersey Devils net to earn more playing time. Mason Rudolph Jersey . In a pregame tribute commemorating his final contest at Coors Field on Wednesday night, Helton caught the ceremonial first pitch from his daughter with his wife, younger daughter and good friend Peyton Manning watching from the field. http://www.steelerspronfl.com/Youth-Joe-Haden-Elite-Jersey/ . Groves signed with Cleveland as an unrestricted free agent last year after a season with Arizona. He was in the linebacker rotation and had a sack in the season opener against Miami.FIVE QUICK NBA THOUGHTS: 1. EASTS THIRD SEED (RAPTORS OR BULLS?): With Sundays Raptors win at Detroit coupled with the Bulls loss in New York, suddenly the Toronto Raptors are back in a tie for third place and hold the tiebreaker for the spot with two games to go. The opportunity to play either Washington or Charlotte rather than the Brooklyn Nets is a real possibility right now and keeps the pressure on both teams to play out the regular season trying to win outright. It should be fun to watch how both of these squads approach the urgency of that. Players always say they dont care who they play as long as theyre in the playoffs, but coaches really care because theyre the ones doing extensive prep for these match-ups and know all of the ins and outs as they pertain to the good and bad matchups. Theres still lots to play for. 2. WESTERN CONFERENCE: In the East, only two teams (Indiana and Miami) will finish with 50 wins while weve got five teams with 50 wins already in the West and another three (Golden State, Dallas and Memphis) with a chance to get to 50 in the next few days. Pretty remarkable to see how strong this conference is. Consider the fact that the ninth place team in that conference (Phoenix) will come close to 50 and be playing golf in a few days if they dont get a few breaks here. Its been a terrific year and the playoffs in the West will be hotly-contested matchups. 3. MASON PLUMLEE (Nets): He wont win the Rookie of the Year award, but the more I watch him play the more I love his game. This guy plays hard all of the time, has nice bounce to his game and can score in the lane for you. Has a nose for the ball with greaat rebounding instincts. Jon Bostic Jersey. With various injuries to the Nets this year hes been able to get on the floor and has taken advantage of the playing time and looks quite comfortable now. Hes earned coach Jason Kidds trust and has a valuable role off the bench for them. Good development for him and their team. 4. ANDREW NICHOLSON (Magic): His playing time and his numbers are down this season and the second year Canadian hasnt been able to get any sort of rhythm going at all. He is your classic tweener - a combo 3-4 who has good post and mid-range skills yet struggles (29 per cent) with his three-point shooting and his handle in the open court still needs improvement. Big off-season coming up for him as he needs to add a few tools to his tool kit to create a niche for himself as a pro. He had some solid moments as a rookie but theyve been few and far between as a sophomore. Hes a worker and plays all out all the time. I have no doubt that hell pay the price in the next six months and come back for Year 3 as a better player. 5. MO WILLIAMS (Blazers): Even though his career numbers are off this season, his role is smaller for him in Portland yet hes been a terrific addition to their team. Still a solid playmaker (4-plus assists per game) and can score (10 ppg) and shoot the three (37 percent) while providing veteran leadership and savvy to the backcourt. His knack for making the high percentage play and knowing/accepting his role in their scheme has helped coach Terry Stotts bring this team along and enjoy a fun season. Sometimes guys just fit and other times they dont - hes been an ideal fit for them. Wholesale Jerseys 2019 Wholesale Jerseys From China Stitched Jerseys Wholesale Black NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Camo Cheap NFL Black Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping ' ' '