"One of my biggest priorities along with helping on the player development side, the youth of our players, is really getting South Florida excited about hockey," Peterson said on the NHL @TheRink podcast recorded Thursday. "We've got some tremendous pieces. We've got a Hall of Fame coach Joel Quenneville]. We've got an excellent GM [Bill Zito], fantastic ownership. It's going to be an exciting time and I want to replicate what they've done so well up the road there in Tampa."
Peterson, 39, was hired by the Panthers on Tuesday and is believed to be the
[first Black assistant general manager
in the NHL.
He was previously a player agent.
"People want to identify with our players," Peterson said. "They want to know our players. They want to be excited about them. They want our players to be in the community and helping greater Fort Lauderdale and Broward County be a better place. That's something that's going to be interesting to see evolve with us."
Former NHL forward John LeClair, a three-time 50-goal scorer, also joined co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke as a guest on the podcast this week.
LeClair, who lives outside Philadelphia in Haverford, Pennsylvania, is one of eight coaches for the new 3ICE professional 3-on-3 ice hockey league, scheduled to play in the summer of 2021. It's his first coaching venture other than being on the ice with his kids, and LeClair said if it goes well, he may consider getting into coaching on a full-time basis.
LeClair also discussed the current state of the Flyers, why he thinks they should be considered a Stanley Cup contender, and what he likes most about forwards Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier, who won the Selke Trophy last season.
In addition, Rosen and Roarke discussed some of the top unrestricted free agents still available, including forwards Mike Hoffman and Anthony Duclair, offered their opinions on the adidas Reverse Retro alternate jerseys (the co-hosts each love the Colorado Avalanche's jersey), and debuted a new Question of the Week segment.
This week's question came from former NHL goalie and current NHL Network analyst Kevin Weekes
