Rats Roundup: America's Got Tallon

The offseason is here for the Cats, but that doesn't mean that it was a light week by any means. So stick around and get caught up on all the happenings from the past week.

THE BIG NEWS

The Cats 2016-17 campaign drew to a close Sunday night, and the team didn't waste any time setting out to make the 2017-18 season a better one. Monday morning brought the news that Dale Tallon
was going to once again be named the Panthers General Manager
.
Tallon, who will also continue to serve as the President of Hockey Operations, immediately started the search for the franchise's next head coach.
Buckle up for next season, Cats fans, because Tallon sees this ship righting course quickly.

"We have the talent to get back on track in a hurry," Tallon said. "This was a difficult year for us, but I think we learned some tough lessons about what it takes to win consistently in the NHL. With a few tweaks to our roster and the right leadership, I'm confident we can get back to contending for the Stanley Cup next season."

AMERICA'S GOT TALLON

Speaking of Tallon, he was
named to USA Hockey's National Team Advisory Board
this week, where he will help construct the nation's squad for the upcoming IIHF World Championships.
Tallon won't be the only one representing the Panthers for Team USA this summer - Nick Bjugstad was part of the first 15 players named to the squad earlier this week.

SCHOOL'S OUT

Panthers players had one last assignment after Sunday's game: locker room cleaning day.
Back at the arena for the last time until this fall, the players spent the morning packing up their gear, meeting with Tallon and chatting with the media one last time before heading out for summer vacation.
Here's what they had to say:

In addition to the media, the players also took over the Panthers Snapchat account to express gratitude to the fans for their support over the course of the season.
It's been more than 24 hours, so you can't view them on Snapchat anymore (note: you should add PanthersNHL anyways, folks!), but they have been compiled here for your viewing pleasure.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK:

All the best mustaches have names, so we hereby dub this the Lu Manchu.

STAT OF THE WEEK:

James Reimer shut out the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, then turned around and blanked the Washington Capitals on Sunday. That's one busy weekend - and an historic one - as he became the first Cats netminder to record shutouts on consecutive days in franchise history.

QUICK HITTERS:

• Ian McCoshen
  impressed in his NHL debut
  .
  • The Panthers IceDen hosted some of the nation's best young talent
    earlier this week!
    - Keith Yandle threw his hat into the ring for a Pulitzer Prize at Panthers