- Bryan McCabe has parted ways with the Panthers after 14 years and two Stanley Cups
- Bill Zito called his work “integral to our success” in Florida
- Read below for McCabe’s own words and Florida’s summer front office exodus
Bryan McCabe is done in Florida.
The former Panthers captain has parted ways with the club after 14 years in the front office, a stretch that included two Stanley Cups and ended with him running player personnel. David Dwork of The Hockey News reported the split.
General manager Bill Zito was asked to sum up what McCabe meant to the hockey ops department and kept it short.
“Caber’s work within our hockey operations department was integral to our success, and we wish him nothing but the best in his next chapter,” Zito said.
McCabe got the job in 2012 as a development coach, right after he hung up the skates. A year later he was named Director of Player Development, and in 2017 he moved up to Director of Player Personnel.
Speaking with THN Florida about the exit, McCabe went back over the whole ride.
“I spent 15 years with the Panthers, I made a lot of great relationships throughout the community and the organization, and I wish them nothing but the best moving forward,” McCabe said. “South Florida is home to me, I raised my family there, and winning two Stanley Cups has been a dream come true. I loved my time there.”
Three of his 15 NHL seasons came in a Panthers sweater. He was the first defenseman in franchise history to wear the C in Florida, put up 104 points and 152 penalty minutes in 199 games there, and skated in his 1,000th career game while with the club.
David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period says nobody should expect a quick landing spot:
Florida has now lost four hockey operations people this summer, and three of them ended up in the same building.
Sunny Mehta went from assistant general manager in Sunrise to running the Devils, then hired former Panthers cap and hockey ops man Braden Birch as his assistant GM. New Jersey also rounded out Sheldon Keefe’s staff in July by naming Leo Luongo its Director of Goaltending.
Take a look at Dwork on the Luongo hire:
Throw in Evan Rodrigues and Jesper Boqvist, who both got traded to New Jersey, and the Devils have pulled a real chunk of the Panthers’ championship operation across state lines.
Zito landed Brady Tkachuk this summer and kept his core together. Filling four hockey operations chairs is the quieter half of his offseason.
