SUNRISE, Fla. Rudy Gobert Jazz Jersey . - Gerard Gallant needed no sales pitch from the Florida Panthers. Hes aware that they have not won a playoff series in nearly two decades, that they missed the playoffs by a mile last season and that they change coaches on an all-too-regular basis. None of that deterred him, either. "You look at their roster, you look at their team, you look at their core players," Gallant said. "I think its a great opportunity and Im looking forward to working with this hockey club." He now has that chance, after being introduced as the 13th coach in Panthers history and the teams eighth bench boss since 2003. Gallant hasnt been an NHL head coach since 2006, but has plenty of experience as an assistant and a very successful stint as the head coach of the Saint John Sea Dogs in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. His best player there was current Panthers winger Jonathan Huberdeau, whos considered a key part of Floridas plan to turn things around. "Of course I was excited to hear that news," Huberdeau said of his reaction to Gallants hiring. "Gerard has been a great coach for me. He taught me a lot of stuff when I was in juniors and its because of him that Im in the NHL right now." When Gallant and Huberdeau were paired in juniors, their team won just about every night, or so it seemed. No ones expecting that in Florida, but some parallels will exist from that team and now, Gallant said. "Jonathans a great kid," Gallant said. "I knew the kid for three years and we worked well together. Were going to have 23 players who are going to work hard and compete." Panthers general manager Dale Tallon called the search exhaustive, and the team was linked to plenty of other candidates throughout the two-month process, most notably the likes of Peter Laviolette, Barry Trotz and Dan Bylsma. When he met with Gallant, Tallon expected him to be in a downtrodden mood — the first interview was two days after the Montreal Canadiens, with whom Gallant was an assistant coach the past two seasons, were eliminated from this years playoffs. Instead, Gallant was high-energy, eager, excited. Tallon was impressed. "Ive never heard a negative word said about Gerard Gallant in any capacity in hockey," Tallon said. Its the start of a hectic time for Florida, which holds the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NHL Draft — one they could trade away — and is expected to be a busy player when free agency begins July 1. And Gallant knows very well how quickly things can turn around. When he was hired in Montreal, the Canadiens were coming off a season where they finished with the fewest points in the East. With Gallant on the staff, the Canadiens won a division title in 2012-13, and topped the 100-point mark in the standings last season. The Panthers would enjoy nothing more than him being part of a similar turnaround in Florida. "The league is so close," Gallant said. "The teams are so close together now." Jeff Hornacek Jersey . LeBron James and Chris Bosh didnt need any more. Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. Tony Bradley Jersey . The Maple Leafs may not have had a pick until the third round, but they have made the biggest move of the second day of the Draft, dealing defenceman Carl Gunnarsson and a fourth-round pick in the draft to the St. http://www.officialjazzproauthentic.com/Authentic-Alec-Burks-Jazz-Jersey/ . -- Crystal Webster avoided elimination at the 2013 Capital One Road to the Roar Olympic pre-trial curling tournament with an 8-5 win over Amber Holland on Thursday.MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Twins have agreed with right-hander Mike Pelfrey on an $11 million, two-year contract, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal, filling another spot in their revamped, veteran-heavy rotation. The contract was reached over the weekend, pending a physical, the person told The Associated Press on Monday on condition of anonymity because the team had yet to finalize the deal. Pelfrey made $4.1 million last season in a one-year deal with the Twins, including $100,000 in a performance bonus for surpassing 150 innings in his first season back from elbow ligament- replacement surgery. He made only three starts for the New York Mets in 2012 before the injury, but he recovered in time for 2013, taking the mound at Target Field on April 4 just 11 months after the operation. Pelfrey picked up the win that day in his American League debut, but the rest of the year was rough, not an uncommon occurrence for pitchers following Tommy John surgery. Pelfrey finished 5-13 for a 66-96 team, with a 5.19 ERA and 53 walks in 152 2-3 innings. Opponents batted .. Trey Lyles Jersey. 300 against him over 29 starts. The Twins, though, took an opportunity to buy relatively low and bank on an improvement by a former first-round draft pick who made at least 31 starts for the Mets for four straight seasons from 2008-11. He was 15-9 with a 3.66 ERA over a career-high 204 innings in 2010 with only 12 home runs allowed. Pelfrey still posted a personal-best strikeout rate of six per nine innings, despite his struggles. The soon-to-be-30-year-old is on track to be the Twins fourth starter. Minnesota previously signed right-handers Ricky Nolasco and Phil Hughes for the top of the rotation, bringing its newly committed money for starting pitching this off-season to $84 million guaranteed over the next four seasons. Kevin Correia, the best of a bad bunch last year, is the only holdover who appears to have a spot. The first four starters will have an average opening-day age of 30. Samuel Deduno, Scott Diamond, Kyle Gibson and Vance Worley, for now, are the front-runners for the final slot. Twins starters had a majors-worst 5.26 ERA last season. 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