Florida Panthers officially name Bob Boughner new head coach

It’s official now.

Bob Boughner was named the 15th head coach in the history of the Florida Panthers on Monday morning after news broke on Saturday that the team was about to bring on the former San Jose Sharks assistant.

Boughner, 46, will meet the South Florida media Monday afternoon at BB&T Center.

“After an exhaustive search, we are pleased to welcome Bob as the new head coach of the Panthers,” general manager Dale Tallon said in a release.

“He sees the game in a modern way and is eager to work with our young players. During the interview process, Bob blew us away with his preparation, his passion, knowledge and dedication to the game.

“We believe that he is the right leader to get our team back to competing towards our goal of winning the Stanley Cup.”

Boughner replaces Tom Rowe who was relieved of his duties as Florida’s interim coach after a rocky tenure after replacing the popular Gerard Gallant in late November.

Gallant ended up being hired to coach the expansion Vegas Golden Knights who begin play this fall.

“I think it's a great hire,” said Pete DeBoer, who coached the Panthers from 2008-11 and hired Boughner in San Jose.

“The best compliment I can give him is that if I was hiring a new coach for a team, he would be a guy I would hire.

“When you work together day in and day out, you get to know their strengths and weaknesses. Coming through that process and working relationship, I have great respect for him and that shows how great a coach he is and the kind of coach the Florida Panthers are getting.”

Boughner was an NHL defenseman for parts of 10 seasons playing for the Buffalo Sabres (1995-98), Nashville Predators (1998-00), Pittsburgh Penguins (2000-01), Calgary Flames (2001-03), Carolina Hurricanes (2003-04) and Colorado Avalanche (2004-06).

On July 25, 1994, Boughner signed with the Panthers and played parts of two seasons for their minor league affiliates in Cincinnati (IHL) and Carolina Monarchs (AHL) before being traded to the Sabres in 1996. Boughner made his NHL debut with the Sabres soon afterward.

Boughner — his name is pronounced BOOG-ner — and his wife, Jenn, have four children: Brady, Molly, Emma and Lola.

COACHES OF THE FLORIDA PANTHERS

Roger Nielson 1993-95

Doug MacLean* 1995-97

Bryan Murray 1997-98

Terry Murray* 1998-2000

Duane Sutter 2000-01

Mike Keenan 2001-03

Rick Dudley 2003-04

John Torchetti 2004

Jacques Martin 2004-08

Pete DeBoer 2008-11

Kevin Dineen* 2011-13

Peter Horachek 2013-14

Gerard Gallant* 2014-16

Tom Rowe 2016-17

Bob Boughner 2017-present

(*) — Coached the Panthers to at least one postseason appearence

This story was originally published June 12, 2017 at 9:35 AM with the headline "Florida Panthers officially name Bob Boughner new head coach."