Tallon, Panthers part ways
The Florida Panthers will have a new general manager next season, making the announcement early Monday that Dale Tallon is leaving the franchise after 10 years.
Tallon's contract as president of hockey operations and general manager expired July 1, and was extended by Panthers owner Vincent Viola to get through the remainder of a season that was stretched out by the coronavirus pandemic. The Panthers were eliminated from the playoffs on Friday, falling to the New York Islanders in four games.
That ouster, the end of yet another season of high expectations that didn't deliver as planned, sealed Tallon's fate. The team said it was a mutual decision for Tallon to leave.
The Panthers' decision to seek a new GM came one day after the NHL first-round playoff matchups were set, and hours before the league was holding the second phase of its draft lottery – with Florida being one of the eight teams with an equal shot at the No. 1 overall pick. But the New York Rangers won the lottery Monday night.
TENNIS
Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2004 U.S. Open champion, added her name to the growing group of players withdrawing from the Grand Slam tournament because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Also withdrawing from the U.S. Open on Monday were No. 31 Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic and No. 108 Wang Xiyu of China.
AUTO RACING
Christopher Bell is returning to Joe Gibbs Racing and will drive the No. 20 Toyota in the Cup Series in 2021.
Bell will replace Erik Jones, whose contract with JGR expires at the end of this season.