Panthers owner says Tallon always had final say, confusing us further

Even if you think their struggles are a bit overblown when you dig deeper, things were pretty messy for the Florida Panthers last night. Now, more than anything else, it all feels ... a little confusing.

Earlier on Wednesday, we discussed Darren Dreger’s report about GM Dale Tallon more-or-less regaining many of the GM powers people believed that he lost after a “promotion” many believe was a glorified demotion.

(Catches breath for a second.)

Dreger came on NBCSN tonight to explain everything a bit more:

Confused yet? If not, this might do the trick: Panthers owner Vincent Viola told Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that little has really changed regarding Tallon and the team’s power structure.

“As far as I am concerned, Dale has always had final say over hockey decisions,” Viola said by telephone. “What we had done is bifurcate Dale from some things he didn’t need to worry about anymore [negotiating contracts, for example]. But, in terms of player decisions, it is his call.”

For what it’s worth, that actually does jive with what Tallon said during a conference call in May:

“I wasn’t a big fan of doing contracts,” Tallon said. “It frees me up to do what I think I do best, and that’s go scout, evaluate talent, mentor our young guys, and help develop them.

Friedman brings up a good question, then: why would this sprout up now if nothing has changed?

Basically, it comes down to a few possibilities, including these:

1. Viola and Tallon are both telling the truth; he really is calling the shots.
2. We might not totally understand the Panthers’ structure because they’re doing something different. Titles like “GM” could be a little fuzzier in their setup.
3. Tallon is a figurehead for fans who wouldn’t accept a “fancy stats” approach. By claiming that he’s regaining power amid this latest wave of criticism for analytics, the Panthers might buy themselves some time.
4. Or, maybe Tallon was a figurehead as discussed in point 3, but now he’s calling the shots in a way that’s closer to 1 and 2.

Ultimately, actions will be speak louder than words. If the Panthers take a more “traditional” approach, then many will believe that Tallon did get more of a say. If they lean toward “analytics,” maybe not?

Of course, they could also do a little of both, which would indicate that decisions are made by a committee, much like the Toronto Maple Leafs’ current approach.

For what it’s worth, Panthers beat reporters Harvey Fialkov (of the Florida Sun-Sentinel) and George Richards (of the Miami Herald) pass along word that nothing’s changed.

This regime is very high on having a lot of voices and opinions be4 reaching consensus.So 1 voice is against their core values. #flapanthers

— Harvey Fialkov (@hfialkov) December 15, 2016

Florida Panthers CEO Matthew Caldwell says no change in management structure re: Dale Tallon.

Dale is not with the team in Winnipeg. pic.twitter.com/IoiPQsG3N3

— George Richards (@GeorgeRichards) December 15, 2016

Dreger believes that the executives’ responses mainly boil down to semantics.

So, long story short? Yeah, this is all pretty confusing.