Beauty-Ecke » weeks.Wawrinka is an unknown quantity. We

SUNRISE, Fla. - 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." Phil Esposito Jersey . -- Kevin Harvick pulled away on a restart with 47 laps to go and ended Chase Elliotts two-race winning streak in NASCARs Nationwide Series with a dominating victory early Saturday at Richmond International Raceway. Rod Gilbert Jersey . Interestingly, the culprits were not rookies, but well paid, experienced pros. The first gaffe came in the 24th minute of arguably the biggest early season MLS game in history between Seattle and Toronto. Sounder newcomer Marco Pappa, (with over 100 MLS games, and 39 Guatemalan Caps to his name) attempted a back pass to one of his central defenders. http://www.authenticnyrangerspro.com/Kevin-shattenkirk-rangers-jersey/ .com) - Maria Sharapova reached her 10th career grand slam final after beating Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets at the Australian Open on Thursday. Sergei Nemchinov Jersey . Webb birdied the 18th hole to take the outright lead, then watched as Choi, who shot a course-record 62 on Saturday to take a share of the third-round lead, pushed a 10-foot putt wide of the hole at 18 to miss the chance for a playoff. Wayne Gretzky Jersey . Cox started the season with San Francisco, but was released by the team on Nov. 12 before being signed by Seattle, where he appeared in two games and tallied three tackles before being released on Dec.Ahead of the French Open, we asked Sky Sports expert Barry Cowan to answer five key questions about this years tournament at Roland Garros. World No 1 Novak Djokovic resumes his pursuit for that elusive first Grand Slam title as part of a fiercely competitive draw in Paris, including Britains Andy Murray, nine-time winner Rafael Nadal, and defending champion Stan Wawrinka.Barry Cowan answers the big talking points... Murrays Roland Garros record A look at how the British number one has fared in Paris Will Andy Murray be happy with the draw?The key was always going to be where Rafa was. Its great news for Andy that Rafa will not be in his side of the draw, but I think its also great news for Djokovic that Nadal will be in his side. Meeting Rafa before the final would work out in his favour, I believe.The rankings dont lie. Andy is the second best player in the world at the moment and hes shown that with his performances on the clay in the past few weeks.Wawrinka is an unknown quantity. We didnt know which Wawrinka would turn up last year - he was in no form going in - and look what happened. I think Rogers days of winning the French are gone. Its a real pity that his run of Grand Slam appearances should end due to injury, but it was going to end at some stage. French Open draw details Stepanek first for Murray Can Murray take positives from recent wins over Djokovic and Nadal?Yes, absolutely. He can obviously draw confidence from last weeks win over Novak in Rome, but could also take huge positives from the way he played Novak in Madrid and Rafa in Monte Carlo. He has consistently played great tennis, but hes going into the French Open having never made the final. It would be an all-new experience, but hes been able to pass new experiences throughout his career. Why not this time? Highlights from the Rome Masters Final as Andy Murray faced Novak Djokovic in a repeat of the Madrid Open final a week earlier Will Novak Djokovic end his wait for a French Open title? Djokovics Missing Major Can Novak finally win at Roland Garros? Yes, it think he can do.dddddddddddd Hes a better player than he was last year, but theres more mental baggage than last year. He had to experience that final defeat to Wawrinka when he was the best player in the world and wasnt able to win it. No matter what sport it is, whenever you go in as favourite and dont get over the finish line, it can get harder.I think its good that he plays Rafa before the final. Playing Rafa in the semis, its playing Rafa with their recent head-to-head record. Playing Rafa in the final, all of a sudden it becomes a huge monster, because youre playing against a guy who has won it nine times and Novak has never won it. Djokovic has yet to win the French OPen title Can Nadal win the tournament for a 10th time? Nadals La Decima Rafa in form as he seeks another French crown You can never overlook a guy who has won it nine times. Hes playing great. I thought that quarter-final against Djokovic in Rome was amazing quality, it was phenomenal. The only difference between the two was Djokovic having won so many big titles in recent years, whereas Rafa hasnt really.His last few appearances at Grand Slam havent been great, so hell be looking to put the record straight on that. But hes in as good shape as hes been in a long time.The weather also could be key as if its quick in the second week, then that will definitely help him.Who could emerge as a surprise contender? Nick Kyrgios is one of the names who could surprise the big guns Two weeks ago, I would have said Dominic Thiem. He defeated Roger Federer and looked set to make a breakthrough at the Rome Masters, but the occasion got to him in the quarter-final and he was beaten easily by Kei Nishikori. Ive got no doubt that he will be a player who reaches the latter stages of a major tournament in the future. There is also Nick Kygrios of course. You cannot rule this guy out and he could break through and win a slam at some stage. Im not going to say its going to be these two weeks, but hes a player who can beat anyone on any given day. 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