In an announcement on Monday the Rochester Americans and Florida Panthers will hold a press conference on Thursday to talk about their plans for next season.  It’s exciting yet surprising that the current season has really just begun and next year is already being talked about publicly.

I’m guessing that they’ll talk about continuing with the same formula that has helped the success of this season, the negotiations for an extension of the affiliation, and the possibility of a Panthers preseason game here in Rochester.  These are all my guesses based on previous statements by the two teams.

An extension of the affiliation prior to the end of the season will be key in avoiding any distractions from talks about Buffalo and Rochester getting back together.

At the press conference will be Florida Panthers General Manager Randy Sexton, Rochester Americans Owner and CEO Curt Styres, Rochester Americans President Lewis Staats, and Rochester Americans VP of Hockey Operations Ted Nolan.

The Florida Panthers introduced Stuart Siegel and Cliff Viner as co-managing partners of the team on Monday.  The two have had a minority stake in the Panthers but will be taking over controlling interest [...]Read More