Panthers Name Michael Santos Assistant GM

Michael Santos

SUNRISE, Fla. – Florida Panthers General Manager Dale Tallon announced today that Michael Santos has joined the club as the team’s new Assistant General Manager.
 
Santos, 45, spent the previous four seasons as the Nashville Predators Director of Hockey Operations. In his new role, he will be responsible for negotiating player contracts, salary arbitration preparation, overseeing the club’s minor league affiliates, managing the club’s payroll and salary cap, as well as serving as the day-to-day contact of the hockey operations department.
 
“Mike brings to our team more than 20 years of hockey experience after working in a variety of capacities in the National Hockey League, the American Hockey League and the North American Hockey League,” said Tallon. “He has done an incredible job in helping to assemble a competitive Nashville club that has qualified for the playoffs in three of the last four seasons. He is very knowledgeable in the CBA, contract negotiations, salary cap compliance, budget forecasting and minor league operations. We welcome Mike back to the Panthers and look forward to his continued contributions to the organization.”
 
Prior to working in Nashville, Santos served as the Florida Panthers Director of Hockey Operations/Corporate Counsel for the 2002-03 season, after joining the organization during the 2001-02 season as a hockey operations consultant.  He was named commissioner and president of the North American Hockey League in 2003 and led the Junior “A” league through three seasons of unprecedented growth. The Lowell, Massachusetts native has also spent time working in the NHL’s New York office, as well as for the New Haven Nighthawks (AHL) and the NY Islanders.
 
A graduate of Boston College, he received his Master’s Degree from the United States Sports Academy in 1989, earned his Juris Doctorate from St. John’s University School of Law in 1998, has been a member of the New York state bar since 1999 and serves on USA Hockey’s Congress, as well as its junior and legal councils.      
 
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