NHL Panthers Owner & Chair Vinnie Viola and Vice Chair & Partner Doug Cifu, who bought the team in '13, have "repeatedly proved the value of ownership in professional sports," according to Aric Dilalla of the MIAMI HERALD. Cifu said, "When we got here, people were like, 'What are these two crazy guys from Wall Street, from New York, (doing) coming down to Florida?' ... And we were very consistent from Day One saying we have no agenda other than to win in South Florida. That’s all we wanted to do, believe us." Dilalla noted perhaps "against the odds, their plan seems to be working." Fans "won't find Cifu encroaching on [Exec VP & GM Dale] Tallon's territory or coach Gerard Gallant's space in the locker room." Gallant said, "After the game they’ll come down and say hello to the players and all that. They let us do our job and they do their job." Cifu said, "I'm gonna take Dale to task. I’m gonna ask him 1,000 questions. I’m going to talk to him about players all the time. So we’re not passive, but we’re not going to inject our ego into a situation. We’re going to be active but rational about how we engage with the professionals we’ve hired to make those decisions." Dilalla noted the Panthers have signed many young players, including F Alexsander Barkov and C Nick Bjugstad, to long-term contracts, but perhaps no commitment "is larger than the one Broward County made last December when it voted to restructure the Panthers' lease." Cifu, Viola and the Panthers will get $86M "in tourist tax money to help fix up and manage the arena." With that "barrier gone, the Panthers' owners can now ensure their players are comfortable" (MIAMI HERALD, 4/13).
