Congratulations to my friend, Mike Santos, on being named the new Assistant GM of the Florida Panthers today. He is a very sharp guy who knows the hockey business and is uniquely prepared for his new opportunity. Mike was our direct contact with Nashville from a business standpoint and we just finished the negotiation on our new affiliation agreement with him. He really worked hard to make that process a smooth one for both sides. He will be missed but I am excited for him to have this new job.

We’ll know work more directly with Paul Fenton, Nashville’s Assistant GM, on all Admirals/Predators business from the hockey side to the affiliation agreement. The great thing is that Paul is also a fantastic person who we’ve had a wonderful relationship with since coming to the Admirals in 2005. Harris Turer and I have all the confidence in the world in Paul and we know he’ll continue to work hard to put good teams together here in Milwaukee.

For those who haven’t been to our show at the Summerfest Sportszone, I encourage you to make your way down there on Friday (July 2 at 7 pm) or Saturday (July 3 at 3 pm). We have a lot of fun at the show and you never know who might make a special appearance. Nolan Yonkman and Scott Ford have both made surprise visits and that has made the shows even more fun.

We’ll have a special announcement coming up on August 5 at the Wisconsin State Fair. Stay tuned!

Go Admirals!