Florida Panthers Considered Hiring First Female General Manager

Dale Tallon was ousted as the general manager of the Florida Panthers in early August. Bill Zito has been named as his replacement, but a number of great candidates were considered for the job. One candidate includes gold medalist and four-time women's ice-hockey Olympian and USA Hockey Hall of Famer, Angela Ruggiero.
The NHL has not yet had a female general manager or head coach, but it seems that this will happen in the near future. Ruggiero was asked if she would like to interview for the vacant general manager position, to which she asked to "think about it." Once she notified the organization that she was agreeable to an interview, she was informed that Bill Zito was already given the position.

Although she did not secure the position, this opportunity has peaked her interest and will avidly pursue other front office and manager positions more aggressively in the future.

Ruggiero is currently the CEO and Co-Founder of Sports Innovation Lab, a market research firm that represented over 70 clients worldwide. Her accolades both on and off the ice demonstrate her work ethic and drive for success. It's just a matter of time before we see her working the phones on draft day.

Photographer: Bob Frid/Icon Sportswire