It was only a matter of time before the Florida Panthers gave up on the management of president and general manager Bill Torrey and coach Duane Sutter, just like it was only a matter of time before Mike Keenan got another job behind the bench of an NHL team.

Those two inevitable converged on Sunday when the Panthers parted ways with Torrey and Sutter, and decided that Keenan would be their new man behind the bench. Actually, the ownership group had started talking to Keenan late last week, and the decision was made before Atlanta beat the 5-2 on Saturday night.

Keenan, who has a "multiyear" deal, will be working with Chuck Fletcher, the former assistant GM who now has the title of interim general manager, with what would appear to be a real chance of making that title permanent based on the success of the team.

"I thought I would get another chance," Keenan said from South Florida on Sunday afternoon. "I thought I did a pretty good job in Boston last season. Our best players had good years, and if we had healthy goaltending, I thought things would have been fine."

The Bruins management combination of Harry Sinden and Mike O'Connell had other opinions, and Keenan was let go from a job he had coveted. "I really, really missed coaching. But after the season in Boston, I just thought I proved I could do the job."

He is facing a tremendous task in rebuilding the Panthers into the Stanley Cup-caliber team that went to the 1996 finals. The team collapsed last season, and are 14th in the Eastern Conference with a 6-15-2-3 record this season. In the league standings, the Panthers are a point ahead of the Thrashers and and again are in danger of being out of the playoff race by Christmas.

Torrey was in his ninth season as president of the Panthers, joining the team when they first entered the NHL. He replaced Bryan Murray as general manager last Dec. 28.

Sutter became interim coach last December when Terry Murray was fired. Under Sutter, the Panthers finished last season with a 16-24-6 record. He was signed to a long-term deal in June.

"I haven't really studied (the Panthers) much," Keenan said. "Like all teams, it will be a matter of building their confidence, making them believe they can win."

One thing is for sure, Keenan is a coach who likes to have input into changes. As a GM in previous jobs, he was willing to make bold moves. He also likes to use one goalie as the guy to count on. So by the All-Star break, watch for some talk of trades involving either Trevor Kidd (likely) or Roberto Luongo (less likely).

The change will also create a new landscape for star Pavel Bure to buy into Keenan's system. Although Keenan uses a high-tempo offensive system, he will also demand more defense from Bure, more than the Rocket is accustomed.

Al Morganti covers the NHL for ESPN.