Mannheim overhauls import lineup

No less than eight foreign players will not be returning to the Mannheim squad that takes to the ice for the 2009-10 season. After dropping their semifinal series to Berlin, management decided it was time to make major changes if the club wanted to get back to their winning ways. Shortly before the play-offs, Dave King was released from his coaching duties. Now, the core players from the last couple of seasons have also been cut loose. Among them are Francois Bouchard, Rene Corbet, Jason Jaspers, Rick Girard, Blake Sloan, Prestin Ryan, Andy Schneider and Jason King. Jaspers has already moved on to Cologne while Girard will don an Ingolstadt Panther uniform come fall.