Prowling Panthers Pounce On The Deadline!
May 18, 2021 13:45:05 GMT -5
Toronto Maple Leafs, Dustin Mooy, and 6 more like this
Post by Florida Panthers on May 18, 2021 13:45:05 GMT -5
The 2021 VHL trade deadline definitely lived up to the hype and the Florida Panthers were a big part of the reason why. 4 separate deals of different varieties were executed by the Panthers with the biggest coming in the final half hour of the deadline.
We’ll tackle them in the order in which they were done.
To Florida Panthers :
Jesperi Kotkaniemi
To Colorado Avalanche :
Yegor Chinakhov
Joel Blomqvist
LOS 1st 2021
The paperwork for this trade was sent in about a week ago, and it may seem odd for a team like Florida to be shipping out prospects and draft picks, but this deal makes more sense once you dive into it. So lets dive in! Kotkaniemi is still only 20, about 8 months older than Chinakhov, and he’s already played 171 NHL games. Some GM’s seem to have already written him off but not Rensby-Wills.
“Kotkaniemi has tremendous upside, he’s still growing and becoming a legitimate centre in the NHL/VHL. It’s always tough giving up young players you drafted but this is a calculated move and we think it benefits both teams going forward.”
Now Dallas isn’t at risk of losing Kotkaniemi for nothing at expansion, or paying a high cost to keep him. Instead they add to their already stocked cupboard of prospects, and gain a first round pick to boot. This trade is a win-win in our eyes.
To Florida Panthers :
Lucas Wallmark
Dmitri Ovchinnikov
To Minnesota Wild :
Joe Thornton ($475,000 retained)
Panther fans, and of course teammates, will be sad to see Jumbo go. But he’s off to the promised land to try to win himself a Cup. The Panthers captain signed a 3 year deal in the offseason in the sunshine state but has now found himself heading to the frigid cold of the state of hockey in exchange for Lucas Wallmark and prospect Dmitri Ovchinnikov. Thornton slots in nicely as a third line centre in Minny, which is looking like a real cup contender after multiple additions at the deadline. GM Rensby-Wills had this to say.
“Jumbo is a great guy, he loved playing here and was loved by our 1200 fans but this is a business. After losing Yegor Chinakhov we had to address our need for a Russian prospect and did just that with Ovchinnikov. He’s a dynamic offensive threat with plenty of upside but that comes with a risk. He’s less likely to reach his ceiling compared to Chinakhov but one could argue that Ovchinnikov has the higher ceiling. We’re very happy with this deal.”
Ovchinnikov might not be a 1st round pick but the talent is there, IF he makes an impact it likely won’t be for quite some time. Many GM’s will see getting any sort of return for Thornton as a positive though. I wouldn’t say there’s a clear winner in this trade but would lean slightly towards Minny here, this trade helps them now and at the very least next season.
To Florida Panthers :
ANA 1st 2023
Mike Green
Frank Vatrano
To Dustin Mooy :
Nate Schmidt
Lucas Wallmark
CGY 2nd 2021
STL 2nd 2022
Talks with Anaheim had been ongoing for the better part of 2 months, although in these discussions it’s believed that Nate Schmidt hadn’t been talked about until the past week. Nate Schmidt’s offensive numbers may be down in the NHL but make no mistake, he’s still a legit top 4 d man that can help a team at both ends of the ice. Lucas Wallmark had a cool, 45 minute stay in Florida before being shipped off which makes sense from Florida’s perspective. Wallmark doesn’t fit their future plans or their current plans for that matter, but he adds much needed depth to the Anaheim lineup. Obviously the 2023 1st round pick is the main piece coming back for Florida but make no mistake, Frank Vatrano is a valuable piece for any team. Word is discussions for an extension have already begun.
“This deal made too much sense for us to pass up. Adding another 1st round pick in the 2023 draft is huge for us but the addition of Vatrano is a nice little bonus. He adds a scoring touch and is still relatively young at 27(a veteran on the Panthers though). We hope we can come to an agreement to get him to stay in Florida.”
Mike Green is also heading to Florida, he’s probably happy that he can now post up in a no state tax retirement setup. This trade is a tough read, Schmidts value may have dipped but he’s still a great d man. It all really rides on where that 2023 1st round pick ends up, only time will tell.
To Florida Panthers :
Ben Bishop
Oliver Wahlstrom
DAL 2nd 2021
DAL 3rd 2023
To Colorado Avalanche :
Marc-Andre Fleury
Now we move onto our final, and biggest deal of the day for Florida. In the final hour of the deadline, Dallas GM Jussi Kalmi shot Rensby-Wills a message asking about Fleury(as did a couple other GM’s). If anyone had the pieces to pay the high asking price for Fleury it was Dallas. The deal came together rather quickly and saw a return including a high end prospect heading back to Florida. Oliver Wahlstrom is having a solid first season in the NHL, putting up 21 points in 44 games while averaging only 12 minutes of ice time! Soon to be turning 21, he fits right in with the core group in Florida. Other pieces coming back are a couple draft picks and pending UFA Ben Bishop, who had a rough year not playing a single NHL game due to injury. Is there a chance he re signs in Florida? We asked GM Rensby-Wills.
“We’ve had preliminary talks with Ben and his agent. It’s a tough contract to negotiate due to the nature of his injury but we’re hoping we can get something done there, and hope he can recover fully and be ready for next season!”
I think everybody and their mother knew Fleury’s time in Florida was limited. Rumour was he would stick around until after the expansion draft but this is the nature of the VHL, anything can happen. If Bishop stays in Florida, comes back from injury next season and performs pretty well he becomes another trade chip for Florida. Wahlstrom has elite goal scoring potential and the draft picks are the cherry on top. It was a lot to pay but Dallas got exactly what they needed. An elite #1 goalie for the next 2.5 years. Look for Fleury to be a top rated goalie in the VHL next season. This deal is another win-win, fans of both teams should be very happy.
What a day! You love to see all of the activity around the VHL. While fans of some teams may be disappointed with the lack of action by their clubs, they had to have be happy with all of the action around the rest of the league. This is why we love the VHL, the GM’s have balls and are willing to take risks and make BBB moves. And none of this could be done without the extraordinary staff that work tirelessly to give GM’s and fans the best experience possible. We thank you!
Coming up in a future article we will take a look into the youth and prospect pool of the Florida Panthers!
We’ll tackle them in the order in which they were done.
To Florida Panthers :
Jesperi Kotkaniemi
To Colorado Avalanche :
Yegor Chinakhov
Joel Blomqvist
LOS 1st 2021
The paperwork for this trade was sent in about a week ago, and it may seem odd for a team like Florida to be shipping out prospects and draft picks, but this deal makes more sense once you dive into it. So lets dive in! Kotkaniemi is still only 20, about 8 months older than Chinakhov, and he’s already played 171 NHL games. Some GM’s seem to have already written him off but not Rensby-Wills.
“Kotkaniemi has tremendous upside, he’s still growing and becoming a legitimate centre in the NHL/VHL. It’s always tough giving up young players you drafted but this is a calculated move and we think it benefits both teams going forward.”
Now Dallas isn’t at risk of losing Kotkaniemi for nothing at expansion, or paying a high cost to keep him. Instead they add to their already stocked cupboard of prospects, and gain a first round pick to boot. This trade is a win-win in our eyes.
To Florida Panthers :
Lucas Wallmark
Dmitri Ovchinnikov
To Minnesota Wild :
Joe Thornton ($475,000 retained)
Panther fans, and of course teammates, will be sad to see Jumbo go. But he’s off to the promised land to try to win himself a Cup. The Panthers captain signed a 3 year deal in the offseason in the sunshine state but has now found himself heading to the frigid cold of the state of hockey in exchange for Lucas Wallmark and prospect Dmitri Ovchinnikov. Thornton slots in nicely as a third line centre in Minny, which is looking like a real cup contender after multiple additions at the deadline. GM Rensby-Wills had this to say.
“Jumbo is a great guy, he loved playing here and was loved by our 1200 fans but this is a business. After losing Yegor Chinakhov we had to address our need for a Russian prospect and did just that with Ovchinnikov. He’s a dynamic offensive threat with plenty of upside but that comes with a risk. He’s less likely to reach his ceiling compared to Chinakhov but one could argue that Ovchinnikov has the higher ceiling. We’re very happy with this deal.”
Ovchinnikov might not be a 1st round pick but the talent is there, IF he makes an impact it likely won’t be for quite some time. Many GM’s will see getting any sort of return for Thornton as a positive though. I wouldn’t say there’s a clear winner in this trade but would lean slightly towards Minny here, this trade helps them now and at the very least next season.
To Florida Panthers :
ANA 1st 2023
Mike Green
Frank Vatrano
To Dustin Mooy :
Nate Schmidt
Lucas Wallmark
CGY 2nd 2021
STL 2nd 2022
Talks with Anaheim had been ongoing for the better part of 2 months, although in these discussions it’s believed that Nate Schmidt hadn’t been talked about until the past week. Nate Schmidt’s offensive numbers may be down in the NHL but make no mistake, he’s still a legit top 4 d man that can help a team at both ends of the ice. Lucas Wallmark had a cool, 45 minute stay in Florida before being shipped off which makes sense from Florida’s perspective. Wallmark doesn’t fit their future plans or their current plans for that matter, but he adds much needed depth to the Anaheim lineup. Obviously the 2023 1st round pick is the main piece coming back for Florida but make no mistake, Frank Vatrano is a valuable piece for any team. Word is discussions for an extension have already begun.
“This deal made too much sense for us to pass up. Adding another 1st round pick in the 2023 draft is huge for us but the addition of Vatrano is a nice little bonus. He adds a scoring touch and is still relatively young at 27(a veteran on the Panthers though). We hope we can come to an agreement to get him to stay in Florida.”
Mike Green is also heading to Florida, he’s probably happy that he can now post up in a no state tax retirement setup. This trade is a tough read, Schmidts value may have dipped but he’s still a great d man. It all really rides on where that 2023 1st round pick ends up, only time will tell.
To Florida Panthers :
Ben Bishop
Oliver Wahlstrom
DAL 2nd 2021
DAL 3rd 2023
To Colorado Avalanche :
Marc-Andre Fleury
Now we move onto our final, and biggest deal of the day for Florida. In the final hour of the deadline, Dallas GM Jussi Kalmi shot Rensby-Wills a message asking about Fleury(as did a couple other GM’s). If anyone had the pieces to pay the high asking price for Fleury it was Dallas. The deal came together rather quickly and saw a return including a high end prospect heading back to Florida. Oliver Wahlstrom is having a solid first season in the NHL, putting up 21 points in 44 games while averaging only 12 minutes of ice time! Soon to be turning 21, he fits right in with the core group in Florida. Other pieces coming back are a couple draft picks and pending UFA Ben Bishop, who had a rough year not playing a single NHL game due to injury. Is there a chance he re signs in Florida? We asked GM Rensby-Wills.
“We’ve had preliminary talks with Ben and his agent. It’s a tough contract to negotiate due to the nature of his injury but we’re hoping we can get something done there, and hope he can recover fully and be ready for next season!”
I think everybody and their mother knew Fleury’s time in Florida was limited. Rumour was he would stick around until after the expansion draft but this is the nature of the VHL, anything can happen. If Bishop stays in Florida, comes back from injury next season and performs pretty well he becomes another trade chip for Florida. Wahlstrom has elite goal scoring potential and the draft picks are the cherry on top. It was a lot to pay but Dallas got exactly what they needed. An elite #1 goalie for the next 2.5 years. Look for Fleury to be a top rated goalie in the VHL next season. This deal is another win-win, fans of both teams should be very happy.
What a day! You love to see all of the activity around the VHL. While fans of some teams may be disappointed with the lack of action by their clubs, they had to have be happy with all of the action around the rest of the league. This is why we love the VHL, the GM’s have balls and are willing to take risks and make BBB moves. And none of this could be done without the extraordinary staff that work tirelessly to give GM’s and fans the best experience possible. We thank you!
Coming up in a future article we will take a look into the youth and prospect pool of the Florida Panthers!
