Panthers Primer VOL 3 - From Pretender to Contender
Jul 11, 2022 9:32:24 GMT -5
Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks, and 5 more like this
Post by Florida Panthers on Jul 11, 2022 9:32:24 GMT -5
Before we get started on this 3rd edition of the Panthers Primer we would like to congratulate The Jussi Kalmi on winning the VHL Stanley Cup! What a run!
Now let’s get down to business, and today’s business is a flurry of trades that the Florida Panthers made that will hopefully propel them to similar success that The Dallas Stars had this post season. The Panthers have added 3 top pair defencemen in Roman Josi, Erik Karlsson, and Ryan McDonagh. These additions, along with Devon Toews, Evan Bouchard, and Alexander Romanov have built what is quite possibly the best defensive core in the VHL. In this process the Panthers have truly decimated the depth of their prospect pool but let’s just pretend that didn’t happen! Now, let’s break down each trade and get some comments from the GM.
Dante Fabbro
Cam York
Cole Perfetti(p)
Jesperi Kotkaniemi
FLA 2nd 2022(41st ov)
Mackie Samoskevich(p)
Oskar steen(RFA)
Roman Josi - $2m retained ($6m salary)
Jordan Staal - half retained ($2.3m salary)
This one is a doozie and quite possibly the biggest trade GM Rensby-Wills has ever made. Buffalo GM Scott Davidson made it clear that the Sabres need a re tool and some young blood injected to the lineup, while GM Rensby-Wills needed a veteran presence on his team and more firepower on the back end. Much to the surprise of the rest of the league, these rival GM’s made a trade that really makes sense for both of these teams moving forward. The Sabres not only acquire young roster players in Fabbro and Kotkaniemi but they also gain 3 talented prospects in Perfetti, York, and Samoskevich. While Florida added 2 veteran players including stud defenceman Roman Josi.
“We gave up a lot in this trade, it really wasn’t easy trading away Cole Perfetti who will probably terrorize this team down the road. But we felt this move was crucial for this team moving forward if we wanted to compete with the likes of Columbus, Tampa, and the rest of the murderer’s row in the Eastern Conference. Roman Josi is a top 3 D man in this league and has been named Captain of the Florida Panthers with the departure of Patrick Marleau. We believe he’s the perfect player to help lead this team back into the playoffs and we think he will compliment Devon Toews perfectly on our top pair. Plus, he’s the best looking guy in this league, guys are going to love hitting the bars with this guy to get his sloppy seconds. Staal joins this team as an Assistant Captain and really shores up our centre depth and will make our 3rd line tough to play against. Off ice he will keep our youngsters in line after they get wild at the Florida strip clubs. We may have a great rivalry with Buffalo but coming to terms with this trade was relatively easy, I think we both acknowledged the position we were in and that this trade made a lot of sense for both clubs. We wish Scott all the best with this Sabres re tool, he’s going to need it.”
We foresee many Bearacudda visits in Scott’s future.
Justin Schultz
Patrick Marleau
Carson Lambos(p)
Ryker Evans(p)
FLA 2nd 2024
Antti Suomela
*LA holds $3.375m in salary on McDonagh
FLA 3rd 2023
Jonathan Aspirot
*Vancouver holds $1.6875m in salary on McDonagh
Ryan McDonagh @ $1.6875m
WSH 3rd 2022
Not quite the blockbuster the Josi trade was but this deal for McDonagh could have just as much impact. Again, Florida gives up quite a bit to acquire McDonagh at a discounted AAV, but they also dump a fair bit of cap (Schultz, Marleau). Getting McDonagh and his salary down to $1.6875mil was key for the Panthers. While getting blue chip prospect defender Carson Lambos was key for LA. Vancouver picks up a draft pick for holding a small amount of salary, win-win-win. The only question is, can Florida re-sign McDonagh? It’s looking unlikely.
“Giving up Lambos AND Evans was a kick in the dick for the defensive side of our prospect pool. With that being said, we feel that McDonagh brings a ton of value to our second pair and our group in general. He won’t be wearing an ‘A’ but his voice will be heard both on and off the ice as a strong veteran presence. He will still make an impact at both ends of the ice as well and getting him so cheap gives up some cap flexibility to make other adds down the road. Him and Karlsson could be a top D pair on many teams in this league and to have that as our second pair is something we will not take for granted.”
Yep, that’s right there is still one more top end D man coming to Florida.
To @hurricanesgm
Dillon Dube
Ozzy Wiesblatt(p)
Simon Holmstrom
Adam Beckman
Brett Seney
*Carolina holds $4mil in salary on Erik Karlsson
Jeremie Poirier(p)
Sebastien Repo
*Chicago holds $2mil in salary on Erik Karlsson
Erik Karlsson @ $2mil
ANA 3rd 2024
Just when you thought they were done the Panthers pull off another huge trade bringing in a high-end veteran D man. Karlsson brings it all, experience, skill, leadership, and that beautiful hair. Once again, the Panthers prospect pool gets even thinner but if this team is going all in this upcoming season, it makes sense. And again, they are getting a top pair D man at a sweet discount. Carolina begins a retool by adding youth and Chicago gets a solid prospect as compensation for holding salary, another win-win-win.
“This trade took a long time to hammer out, but it was worth the wait. Getting Karlsson’s salary down like McDonagh’s was key here to help with our cap flexibility. He’s someone we’ve targeted since before the trade deadline and are extremely happy to have landed him. He will be wearing an ‘A’ on his jersey here even though he’s a guy who could easily be wearing the ’C’. Losing young depth (Dube) and more prospects was tough but we are sick of rebuilding and are ready to make a statement. We can’t wait forever for these young players to make an impact.”
3 veteran D men, now a completely difference defensive core. This team is beginning to look like more of a contender than a bottom of the barrel squad, but will it be enough? The East is a tough conference, and it will be far from easy to make the playoffs let alone make a playoff run. Only time will tell but these Panthers are hungry for more than just lotto wins.
Projected 2022/23 Lineup
Timo Meier - Mika Zibanejed - Drake Batherson
Seth Jarvis - Anthony Cirelli - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Alexander Barabanov - Jordan Staal ‘A’ - Eric Robinson
William Carrier - ? - Oliver Wahlstrom
?
Devon Toews - Roman Josi ‘C’
Ryan McDonagh - Erik Karlsson ‘A’
Alexander Romanov - Evan Bouchard
Martin Fehervary
Connor Hellebuyck
?
Top Prospects:
1. William Eklund
2. Jesper Wallstedt
3. Shane Pinto
4. Jakob Pelletier
5. Scott Morrow
