Post by Florida Panthers on Feb 16, 2016 18:24:47 GMT -5
The Florida Panthers are an extremely young and talented team that have seem to have their eyes set on competing within the next 2 seasons, however it seems that the fanbase and GM in Florida are expecting to compete as early as next season with their 3 most recent trades.
When asked about acquiring these players which may hurt their chances at finishing near the bottom of the standings, Panthers GM responded with "Anytime you can find ways to upgrade your team you have to take it. Whether that means hurting your lottery chances by a few percent you have to do it. Teams are looking to sell off players now right as the deadline is approaching and this is where you can find the most value for your money. You are able to get players who normally would be worth more in value but due to teams rebuilding they are selling at a discounted value."
"After reviewing our projected roster for next season we find ourselves as a team that would most likely either just squeak into the playoffs as a 6-8th seed or be a team who barely misses the playoffs leaving us with mid round 1st projection. This is when we decided it was time to explore our options and see what was out there in order to build a contending team next year. You take a look around and it is quite disappointing that McDavid got injured as it will probably leave a slight effect into his rating next year but overall the rest of the team has remained healthy and everyone is progressing where they should be. After evaluations we realized this team was in need of a top defenseman to go alongside Ristolainen in order to be competitive at the back end along with some more defensive depth. Up front we felt as though we were a couple pieces away of having quality depth as most of our younger players and rookies are playing well, but perhaps not well enough to contend with the top teams in the conference just yet. However our goaltending is going to be our best asset. With the year Holtby is having he will most likely carry us next year and steal us games we should otherwise end up losing. Not only do we have Holtby, but Cam Ward will provide leadership and great goaltending as our backup. Holtby really was the X-Factor to this team and the reason we are deciding to make a big push for next season as we need to take advantage of the year that he is having and not let it go to waste, like we are this season."
Let's take a look at the 3 trades that Florida has performed so far and break them down:
Florida Panthers Receive:
Lee Stempniak
Buffalo Sabres Receive:
Sergei Kalinin
Alexandre Carrier
Who would have thought that Lee Stempniak would currently have 40 points in the NHL this season, 15 of them being goals? I sure didn't and I am a Devils fan which might be partially why I went after Stempniak and 1 other Devil we will get to later. Kalinin however is a Devil himself and I think he is an all around great player and one that every GM would want on their team in the NHL due to his work ethic and his play in all 3 zones. Carrier was drafted 81st overall by the Panthers in the OGSHL Entry Draft this past season and think he can be a solid defenseman in the future perhaps as a 3rd pairing guy with 2nd pairing upside. We felt that this trade was very fair for both parties involved and made complete sense for the direction we are heading next season especially with Stempniak still at a low overall providing minimal impact on our potential lottery pick.
Florida Panthers Receive:
Mike Cammalleri
Trevor Daley
@chris Receive:
PIT 1st
Conor Sheary
Tyler Wotherspoon
Kyle Quincey
Shawn Horcoff
This trade saw the Panthers give up some solid youth in PITT's 1st, Conor Sheary, and Tyler Wotherspoon. Horcoff and Quincey were then added to match salary to keep Edmonton above the cap floor. Now this trade completely defies all logic when it comes to the Panthers and their trades as they never go after veterans. However, Cammalleri and Daley are quality players who are both performing excellent at the respective ages of 32 and 33. Cammalleri so far has 38 points in 42 games, 14 of them being goals. Trevor Daley now playing for the Penguins in the NHL has 16 points and a -3 rating through 55 games. Cammalleri is currently battling a hand injury and should expect to return within the next 2 weeks which may result in a slight downgrade in his rating for the upcoming year but Cammy is still putting up near a PPG this year while being a +15.
With all the youth that the Panthers have, losing a late 1st round pick, Conor Sheary who was a free agent signing and Tyler Wotherspoon who projects as a 3rd pairing defender was almost a no brainer if they were looking to compete next season.
Florida Panthers Receive:
TJ Brodie
Nick Holden
@timwebb1212 Receive:
Michael Del Zotto (re-signed by Florida)
Trevor Daley
Sven Baertschi
This is without a doubt the biggest trade the Panthers have made since landing McDavid back in December. The Panthers have FINALLY landed a top pairing defenseman they desperately needed to put next to Ristolainen, while also obtaining Nick Holden who is quietly having a great season in the NHL for Colorado and should easily step in on the 2nd or 3rd pairing for the Panthers next season. Baertschi has looked great though over the past 6 weeks in the NHL and perhaps is finally finding his game and can start living up to the hype that was once surrounding him in Calgary not so long ago. Del Zotto is having a down year compared to last year where he put up 32 points in 64 games, but we believe he can bounce back next year. Unfortunately, Trevor Daley had to pack his bags after a short stint in Florida and is now looking for a house to buy in Colorado. The only downside to this trade is that if the Panthers do not finish the season in the bottom 10 they are going to have to send Nick Holden to Free Agency as part of the deal was to sign and trade Del Zotto to Colorado preserving 1 of their 4 re-signs. Currently the Panthers sit 3rd to last in the league and all indications are pointing towards them finishing in the bottom 5 of the league.
So to recap the following has occurred in Florida
IN
TJ Brodie
Mike Cammalleri
Nick Holden
Lee Stempniak
OUT
PIT 1st
Sven Baertschi
Michael Del Zotto
Conor Sheary
Sergei Kalinin
Tyler Wotherspoon
Alexandre Carrier
Kyle Quincey
Shawn Horcoff
Florida Panthers Projected 2016-2017 OGSHL Lineup
Nathan Mackinnon - Connor McDavid - Artemi Panarin
Jonathan Huberdeau - Jack Eichel - Mike Cammalleri
Valeri Nichushkin - Tomas Hertl - Lee Stempniak
Nail Yakupov - Jamie McGinn - Reid Boucher
Paul Gaustad - Tuomo Ruutu
Rasmus Ristolainen - T.J Brodie
Damon Severson - Nick Holden
Jon Merrill - Nate Schmidt
Joel Edmundson
Braden Holtby
Cam Ward
Darcy Kuemper
The Panthers finally look like a team that is ready to contend and make a run at the cup next season. The Panthers though have their eyes set on another prize this year, and that is winning 1 of the 3 lottery spots in this years draft. With their own 1st round pick projected to finish in the bottom 5 the Panthers have a great shot at winning 1 of the lottery positions. Adding another top 5 pick to this lineup will be huge to the organization especially if it ends up being a top 3 pick.
The Panthers still hold Nashville's 1st which projects anywhere from 20-30th overall, which the Panthers GM has been vocal about trading in order to improve their team in any possible way. The Panthers have plenty of top prospects to still trade away and improve the projected lineup above.
"We are still in the market of landing 1 more top line forward and 1 more top defenseman to truly bolster this team, though we feel confident in our current lineup we feel that adding these two pieces will put us into the elite conversation. We want McDavid and Eichel to both succeed and we believe that will indeed happen, but can you imagine having to cover both of them on the 2nd and 3rd lines? We are hoping that will be the case but we will gladly stand where we are at now and see what comes available on the market as we near the trade deadline, or even in the upcoming off-season."
There you have it folks the Florida Panthers are shaping up to make a run at the cup next season, but will these trades end up hurting their chances at a top 3 pick in the draft?
When asked about acquiring these players which may hurt their chances at finishing near the bottom of the standings, Panthers GM responded with "Anytime you can find ways to upgrade your team you have to take it. Whether that means hurting your lottery chances by a few percent you have to do it. Teams are looking to sell off players now right as the deadline is approaching and this is where you can find the most value for your money. You are able to get players who normally would be worth more in value but due to teams rebuilding they are selling at a discounted value."
"After reviewing our projected roster for next season we find ourselves as a team that would most likely either just squeak into the playoffs as a 6-8th seed or be a team who barely misses the playoffs leaving us with mid round 1st projection. This is when we decided it was time to explore our options and see what was out there in order to build a contending team next year. You take a look around and it is quite disappointing that McDavid got injured as it will probably leave a slight effect into his rating next year but overall the rest of the team has remained healthy and everyone is progressing where they should be. After evaluations we realized this team was in need of a top defenseman to go alongside Ristolainen in order to be competitive at the back end along with some more defensive depth. Up front we felt as though we were a couple pieces away of having quality depth as most of our younger players and rookies are playing well, but perhaps not well enough to contend with the top teams in the conference just yet. However our goaltending is going to be our best asset. With the year Holtby is having he will most likely carry us next year and steal us games we should otherwise end up losing. Not only do we have Holtby, but Cam Ward will provide leadership and great goaltending as our backup. Holtby really was the X-Factor to this team and the reason we are deciding to make a big push for next season as we need to take advantage of the year that he is having and not let it go to waste, like we are this season."
Let's take a look at the 3 trades that Florida has performed so far and break them down:
Florida Panthers Receive:
Lee Stempniak
Buffalo Sabres Receive:
Sergei Kalinin
Alexandre Carrier
Who would have thought that Lee Stempniak would currently have 40 points in the NHL this season, 15 of them being goals? I sure didn't and I am a Devils fan which might be partially why I went after Stempniak and 1 other Devil we will get to later. Kalinin however is a Devil himself and I think he is an all around great player and one that every GM would want on their team in the NHL due to his work ethic and his play in all 3 zones. Carrier was drafted 81st overall by the Panthers in the OGSHL Entry Draft this past season and think he can be a solid defenseman in the future perhaps as a 3rd pairing guy with 2nd pairing upside. We felt that this trade was very fair for both parties involved and made complete sense for the direction we are heading next season especially with Stempniak still at a low overall providing minimal impact on our potential lottery pick.
Florida Panthers Receive:
Mike Cammalleri
Trevor Daley
@chris Receive:
PIT 1st
Conor Sheary
Tyler Wotherspoon
Kyle Quincey
Shawn Horcoff
This trade saw the Panthers give up some solid youth in PITT's 1st, Conor Sheary, and Tyler Wotherspoon. Horcoff and Quincey were then added to match salary to keep Edmonton above the cap floor. Now this trade completely defies all logic when it comes to the Panthers and their trades as they never go after veterans. However, Cammalleri and Daley are quality players who are both performing excellent at the respective ages of 32 and 33. Cammalleri so far has 38 points in 42 games, 14 of them being goals. Trevor Daley now playing for the Penguins in the NHL has 16 points and a -3 rating through 55 games. Cammalleri is currently battling a hand injury and should expect to return within the next 2 weeks which may result in a slight downgrade in his rating for the upcoming year but Cammy is still putting up near a PPG this year while being a +15.
With all the youth that the Panthers have, losing a late 1st round pick, Conor Sheary who was a free agent signing and Tyler Wotherspoon who projects as a 3rd pairing defender was almost a no brainer if they were looking to compete next season.
Florida Panthers Receive:
TJ Brodie
Nick Holden
@timwebb1212 Receive:
Michael Del Zotto (re-signed by Florida)
Trevor Daley
Sven Baertschi
This is without a doubt the biggest trade the Panthers have made since landing McDavid back in December. The Panthers have FINALLY landed a top pairing defenseman they desperately needed to put next to Ristolainen, while also obtaining Nick Holden who is quietly having a great season in the NHL for Colorado and should easily step in on the 2nd or 3rd pairing for the Panthers next season. Baertschi has looked great though over the past 6 weeks in the NHL and perhaps is finally finding his game and can start living up to the hype that was once surrounding him in Calgary not so long ago. Del Zotto is having a down year compared to last year where he put up 32 points in 64 games, but we believe he can bounce back next year. Unfortunately, Trevor Daley had to pack his bags after a short stint in Florida and is now looking for a house to buy in Colorado. The only downside to this trade is that if the Panthers do not finish the season in the bottom 10 they are going to have to send Nick Holden to Free Agency as part of the deal was to sign and trade Del Zotto to Colorado preserving 1 of their 4 re-signs. Currently the Panthers sit 3rd to last in the league and all indications are pointing towards them finishing in the bottom 5 of the league.
So to recap the following has occurred in Florida
IN
TJ Brodie
Mike Cammalleri
Nick Holden
Lee Stempniak
OUT
PIT 1st
Sven Baertschi
Michael Del Zotto
Conor Sheary
Sergei Kalinin
Tyler Wotherspoon
Alexandre Carrier
Kyle Quincey
Shawn Horcoff
Florida Panthers Projected 2016-2017 OGSHL Lineup
Nathan Mackinnon - Connor McDavid - Artemi Panarin
Jonathan Huberdeau - Jack Eichel - Mike Cammalleri
Valeri Nichushkin - Tomas Hertl - Lee Stempniak
Nail Yakupov - Jamie McGinn - Reid Boucher
Paul Gaustad - Tuomo Ruutu
Rasmus Ristolainen - T.J Brodie
Damon Severson - Nick Holden
Jon Merrill - Nate Schmidt
Joel Edmundson
Braden Holtby
Cam Ward
Darcy Kuemper
The Panthers finally look like a team that is ready to contend and make a run at the cup next season. The Panthers though have their eyes set on another prize this year, and that is winning 1 of the 3 lottery spots in this years draft. With their own 1st round pick projected to finish in the bottom 5 the Panthers have a great shot at winning 1 of the lottery positions. Adding another top 5 pick to this lineup will be huge to the organization especially if it ends up being a top 3 pick.
The Panthers still hold Nashville's 1st which projects anywhere from 20-30th overall, which the Panthers GM has been vocal about trading in order to improve their team in any possible way. The Panthers have plenty of top prospects to still trade away and improve the projected lineup above.
"We are still in the market of landing 1 more top line forward and 1 more top defenseman to truly bolster this team, though we feel confident in our current lineup we feel that adding these two pieces will put us into the elite conversation. We want McDavid and Eichel to both succeed and we believe that will indeed happen, but can you imagine having to cover both of them on the 2nd and 3rd lines? We are hoping that will be the case but we will gladly stand where we are at now and see what comes available on the market as we near the trade deadline, or even in the upcoming off-season."
There you have it folks the Florida Panthers are shaping up to make a run at the cup next season, but will these trades end up hurting their chances at a top 3 pick in the draft?
