Two out of Three isn't Too Bad

 After four years at the bottom of the standings in the MRFHL, the Florida Panthers are first in the Southeast division and are looking to stay that way. But even with the most success under GM Dylan Wilson, he didn’t hesitate to make some radical and big changes this month.  He sent out the teams top two centers, which included future franchise player Matt Duchene and their Captain Ryan Getzlaf.

 The first in the chain of events had the Panthers send Duchene to frequent trading partner, the Calgary Flames.  The Panthers in return got slick sniper, Bobby Ryan and prospect defenseman, Jake Gardiner. Duchene had struggled early in the season with only 7 points in 18 games, while Ryan had 20 points in 18 games with the Flames. “We had been hounded by the Flames since Derek took over for Duchene, and we had no interest in making a move. That changed once they picked up Ryan and we felt that there was an opportunity to maybe get a deal done. It took a lot of time, till we could get the prospect we wanted included and felt it was safe enough to deal Duchene.  The deal allowed us to not sacrifice the future, and to keep us competitive. Gardiner was definitely a big piece in this deal and gives us just another D that continues to help build what will be the best D in the league in the future.”

 The Panthers then shipped off some depth to the St.Louis Blues for picks. Then they picked up a centre in another trade with the Calgary Flames, in Olli Jokinen. “With the emergence of Justin Braun and the pickup of Gardiner, we felt we could send some of our depth on defense to fill some other holes. Sending Jack Hillen and Brandon Crombeen to the Blues helped us pick up a few picks which we were lacking, that can help us make moves closer to the deadline to get some help. As for Jokinen, we feel with the season he is having it will help us a lot, and will allow us to move Ryan back to the wing. Moving Nikitin was hard but the depth allowed the move. Rynnas is a good goalie prospect but he has been passed by a few guys on the depth chart and was expendable.”

 The Panthers, just a few short hours after picking up Olli, made what was their most shocking deal of the month, and probably biggest under GM Wilson. The Panthers sent out Captain Ryan Getzlaf, prospect Matt Frattin who was highly touted in the organization and a pair of picks for Superstar Sidney Crosby and prospect Nick Shore. Crosby, who has 30 points in 24 games this season, was not on the market but after a bit of negotiation with friend and Pens GM, Brandon Bennett, they quickly found out that a deal had a chance to be made. “To be fair the negotiations started out with Nick Shore, which then resulted in Bennett pursuing Matt Frattin. We really had no interest in moving one of our favourite prospects. But when the discussions turned to us possibly acquiring Sidney Crosby, it was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up. Losing Getz was hard as well but when you have the chance to get the best player in the game, you don’t miss your chance or the window will quickly close.  Nick Shore gets lost in the deal, but we feel he is a talented prospect that can definitely make an impact.”

 After the deal was made, the Panthers have named Sidney Crosby the new captain with the vacancy left by Getzlaf. David Backes and Dan Cleary will continue to serve as the assistants. “We don’t expect to make any more moves in the immediate future, but that could easily change. We like the way our team is headed and our next look is at the trade deadline which we will hope to bolster the roster then. But one thing is for sure, it’s a lot more fun to win than it is to lose.”