Drafting a Meeting

It's one of those meetings that have been circled on the calendar since the Panthers made a huge aquisition back in December. The team will host the Flames on Friday, in a matchup of two teams battling to secure their spots in the playoffs. The game will also have another running storyline, as it will be the first meeting between the two teams since Wilson's management team hired away their amateur scouting staff. Now don't think for a second that this will give Florida a leg-up on Friday, as of course it is well known that any player that the former Flames staff scouted, was not drafted by the team. 

"The scouts have been hard at work for us the past few months, but we've given them a few days off before preparing to scout key matchups in CHL and NCAA playoffs. This will give them a nice opportunity to met some of their former employers, though I'm told by some of the scouts that this will be the first time they've ever actually met the GM (Derek Loftus), as they believed he didn't even know they existed," said GM Dylan Wilson. 

After the game Friday, the Panthers will have 10 games left in their regular season and they sit in a precarious position, in of all places the 2nd wildcard spot. "This is really not where we expected to be. We are in probably the toughest division right now in the MRFHL but we know we are better than where we currently sit. It's going to take a lot of work to really prepare ourselves for the playoffs, but right now we need to concentrate on actually getting in and trying our best to secure home ice advantage." 

With the deadline almsot a week past, many really questioned the moves that were made in Florida at the deadline as the team seemed to be sellers. The team dealt away young defender Brendon Dillon and forward Brad Richarson. "We felt that the addition of Moss (trade), Nelson (farm) and Klinkhammer (waiver) gave us the flexiibility to move out Richardson and give us some breathing room on the cap. The same thing can be said for Dillon, as we knew he was going to get a much bigger raise this off-season and felt Tennyson could fill that role admiralby. We are very concious about our cap situation and sometimes you need to make the move when the situation arises, no matter what time of year it is." 

Dylan did not comment when asked about how close they were to dealing Vlasic or Malkin, as they were rumoured to be on the block.