Panthers make Minor Moves

 With a 3-0 start to the year and a few sellout crowds, the excitement is back in Florida.  Though this past week a few trades have slipped under the radar even though GM Wilson said he would be quiet on the trade front. The team made 3 minor moves this past week, mostly sending prospects and farm players for other prospects and picks, while trying to keep the pro team intact after their great start. "Really all these moves are for the future, nothing effects the team right now and we just continue to set our prospect pool to our liking," said GM Wilson.

 The first deal was sending out Vladimir Zharkov, Michael Caruso and prospect, Geordie Wudrick to Calgary for Defenseman Taylor Aronson and two 5th rounders. "Zharkov was pushed down our system, and while we like him, we'd rather give him a chance elsewhere to suceed. Caruso was a long shot and Geordie, we loved him here and that's why we drafted him but we weren't sure what his future held and we weren't sure if he could make the jump here. We like what we got in Aronson, he's a solid all around guy that we really liked and fits well into the system we are trying to create. Getting the picks is a bonus as we were low on them this year, and even though the rebuild is near the end, it's still crucial we keep the pipeline intact."

 The next deal saw them trade prospect Olivier Fortier to Montreal for Russian prospect Alexander Bumagin. "This is one of those trades where it might not help us, but it won't hurt us. Olivier was never a guy we were too high on. He was here when we arrived and we never had high hopes for him. Alexander is more skilled and much quicker player which we really cherish, though there is some areas he lacks in and could really affect his game. Either way he needs to come over to North America in the next two years for us to hold onto him. We feel we got the better player but we never may see him though. It was a chance we were willing to take."

The final deal was struck today with the Avalanche for another prospect in Matt Frattin. The team dealt prospects Chris Didomenico and Brian Foster in return. "We loved Dido and it was really hard to trade him, he has tremendous skill, and though it may never hit in the pros, he has a tremendous work ethic and heart for the game, which will definatley earn him a spot in the pros. Brian is similar to Fortier in that he was already here and we never were too high on him, though he really jumped at us last year and showed that he can be good, but with Mason, Enroth, Rynnas and Wedgewood already in the system, we felt he was expendable. With Frattin we took a huge risk, but if it pays off it will be a big reward. He is a very talented hockey player who has been on our radar for a while. Matt definatley can play and  that's all we need from him, his skating needs some work but it can be worked on. We really feel like we got a talented player here but we did give up some good pieces to do so."

 "We felt with these trades that we improved our future, we got some talented players but they are all question marks but we are confident in their abilities and that they have the tools to succeed."