Talked to a source today about Florida Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, who has been in waves of trade rumors followed by waves of his name not being mentioned very much. Now the rumors are red hot again since Kulikov was recently a healthy scratch.

The widespread belief has been that the Panthers -- and other teams -- are fearful that the 23-year-old Kulikov will return to Russia to play in the KHL next season.

From what I heard today, the "fear of trading for him is definitely there among NHL teams because nobody really knows what his plans are and he won't say for certain that he plans to stay in the NHL." Dale Tallon is asking for full price on the player, because most everyone (including the Panthers) believes he still has legitimate top pairing potential even though he has not played at that level thus far in his career.

For right now, Florida can afford to be patient. However, as the season moves along, if it becomes clear that Kulikov either:

a) is intent on leaving Florida but remaining in the NHL or

b) will seriously consider a long-term contract in the KHL when he becomes an RFA this summer...

Then suddenly the Panthers lose their leverage...

Stay tuned on this one, because there could be some real interesting twists and turns in the weeks to come.

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