Well it was a wild Saturday for the Florida Panthers.
GM Dale Tallon decided to start pulling the trigger on helping his first place team in the short and long term as the Panthers attempt to stun the league with a deep playoff run.
Within a couple hours Jiri Hudler, Teddy Purcell, and Jakub Kindl were acquired for various draft picks. Tallon did not want to give up his #1 pick or any roster players or prospects.
Mission accomplished.
With the addition of these players the Panthers became a team that has 3 lines that can score. Expect Hudler and Purcell to be centered by Nick Bjugstad when Jonathan Huberdeau returns from injury.
It was just reported that Derek MacKenzie has been placed on injured reserve. This is surprising since he played 25 shifts yesterday in Columbus and was never noticeably injured. It is being described as an upper body injury (concussion-like symptoms) and is not considered serious.
Adding these new players just became that much more important.
The injury bug that has been plaguing the Panthers has been unfortunate, but with the good play of Greg McKegg and Kyle Rau, the Panthers should be able to hang on until they get back to full health. Quinton Howden is reportedly ready to return as soon as today against Minnesota.
All of a sudden this roster has become a numbers game, and it appears Brandon Pirri will be the odd man out. The only place there was room for him on this roster before these trades was on the 3rd line with Bjugstad. Statistically speaking, that is not a good match. Pirri is another injured player but is slated to return over the next few weeks.
Tallon doesn't like giving up a ton of draft picks so expect Pirri to be dealt for at least a pick. There is at least one team out west that have offered what Tallon is looking for for Pirri. My guess is it's the Kings or Ducks, but that is just speculation.
Back in the summer of 2011 Tallon went on a historic spending spree just to make this beleaguered franchise competitive. That resulted in the first division title in franchise history and the first playoff berth in a dozen seasons.
Now the goal is to make sure the Cats will do damage once in the postseason. Guys like Hudler and Purcell will go a long way towards making the opposition's life miserable.
When asked if the Panthers were done with their roster upgrades, Tallon responded, "who says we're done?"
Dan Spiegel
Florida Panthers Media
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