Friedman: GM’s Believe Florida Will Strongly Consider Breaking Up Their Core

[Cousin Eddie]

From 31 Thoughts

6. When NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika asked Dale Tallon how the Florida GM felt leaving the BB&T Centre after Sunday’s 3–0 loss to Calgary, Tallon replied, “I was pissed,” adding the Panthers haven’t been the same since a 4–0 defeat in Montreal on Feb. 1. (They are 5-9-2 since.) If Tallon is upset, you can only imagine how owner Vinny Viola feels. Viola dropped more than $100 million — from Sergei Bobrovsky to Joel Quenneville to Anton Stralman, etc. — and while attendance figures have increased a bit, it is still under 14,000 per game. The Panthers are in danger of missing the playoffs for the fourth straight season, and the question being asked is, “What are the consequences?” The are many potential changes on and off the ice, but what has other GMs buzzing is a belief the Panthers will strongly consider breaking up their core because the mix hasn’t worked. Was the Vincent Trocheck deal just the tip of the iceberg?

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[Aceboogie]

Ill take one Ekblad please and one Dadonov please. Hold the sauce

 

[Mighty Makar]

The Avs want Huberdeau, pls.

 

[Malkinstheman]

What they really need to do is fire Tallon

 

[BB88]

Probably shouldn’t be Tallon who does it.

They should keep Barkov/Hubs/Ekblad, no chance they trade them for a win

Tallon gone, Hoffman walks, draft defense, add on defense, wait for Knight(do not trade him).

 

[HawkeyTalkMan]

Huberdeau has already been benched in game a time or two by quenneville

Have to imagine he's definitely gone when tallon and Q sit down at the end of the season and assess the roster

 

[Big Empty]

Barkov, Huberdeau and Ekblad should be untouchable.

 

[Mr Positive]

They may move on from players, but not their core. Their core is basically just Huberdeau, Barkov and Ekblad. The other major pieces were just add-ons.

 

[canuckking1]

Huberdeau has already been benched in game a time or two by quenneville

Have to imagine he's definitely gone when tallon and Q sit down at the end of the season and assess the roster

How exactly can you get fair value on a Franchise level/elite winger? It'd be foolish to trade him.

 

[rt]

As an Arizona fan, I can understand how the Panthers feel. Similar issues.

It feels very much like the core in Arizona is also failing. They brought in Kessel and Hall and aren't scoring any more goals than they did last year without Kessel and Hall. This year's team was upgraded across the board compared to last season's and the results are the same. I think both teams could use a major shake-up. As a result, I wonder if they might be a good match for change-of-scenery trades.

The Arizona beat-writer for the Coyotes at The Athletic, Craig Morgan, has stated emphatically on numerous occasions that Arizona was definitely in on the Trochek sweepstakes. So the two teams have had recent and serious trade discussions about core pieces already.

If they miss the playoffs, I could see Arizona considering seriously moving on from 2-3 of Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Alex Goligoski, Jason Demers, Derek Stepan, and/or Phil Kessel. Perhaps there is a fit for one or two of those names in Florida, with some core Panthers pieces coming back the other way. OEL is obviously the big-fish in that group. But I know that Joel Quenneville is also a huge fan of Niklas Hjalmarsson. So perhaps there could be something there, as well.

If Arizona misses the playoffs, and if Taylor Hall walks (which is likely if they miss), I fully expect them to fire their coaching staff, and look to make major shake-up trades. I could absolutely see OEL being a candidate in that. With Tocchet gone, Kessel would likely be open to waiving his NMC. I could see some salary retention options on some of the shorter veteran deals like Kessel, Stepan, Goligoski, etc.

Sorry for the long, rambling post about Arizona in the Florida thread. But I think both teams are at a cross-roads and might be in a position to pull off a blockbuster style trade with each other to really shake things up.

 

[Stephen]

They may move on from players, but not their core. Their core is basically just Huberdeau, Barkov and Ekblad. The other major pieces were just add-ons.

Isn't the implication that they may trade one of them?

 

[Mr Positive]

Isn't the implication that they may trade one of them?

sometimes people use the word "core" more loosely than we might. As in, any major player. For instance, Yandle plays a lot, and so some might say he's in the core.

 

[rt]

sometimes people use the word "core" more loosely than we might. As in, any major player. For instance, Yandle plays a lot, and so some might say he's in the core.

What would the non-UFA, non Barkov, Huberdeau, and Ekblad core be? Connolly, Yandle, Stralman, and Matheson?

 

[Stephen]

sometimes people use the word "core" more loosely than we might. As in, any major player. For instance, Yandle plays a lot, and so some might say he's in the core.

You might be right, though I suspect no one's clicking on an article speculating about the big Weegar, Matheson, Dadonov, Stralman, Yandle sell off.

 

[BB88]

Huberdeau has already been benched in game a time or two by quenneville

Have to imagine he's definitely gone when tallon and Q sit down at the end of the season and assess the roster

77 points in 66 games, 5.9M cap hit, 26y old.

How on earth do you win a trade like that?

 

[llamateizer]

Any grinding 4th line available? asking for a friend

 

[Hasbro]

 

[GoldenSeal]

Roster is sound, GM is better than people give credit for, the HC is the problem. Not enough buy in for what should be a dangerous roster to play against. Coach Q is not the same as he was in days past and isn't the right coach for this core anyway.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

The Ducks will take Barkov, Dadanov and Ekblad plz

 

[Canadian Canuck]

Huberdeau to Vancouver please. Take Podkolzin+Few Solid roster players+1st?

 

[themelkman]

Dadonov come on down to the sharks

 

[Kaner9]

Theres some good pieces there Getting Huby would be excellent. I actually like Matheson too.

 

[greasysnapper]

Tallon's one of the biggest con artists in the league. He's well on his way to doing the exact same thing to 2 straight organizations; got lucky high in the draft with lotto picks, and then burned away the future with terrible long term signings. The Panthers need a Bowman to come in and work his magic, because that team has issues and problems up and down that lineup.

Here's the good news though for Tallon: Driedger is back. If he can play like they did before his injury, and they actually play him over Bob, they could MAYBE salvage this season.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

Barkov, Huberdeau and Ekblad should be untouchable.

I was thinking Ekblad would be the one to trade. Trade value possibly much larger than actual value.

 

[jetsforever]

So they'll trade someone like... Trocheck?