Brock
Registered User
Today, the Florida Panthers held a news conference to announce the completion of two trades, one with the Dallas Stars and the other the San Jose Sharks.
The first trade, completed over a week ago, saw the Panthers ship defenseman Garnett Exelby, prospect Casey Borer and a 2007 mid rounder in exchange for forward Steven Reinprecht and a 2006 late rounder. Exelby has been a part of the Panthers franchise since GM Otten took over 3 years ago.
"It was a numbers game for Mr. Exelby. We were set to come into camp next year with 9 legitimate NHL defenseman and only 7 or 8 spots. Our depth in the scoring department clearly needed help and we used our defensive glut to acquire that help," commented Otten," We are sorry to see Garnett leave, he's a very solid defenseman, but we really like what Reinprecht could bring to our team as our possible second line center over the next few years. We also feel that in a possible new environment he could really blossom offensively."
While Exelby could not be reached for comment, Reinprecht had this to say. "It's a new opportunity for me and my family and I'm very excited about it. Florida is ahead of Dallas in it's rebuilding and is ready to field a competitive team next year, so I hope to lead the Panthers into the playoffs."
In response to the acquisition of Reinprecht, the Panthers then traded center Mike Ribeiro to the San Jose Sharks. Going along with Ribeiro is prospect Ivan Khomutov. Coming back to the Florida is the 27th overall pick in Saturday's draft. The move comes after numerous rumours regarding Ribeiro's position in the organization over the course of the last month.
"We felt that Mike didn't really fit with the direction of the Panthers organization and we wish him the best of luck in San Jose. With that pick, our scouts have several players they want us to look at," said Otten.
"We approached Mr. Otten about Ribeiro to fill our empty center position with the departure of Radek Bonk to free agency. We came to an agreement over our first rounder. Our scouts weren't enthused with the crop of players available at that position, so we felt it was in our best interest to use the pick to address immediate needs within the organization," said GM Dave Astles of San Jose.
With this trade, the Panthers now hold 3 picks on day one of the draft, the 12th and 27th overall as well as a Minnesota 3rd rounder.
Esteban Santour,
Florida Post
The first trade, completed over a week ago, saw the Panthers ship defenseman Garnett Exelby, prospect Casey Borer and a 2007 mid rounder in exchange for forward Steven Reinprecht and a 2006 late rounder. Exelby has been a part of the Panthers franchise since GM Otten took over 3 years ago.
"It was a numbers game for Mr. Exelby. We were set to come into camp next year with 9 legitimate NHL defenseman and only 7 or 8 spots. Our depth in the scoring department clearly needed help and we used our defensive glut to acquire that help," commented Otten," We are sorry to see Garnett leave, he's a very solid defenseman, but we really like what Reinprecht could bring to our team as our possible second line center over the next few years. We also feel that in a possible new environment he could really blossom offensively."
While Exelby could not be reached for comment, Reinprecht had this to say. "It's a new opportunity for me and my family and I'm very excited about it. Florida is ahead of Dallas in it's rebuilding and is ready to field a competitive team next year, so I hope to lead the Panthers into the playoffs."
In response to the acquisition of Reinprecht, the Panthers then traded center Mike Ribeiro to the San Jose Sharks. Going along with Ribeiro is prospect Ivan Khomutov. Coming back to the Florida is the 27th overall pick in Saturday's draft. The move comes after numerous rumours regarding Ribeiro's position in the organization over the course of the last month.
"We felt that Mike didn't really fit with the direction of the Panthers organization and we wish him the best of luck in San Jose. With that pick, our scouts have several players they want us to look at," said Otten.
"We approached Mr. Otten about Ribeiro to fill our empty center position with the departure of Radek Bonk to free agency. We came to an agreement over our first rounder. Our scouts weren't enthused with the crop of players available at that position, so we felt it was in our best interest to use the pick to address immediate needs within the organization," said GM Dave Astles of San Jose.
With this trade, the Panthers now hold 3 picks on day one of the draft, the 12th and 27th overall as well as a Minnesota 3rd rounder.
Esteban Santour,
Florida Post
