George Richards, FHN Publisher
The Florida Panthers have already been active before the NHL Trade Deadline hits Monday at 3 p.m. but there is a big fish still out there in Claude Giroux. General manager Bill Zito is working on landing him.
In this edition of the FHN Mailbag, many of you had questions about the Trade Deadline and how it will all flesh out for the Panthers.
There is plenty of smoke coming out of Philadelphia that Giroux is, indeed, headed to Sunrise.
So, why has it not happened (as of Friday afternoon) yet?
It could be that a deal is not done — hearing this is the case — and it could also be the Panthers have to make some moves to facilitate fitting Giroux in under current cap and roster constraints.
Let’s not forget, the Panthers have a game to play in Anaheim tonight. They already have some things to shift around if Patric Hornqvist is not able to play, for instance.
Again, the deadline is not until Monday.
If Florida and Philadelphia have a deal in place — also very plausible — it could just be on hold until closer to Monday. That allows Florida to play its game tonight and then begin moving stuff around.
Giroux would not have played tonight in Anaheim and, with the Panthers not playing again until next Thursday in Montreal, there is no real rush here. They know when the deadline is and it’s not today.
This is not your typical deadline deal. Giroux has a full no-trade clause so he controls where he wants to go. There are not eight contending teams trying to outbid one another here.
Be patient. Looks like the main parties are.
With that said, it’s time for the Mailbag!
Hi George, if the Panthers do make it the finals and win, would Frank be included on the cup? — Art K
What’s up Mr. McJinx? There is another question regarding the Florida Panthers’ Cup engraving down below but this one is pretty easy: Yes.
The rule, as of a couple of years ago, was 41 games played. Frank Vatrano, traded on Wednesday, played in 49 — and has been on the roster the entire season.
So, if the Panthers were to win it all, Vatrano would get his name on the Cup and a nice fat ring.
Besides Owen Tippett what else would it take to get Giroux, also what other moves do you see the Panthers doing maybe a Colin Blackwell or Justin Braun? — @Afoldes81
Yeah, I don’t think Tippett alone is going to do it. Not by a long shot. As much as I like Tippett and think, with a pronounced role on the team, he is going to thrive in the future. Philly would be getting a good player with plenty of upside — but, again, he won’t get it done.
Florida does not have much draft capital anymore and I do not seeing them trade the 2024 first-round pick and leave them with three years of no first-round picks. As far as those two mentioned, I think Florida is OK when it comes to bottom-6 forwards although if other moves were made, they may come around to making a move in that direction.
Loved Frankie, but this is as much a testament to our insane dept than anything else. two and a half mill a year is too much for a guy who, if everyone is healthy, would most likely be a healthy scratch most nights, that money can be better allocated, say to maybe renting a legit top line right winger, maybe with the first name Claude, maybe? — SurveyJay
Well, Giroux played his 1,000th game with the Flyers last night so now everyone is on the clock as he goes.
Word is he really wants to come to the Panthers although the Flyers have been underwhelmed by their offer. I heard this on Wednesday morning.
Florida was not offering its first-round pick in 2023 and, as I assumed correctly, that’s because they were going to use that for a defenseman. If Giroux says he’ll only come to the Panthers — and Florida knows this — that definitely alters the offer.
Remember when Giancarlo Stanton told the Marlins he would only go to a handful of teams? The Marlins certainly did not get what Stanton was worth but with such a limited market, they got what they could from the Yankees. Philadelphia may end up being in a similar spot.
George, it is near universally known the Cats have a great locker room this season. Can you give some examples (name them names, man!) of players who did not contribute to a healthy locker room/team dynamic in the past? — Ed Purchase
Ed, I am not the guy to dish on locker room poisons mainly because I think fans can figure some of them out for themselves. You all watch the interviews, right? You can tell sometimes.
As far as this team goes, I can say without a doubt Florida has no such problems these days. They have in the past. They do not anymore.
Hi GR! Thanks for everything you do for the Panthers! What exactly happened to Nutivaara that he’s been injured the whole season? He played in one game this season, so can’t imagine this is all a result of anything that happened in game. I assume they’re going to let him walk after the season since he’s barely played to show his value to the team in the future. — Benjamin Barman
Hi BB! Markus Nutivaara got hurt the day before the season when he went full-speed into the cage and had to miss some time. He came back for one game and just couldn’t do it anymore. It looks like he had either hip surgery or sports hernia surgery.
Regardless, he is now skating and should be available for the playoffs. Florida needs his LTIR money to stay under the cap until then.
As far as his future, yeah, it is easy to say he’ll be gone and perhaps he will. But Florida is going to be under a cap crunch next year and him coming back on a cheap, one-year deal is not out of the realm of possibility. Let’s see what he gives the Panthers (if nothing but some depth) upon his return.
Any discussions about an extension for Marchment and the priority on getting an extension done before the off-season? I feel like he is a huge asset and has capabilities to play up and down the lineup. — Joe
I asked Zito about this a few weeks ago and he said yeah, he has spoken to Mason’s agent. I would be surprised if a deal gets done. Marchment, simply, is going to be too expensive for the Panthers to keep.
With his numbers, someone is going to hook him up with a really nice deal.
Marchment is going to get paid this summer and unless he gives the Panthers a hometown discount — a heavy one at that — Florida just cannot afford it. Florida is basically renting its own guy at this point so enjoy what you get out of him from here on out.
Shame they couldn’t get more than a fourth round pick. Fair trade? — Jon Baldwin
Hi Jon. Yeah, Vatrano went cheap, no doubt. The Rangers got themselves a gamer who, I think, is going to light things up upon getting to Broadway and may get himself a new deal from New York. Everyone knew Florida had to move his money so they lowballed the offer — knowing the Panthers would have to take it. This was not your usual deadline deal.
Hello! I think the Panthers need a sniper with Barkov, someone like Laine. Is Laine a possibility? Do you think Zito is going for a Rental ? Thanks — Miguel Villanueva
Hey there! Sasha Barkov and Patrik Laine would love to play together — the two are best buds and man, would seeing those two be fun — but Columbus is not dealing him just yet. The Blue Jackets think something can be worked out between now and next year’s deadline so they are going to try and make it work.
GR….great work …much appreciated by all us Cat fans….now, .hypothetical question : Panthers win the Cup….of course in normal circumstances, Q (if he left for health reasons, for example) gets his name on the Cup…..but …in this case ….yes or no? PC aside….I believe he would be most deserving ….your thoughts? Thank you and keep up the good word!! — Phil Gallo
PG….thanks man….appreciate the support….this is a great question and one Vinnie Viola will have to answer at the appropriate time….right now, I would say it doesn’t happen….joel quenneville resigned, and (officially) has no role with the team….the winning team has a certain number of spots on the Cup for front office types and whatnot so, yeah, Q could end up on it….time will tell!!
Deadline! Is there anyone that you think the Panthers have to have? With the team so close to the cap, I would prefer them to keep the team together. If anything I would prefer a tough guy to help protect Barkov, Hubby, Ekblad, etc from being run at during playoffs. — fan4pan
Done deal! This question obviously came in before the Ben Chiarot deal and he’s not afraid to run people. But has anyone taken liberties with this team lately? I don’t think that’s a concern anymore. These guys all stand up for one another. Again, the Panthers are a team who can run you out of the building — and aren’t afraid to rough you up a little if things get feisty.
What in the world does “six-strength defenseman” mean? — Jack Powell
I don’t know, it was a typo. Zito said “size-strength” defenseman and it was fixed Wednesday night.
Hi George — love the news letter — with all the talent offensively the cats have — I thought the Ben C trade was awesome with a big bruising defenseman as a trade !!! Do you really think the Cats need someone like Giroux to come in ~. Just seems whoever they give up is going to be too much for a guy at the tail end of his career. They got Jumbo and Horny to have the experience factor not be overlooked. Just seems like this might be a questionable trade to value ??? Your thoughts???? All the best — Go Cats Go !!! — Louie Barone
Hi Louie — thanks. We’ll see what happens before Monday but if you have a chance to get a high-end talent like Giroux, you make a run at him. As much as the Panthers rely on Thornton and Hornqvist, Giroux gives you a legit top-6 option those two do not. Giroux would be a rental, no doubt about that. But he could be a difference maker for the right price.
Hi George From the outside it seems the Panthers are a very tight group. Is there any concern that by making these trades the team chemistry is altered? I like the aggressive nature of the moves but it’s not like the Panthers were barely in the playoffs and how much did they really need to improve to be competitive? — Doug Saunders
Hi Doug The Panthers did not make these moves because they are trying to make a push. They are trying to win it all. True, this is a very tight-knit group and no one is more aware of changing chemistry than Bill Zito. He has made that clear. If they did not think Ben Chiarot would be a good fit, they wouldn’t have made the deal.
And, as much as everyone on the team loved Frank Vatrano, the reality is he may not have seen a whole lot of playing time moving forward when Anton Lundell and Ryan Lomberg come back. Is Vatrano a better offensive player than Lomberg? Yeah.
But that fourth line was doing some damage with him on it. Having Vatrano not playing and having to cheer his teammates on — regardless of how good his attitude about it has been — wouldn’t be good for morale, either. Players hate seeing their peers put in that situation.
So much of the national media that I’ve seen says the Panthers overpaid for this trade…I suspect this is just what the market looks like, especially since Chychrun got hurt. What say you George and Colby? — Jon Baldwin
Yeah, I mean, sure. A lot of media thought Chiarot was going to go for a second round pick but I never thought so. Listen, the Panthers got a guy they really wanted for a first-round pick and a prospect. The fourth-round pick was thrown in to save $1.75 million off the cap. That’s about what I thought it would cost two months ago. Is what it is.
George, I need to call out the Panther fans that are the most active on Twitter/social media. They know who they are. They think they are experts.
It’s nothing but praise for GM Bill Zito, up until a trade they don’t like, and then it’s “Zito is overpaying – what is he doing?” Too much time reading analytics “experts” that don’t do anything but criticize hockey players from their couches.
This happened last year with the Bennett trade, but anybody who had actually watched Calgary in the playoffs knew his game was built for the playoffs. Was Calgary’s best player in two playoffs consecutively when their stars went cold.
How about trusting the guy who turned this perennially disappointing and underperforming team into a cup contender in less than a year and a half on the job?
Be better, Panther fans. — Mickey
I’m not calling anyone out Mickey. But you go right ahead.
With a second round of the “reverse retro” jerseys supposedly being unveiled in the ‘22-‘23 season, will we get a red variant of the scheme we saw with the 2020 versions? Follow up question: if the second “retro” is indeed introduced, will ownership finally answer the call by the majority of the fandom to permanently reintroduce the original logo? — Mike Dech
I think there is room for the old leaping cat logo to make its way onto third jerseys. Team management saw last year — despite the pandemic — how popular they were.
Don’t know if the big cat is coming back for next year’s Reverse Retro (hearing it is not) but it could be when Florida finally goes back to a having a real third. As I have stated for a long time, the blue with the original cat — originally brought out as the third during the Pavel Bure days — would be a good call. And would sell well.
I guess I’m part of the minority, but I actually enjoy the ESPN broadcasts. I think some of our fans just aren’t used to watching commentators who are praising both teams consistently. The only thing that bothered me was that Eichel coverage during our OT game a few weeks back. Other than that, I enjoy hearing some different viewpoints and perspectives on the state of the team. — Sean Nelson
This was not submitted as part of the Mailbag, but a comment I wanted to share.
There are a lot of fans who complain the Panthers don’t get enough national love — and while I certainly do not consider a streamed game on ESPN+ to be a nationally-televised game — when they get it, many are not happy about it.
I understand many are not pleased with the games on streaming, but many who have “cut the cord” are already streaming everything they watch. This is the future. ESPN paid the NHL a lot of money for these exclusive games to stream as a way to get more subscribers.
We’re seeing it more and more in sports. Just look at the deals MLB made — or the NFL with Prime. Next year, all Thursday night games will be streamed.
As far as the commentators go, well, that’s a different story.
They are right down the middle regardless of how you happen to hear it. No announcer is “anti-Panthers” or “rooting for the other team.”
The Panthers are probably going to be on a lot more national broadcasts moving forward especially when the playoffs start. While you’ll have Goldie and Randy for some games in the first round, after that, it’ll be national voices.
FLORIDA PANTHERS ON DECK
FLORIDA PANTHERS AT ANAHEIM DUCKS
- When: Friday, 10 p.m.
- Where: Honda Center, Anaheim
- Tickets: CLICK HERE
- TV/Streaming: Bally Sports Florida
- Radio: WQAM 560-AM, SiriusXM
- Last season: Did not play
- All-time regular season series: Florida leads 18-14-2, 3 ties
- Season Series: First meeting