George Richards, FHN Publisher
The Florida Panthers are in the thick of a playoff race in the NHL Central with the trade deadline coming soon. After losing Aaron Ekblad to a serious injury Sunday night, the Panthers have to be considered serious buyers on the market.
Make no mistake, the Panthers are definitely in go-for-it mode.
The window to winning a Stanley Cup doesn’t open often — especially when it comes to the Panthers.
General manager Bill Zito, coach Joel Quenneville and — perhaps most importantly — owner Vinnie Viola believe this team is as close to the promised land as it has been since 1996.
That was true before Ekblad appeared to seriously injury his left leg Sunday night in Dallas and it is true today.
The Panthers are expecting the worst-case scenario when it comes to Ekblad’s diagnosis (for this season) and plan to act accordingly.
Zito was already scouting for a top-four defenseman to add to a playoff run for the Panthers.
Now he is actively shopping for one.
As much as the Panthers hate moving on without their top defenseman, a heart-and-soul player like Ekblad is, that ship has left Port Everglades.
The reality is, Ekblad is hurt and the possibility exists he does not play again until next season.
Florida needs a high-end defenseman and it needs it, well if not today, soon.
The NHL trade deadline is April 12 at 3 p.m. and the Panthers have a few things on their shopping list.
A top-pair defenseman is at the top of it.
There will be competition, whether it comes from Winnipeg or Philadelphia or somewhere else, the Panthers have to be ready to spend.
The thought here is Zito will not panic because of what the Panthers currently have.
Do they have a replacement for Ekblad just hanging around Sunrise or Syracuse? No. And it is unlikely they replace what he brings on and off the ice by the deadline either.
Before we get into who Florida will be looking at, let us take a peek at what the Panthers have at home.
Thanks to Zito and his staff identifying Gus Forsling’s worth when he was waived by Carolina in training camp, Florida has a very good puck-moving defenseman who may end up playing with MacKenzie Weeegar for the time being.
From going on waivers to being a top-pair guy on a legitimate contender in the span of a few months is a nice story.
But the Panthers need and want to upgrade what they’ve got.
Forsling is going to be a part of things going forward (and may be lost to Seattle in the expansion draft) but there are strong options out there.
Florida also has Anton Stralman likely to return after a few days off and veteran Kevin Connauton can also jump in.
Riley Stillman was back this weekend and looked just fine. Markus Nutivaara also played well this weekend and Quenneville hinted the seven-D rotation could stick around.
Gives him an easier time spreading the minutes, anyway.
In the minors, former Montreal waiver claim Noah Juulsen should be ready to come back from his rehab stint with rookies Brady Keeper and Chase Priskie eagerly waiting by their phones.
Now, to the trade market.
The biggest defenseman who may pop into play is Nashville’s Mattias Ekholm.
A left-handed shot, the 30-year-old would slide right in on Florida’s top pairing and give good defensive play and points as well.
Ekholm has one more year left on his deal at $3.75 million so, if Nashville decided it was going to trade him, knowing that a team has him for one more season at a very nice number means the cost will not be cheap.
There is no guarantee Nashville, a team fighting with Chicago, Columbus and Dallas for the last playoff spot in the Central, is even going to sell.
The Preds have as good a chance of anyone of that group of making it and came into Monday two points back of the Blackhawks.
Last week, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet floated that the Preds may be looking to deal Ryan Ellis instead of Ekholm.
Ellis has six more seasons remaining on his contract worth $6.25 million per season and is currently on the IR.
If Nashville is looking in that direction then Florida would be out.
Ellis’ contract and term would be too rich for the Panthers what with other priorities (re-signing Sasha Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, etc.) in the future.
Ekholm helps now and in the immediate future; Ellis, when healthy, helps now but is a long-term commitment.
Again, if it is Ellis that Nashville is trying to move, the Panthers are likely moving on as well.
One player I figure Zito will go after is Columbus veteran David Savard.
Although not a top-pairing guy (in Columbus, he plays behind All-Stars Seth Jones and Zach Werenski) Savard is a hard-nosed defender who blocks shots, can get up in the play and basically helps out all around.
There are few more respected guys in the Jackets’ room than Savard, a guy who comes to play every night.
He definitely could play on the second pairing and would help eat a lot of Ekblad’s minutes.
Savard is averaging close to 20 minutes per night for a Columbus squad which just lost two straight in Detroit.
Are the Jackets a playoff team? A better question: Will Columbus be sellers in the next two weeks?
Jarmo Kekalainen, Zito’s friend and former boss, refuses to wave the white flag but this season he may start selling a few assets.
Savard would not have to introduce himself to everyone in the Florida room, either.
Neither would New Jersey’s Ryan Murray, the No. 2 pick of the 2012 draft by the previous Columbus regime.
Zito knows him well, however, which may mean Florida isn’t interested.
Murray never lived up to his lofty draft status due to injuries but he is a strong defensive player who would give the Panthers an option on their second or third pairing.
New Jersey gave up a fifth round pick for Murray during the offseason so he may be worth whatever the Devils’ ask is.
Murray is UFA after this season so if the ask is a fourth-round pick or less, he may be in play here.
Alex Goligoski’s name has been mentioned as the 35-year-old is UFA after this season and there have been rumblings he may not be back in Arizona next year.
Buffalo is looking to make some deals with what has gone on there this season so perhaps Florida takes a look at Rasmus Ristolainen.
As is the case with Ekholm, Ristolainen is signed through 2022 ($5.4 million) and the chance he actually gets moved is good — if the Sabres can find a buyer.
Ristolainen is not the defender nor the scorer Ekholm is, but he would give Florida some NHL depth at the position.
The price (Buffalo knows it will have to eat some salary) and his defensive play scare me away but who knows?
Brandon Montour is UFA and the Sabres will probably find a trade partner for him.
If the Panthers are simply looking to add depth-type guys and let others try and fill Ekblad’s large skates, there will be guys available.
Sami Vatanen in Jersey, for instance, or even old pal Erik Gudbranson appear to be available.
Gudbranson was traded to Vancouver a few weeks after the Panthers’ last real playoff season.
It would be nice homecoming story, anyway.