Florida Panthers Send Prospect Corban Knight To Calgary Flames For Draft Pick

After failing to agree on a deal, the Florida Panthers have traded prospect Corban Knight to the Calgary Flames in exchange for a fourth round pick (97th) in the 2013 NHL Draft. Knight was selected by the Panthers in the 5th round (135th) of the 2009 draft and greatly improved his stock with four strong years playing collegiately at North Dakota.

Knight had a particularly strong senior season with the Fighting Sioux scoring 49 points (15 goals 33 assists) in 41 games. He was also one of the ten finalists for the 2013 Hobey Baker Award given to the top NCAA men’s hockey player.

The Florida Panthers and Corban Knight could not come to terms on a deal and rather than let their draft pick walk for nothing, GM Dale Tallon managed to add a pick in this year’s draft by trading Knight’s negotiating rights to Calgary. The Edmonton Oilers were looking into Knight as well but ultimately Knight chose Calgary.

While it is unfortunate that the Panthers could not sign Knight, it is a positive that Tallon managed to get some sort of compensation. If Florida did not trade his rights, Knight would have become a free-agent and the Panthers would be left with nothing. It remains to be seen what kind of player Knight will develop into but the reality is, he was never in the top echelon of Panther prospects to begin with. Knight could develop into a first or second line center someday but he could also never make the NHL. All in all the Panthers did a good job making the best out of a bad situation.

With the addition of the pick from Calgary, the Panthers will select three times in the fourth round. Here is a breakdown of their picks:

1st Round:

2nd overall pick

2nd Round:

31st overall pick

3rd Round:

no picks

4th Round:

92nd overall pick

97th overall pick

98th overall pick

5th Round:

122nd overall pick

6th Round:

152nd overall pick

7th Round:

no picks