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When Florida Panthers forward Stephen Weiss went down with a season ending wrist injury in early March, many questions arose over whether or not he would re-sign with the Panthers. Well, the Panthers’ season came and went and as we approach the July 5th start of free agency, those questions regarding Stephen Weiss remain largely unanswered.

Stephen Weiss has been a Florida Panther his entire career. He made his debut during the 2001-02 season and he owns the franchise record for most games played with the team. He also holds the franchise assists record with 249 and is second in points with 394 trailing Olli Jokinen by only 18 points. He has endured with the Panthers through historical struggles and has only played in the playoffs once, in 2012, 637 regular season games into his career. Would the Panthers let Weiss walk? a player so entwined in their history?

Weiss is only 30 years old and despite injury troubles last season, he has been a relatively consistent player throughout his career. He has three 20 plus goal seasons under his belt as well as three 50 point seasons. It is highly unlikely that Florida would not even attempt to re-sign Weiss but will they be willing to go as high as Weiss may command on the open market?

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Last season, Weiss made $4.1 million which concluded a six year deal worth $18.6 million. My guess is Weiss will get four or more years at around  4.5 million per year. I think the Panthers would be happy to get Weiss at that rate but there could be teams out there willing to pay a little extra for Weiss’ services. There has already been interest around the league from a number of teams. According to CBC’s Elliotte Friedman, the Detroit Red Wings, Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs are the three teams confirmed to be interested in Weiss. If the Panthers feel like they will be unable to get a deal done, they could trade their rights to negotiate with Weiss before the start of free agency on July 5th. By doing this, Florida could at least get a draft pick of some sort as compensation for losing one of their star players.

How exactly the Stephen Weiss situation plays out remains to be seen, but I think that when it is all said and done, Stephen Weiss will not be putting on a Panther uniform on opening night. Weiss has been playing in the NHL since the 2001-02 season and during that time he has only played in one playoff series. With the Panthers looking a year or two, at least, away from contending Weiss would probably prefer to move to a team that can compete immediately. At 30 years of age, it doesn’t seem likely that Weiss would savor the opportunity to go through another rebuilding ordeal after spending his entire career playing for perpetually rebuilding Panther teams.

Also fromm the Panthers’ perspective, it might make sense to let Weiss walk. If Weiss is able to produce at his peak levels for the next couple of years, he would probably be worth the 4.5 or so million per year he will likely receive. He is however moving towards to wrong side of 30 and coming off an injury plagued season. A team like the Red Wings or the Maple Leafs can afford to take on the kind of risk that comes with signing Weiss. I am not entirely convinced the Panthers would or should risk re-signing Weiss to another long term contract.

We should hear more about Weiss in the coming days and I expect this situation will be resolved one way or another prior to the start of free-agency. How do you think the Weiss situation will play out? Do you think the Panthers re-sign him? Will they trade away his negotiating right? Share your thoughts in the comments section below, and for more Panther news, be sure to follow us on twitter and Facebook.

Apr 19, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Nashville Predators left wing Sergei Kostitsyn (74) looks to pass to right wing Bobby Butler (19) against the Chicago Blackhawks during the second period at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Florida Panthers have sent defenseman T.J. Brennan, 24, to the Nashville Predators in exchange for 26 year old forward Bobby Butler.

Brennan spent most of last season in the Buffalo Sabres organization where he split time between the NHL and the Sabres’ AHL affiliate the Rochester Americans. In 10 games with the Sabres, Brennan had only one goal, while in 36 AHL games he recorded 35 points off 14 goals and 21 assists. Brennan was acquired by the Florida Panthers on March 15th, 2013 in exchange for a 2013 5th round draft pick. In his 19 games with the Panthers, Brennan tallied two goals and seven assists while averaging over 17 minutes of ice time per game.

Bobby Butler played in 14 games last season for the New Jersey Devils recording a goal and an assist. He also played in 37 games for the Devils’ AHL affiliate the Albany Devils where he recorded 27 points on 16 goals and 11 assists. Butler spent the second half of the 2012-13 season playing for the Nashville Predators where he recorded three goals and six assists in 20 games.

Both Butler and Brennan are restricted free agents so neither has a contract with their new teams. The minimum that Nashville could offer Brennan is $605,000 per year while the qualifying offer for Butler and the Panthers is $577,500. Earlier this offseason, I speculated that the Panthers would re-sign Brennan and have him fill the roster spot of unrestricted free agent Tyson Strachan. I am still skeptical that the Panthers will re-sign Strachan so what this trade serves to do is open up a spot on the Panthers’ blue line. Would the Panthers be willing to fill that spot with one of their young players such as Alex Petrovic or Colby Robak? Is this an indication that the Panthers expect Seth Jones to fall to them at the number two spot in the draft? If the Panthers were to end up with Seth Jones would they be willing to play him in the NHL right away?

As for Bobby Butler, I am not sure he will even be signed by the Panthers. Butler could provide depth on the fourth line if the Panthers decide to keep him, but my take on this trade is, the Panthers took an RFA they knew they were not going to re-sign in Brennan, and flipped him for an RFA that they might consider signing in Butler. Worst case scenario they can try to flip Butler for a draft pick.

As we approach the June 30th NHL Draft, I expect the deals and rumors will ramp up to a frantic pace. Be sure to follow The Rat Trick on twitter and like us on Facebook to keep up with all your Panther news.

Apr 21, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Florida Panthers center Jonathan Huberdeau (11) tries to get around Boston Bruins defenseman Dougie Hamilton (27) during the third period of a NHL game. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Jonathan Huberdeau capped off a stellar season by taking home the NHL’s Calder Memorial Trophy awarded to the league’s most outstanding rookie. He became the first Panther to ever win the award and he edged out Montreal’s Brendan Gallagher and Chicago’s Brandon Saad who finished second and third respectively.

Here is a look at the voting breakdown:

Huberdeau tied Nail Yakupov as the rookie scoring leader with 31 points. Those 31 points were the most ever by a Panther rookie besting Radek Dvorak who scored 27 points in the 1995-96 season. That stat is all the more amazing when you consider the shortened schedule Huberdeau had to work with. On winning the award, Huberdeau said, “It was a surprise. There were two other guys who had great rookie years. I wasn’t expecting anything. I’m pretty happy.”

Looking at the above voting breakdown, it is interesting to note that Huberdeau was not the only Panther to receive first place votes. Goaltender Jacob Markstrom finished 14th in the voting receiving one third place vote and two fifth place votes. Drew Shore got into the action as well receiving one fifth place vote. While last season was unsuccessful for the Panthers, having the rookie of the year and two other players who merited consideration is a positive sign for things to come.

Winning the Calder Memorial Trophy is obviously a good indicator of future NHL successes. The last five previous winners are Gabriel Landeskog, Jeff Skinner, Tyler Myers, Steve Mason and Patrick Kane. It will be fascinating to see how Huberdeau develops over the next few years and to see how the Panthers develop around him. With all of their young talent, the Panthers have the potential to have numerous players reaching their peaks at the same time.

In other awards news, Alex Ovechkin was the surprise Hart Trophy winner besting Sidney Crosby and John Tavares. P.K. Subban took home the Norris Trophy, Sergei Bobrovsky won the Veznia and Sidney Crosby won the Ted Lindsay Award.