Dale Tallon, with help from Kevin Dineen, has made good on his promise to rebuild the Panthers. Photo Credit: Steve Mitchell US Presswire

The NHL Trade deadline is set for April 3rd and with the Panthers barely in contention for a playoff spot there is a good chance the team will be very busy in the upcoming weeks. I thought now would be a good time to take a closer look at the man behind the curtain, Dale Tallon. Tallon is the Panthers’ general manager and is most famous for building the Chicago Blackhawks from a last place team to the eventual stanley cup winners in 2010.

In order to get a better understanding of what to expect from the Panthers as we approach the deadline, I am going back through Tallon’s years as a general manager and analyzing all of his trade deadline moves. In Part 1 I will look at the Chicago Blackhawk years and in Part 2 I will look at what Tallon has done at the trade deadline since taking over the Panthers on May 17, 2010.

So where to begin? Dale Tallon had a 10 year playing career as an NHL defenseman from 1970 to 1980. After he retired from the league, Tallon took a job as a radio and television analyst for the Chicago Blackhawks. In 1998 Tallon was added to the Blackhawks’ front office and on June 21st, 2005 he was named the team’s general manager. (Source) Unrelated but interesting nonetheless, Tallon is also a very good golfer having won the 1969 Canadian Junior Golf Championship and also having played on the Canadian PGA Tour. (Source)

2005-06 Season: (65 points, 14th Western Conference)

The Chicago Blackhawks were in definite need of rebuilding when Tallon took over before the 05-06 season. The Blackhawks finished the 05-06 season with a record of 26-43-13. They only managed 65 points which was third fewest in the NHL that year. The trade deadline was set on March 9th, 2006 of that season and Dale Tallon was active making three trades on deadline day.

Trade Deadline March 9th, 2006:

March 9th: Chicago Blackhawks trade Jim Dowd to the Colorado Avalanche and receive a 2006 4th round pick (111th) in return.

Jim Dowd was a veteran at the tail end of his career. Dowd only played in 157 games after the trade tallying only 11 goals and 10 assists. The Blackhawks packaged the 111th pick that they received from Colorado in a later trade with the Maple Leafs. The Blackhawks sent the 111th and 99th picks in the 2006 Draft to Toronto in exchange for the Leafs’ 3rd round (76th) pick.

Feb 9, 2013; Montreal, QC, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Korbinian Holzer (55) taps in the puck against Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price (31) during the third period at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

With the 76th pick in the 2006 draft, Chicago selected Tony Lagerstrom who is currently playing in Sweeden. The Leafs took Korbinian Holzer with the 111th pick and goalie James Reimer with the 99th pick. The defenseman Holzer has played in 19 games with the Leafs this season while Reimer has been to go to guy in net.

March 9th: Chicago Blackhawks trade Todd Simpson to the Montreal Canadiens and receive a 2006 6th round pick (169th) in return.

Todd Simpson was another player on the tail end of his career when Tallon traded him. Simpson recorded 3 assists in 45 games with the Blackhawks during the 2005-06 season. With the Canadiens, Simpson played six games and he would not appear in the NHL after the 05-06 season.

The 6th round draft pick netted the Blackhawks Chris Auger in the 2006 Draft. Auger never made it to the NHL.

March 9th: Chicago Blackhawks trad Tyler Arnason to the Ottawa Senators for Brandon Bochenski and a 2006 second round draft pick (61st).

At the time of the trade, Arnason was one of the teams top scorers with 13 goals and 28 assists. In 19 games with Ottawa, Arnason tallied four assists. He would played three more seasons in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche.

Brandon Bochenski was 24 at the time of the trade and scored 2 goals and 2 assists for the Blackhawks after coming over from Ottawa. Bochenski would play in 10 games during the 06-07 season and after bouncing around the AHL for a few years, he now plays in the KHL in Russia.

The Blackhawks selected Simon Danis-Pepsin with their second round pick in the 06 draft but Danis-Pepsin has yet to play in the NHL.

Looking Back:

In Dale Tallon’s first trade deadline with the Blackhawks he made an effort to accumulate draft picks and young players. Even if the draft picks never panned out, Tallon was not losing much as he traded away players who were on the back ends of their careers and not likely to play in to future plans for the franchise. Tallon would use this strategy again with the Panthers in his first year as the team’s general manager, but we will get to that later.

2006-07 Season: (71 points, 13th Western Conference)

The Blackhawks poor record in 05-06 got the team the third pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft and the team used that pick to select Jonathan Toews. Although Towes did not make his debut with the Blackhawks until the 07-08 season, the team improved upon their 65 points from the previous season. The Blackhawks finished with a record of 31-42-9 and while it was slow going, the pieces were beginning to fall into place for Chicago’s future success. In his second trade deadline with the team, Dale Tallon was again a busy man:

Trade Deadline Feb 27th, 2007:

Feb 3rd: Chicago Blackhawks trade Brandon Bochenski to Boston for Kris Versteeg and a conditional 5th round draft pick (not exercised)

April 3, 2012: Sunrise, FL, USA; Florida Panthers right wing Kris Versteeg (32) warms up before a game against the Winnipeg Jets at the BankAtlantic Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Tallon flipped Bochenski, who they acquired at the deadline the previous year, for Kris Versteeg. We are all familiar with Versteeg now but at the time he had yet to play an NHL game. Versteeg would develop into a reliable offensive player and was a 20 goal scorer during the Blackhawk’s cup run in 2009-10.

Feb 26th: Chicago Blackhawks trade Lasse Kukkonen and a 2007 third round pick (66th) to the Philadelphia Flyers for Kyle Calder

Feb 26th: Chicago Blackhawks trade Kyle Calder to Detroit Red Wings for Jason Williams

The Blackhawks brought Kyle Calder, who had led the team in scoring during the 05-06 season, back into the fold only to flip him the same day to the Red Wings for Jason Williams. Although Calder was only 28 at the time of the trade, his best years were behind him. He recorded 14 points in 19 games for Detroit but has not played in the NHL since a short stint with the Ducks in 2009-10.

Kukkonen was a defenseman with 14 points in 54 games played for the Blackhawks before the trade to Philadelphia. Kukkonen did not record a point the remainder of the season for Philly and after playing parts of two seasons with the Flyers, he now plays in the Swedish Elite League.

The third round pick the Blackhawks traded was used to take Garrett Klotz. Klotz has spent time in the Flyers minor league system but has not yet appeared in the NHL.

Jason Williams was the player the Hawks ultimately got as a result of their dealings. The center scored four goals and two assists in his 20 games with Chicago after the trade. In the 07-08 season with the Blackhawks, he was a productive player tallying 36 points (13 goals, 23 assists) in 43 games played. Williams signed with the Atlanta Thrashers the following year and is now out of the NHL.

Feb 26th: Chicago Blackhawks trade Bryan Smolinski to Vancouver Canucks for Second round pick in 2007 or 2008 draft (Blackhawks choice)

Bryan Smolinski was 35 at the time of the trade and had already experienced a productive career as an NHL forward. At the time of the trade, Smolinski had 37 points in 62 games with Chicago (14 goals, 23 assists). In 20 games with Vancouver Smolinski scored four goals and three assists. After the 06-07 season, Smolinski would play one more year in the NHL.

The Blackhawks elected to use their second round draft pick in the 2007 draft where they picked Akim Aliu with the 56th pick in the draft. The 23 year old winger never played for Chicago and is currently in the Calgary Flames system. He has appeared in two games for the Flames this season.

Feb 27th: Chicago Blackhawks trade Karl Stewart and a 2008 6th round draft pick (160th) to the Tampa Bay Lightning and receive Nikita Alexeev

Nikita Alexeev played in 15 games for the Blackhawks, he scored two goals during that time. He has been playing in the KHL ever since.

Karl Stewart never made an impact in the NHL and currently plies his trade in Germany.

The Lightning took defenseman Luke Witkowski with the 160th pick in the 2008 Draft. Witkowski is currently playing in the NCAA with West Michigan. He is the 9th ranked defensive prospect for the Lightning according to hockeysfuture.com.

Looking Back:

Again, Dale Tallon had an obvious strategy of loading up on young talent or on draft picks. While many of the players involved in these trades had little impact on the Blackhawks or the NHL in general, every once in a while you land a player like Kris Versteeg. At the time of the trades, the Versteeg deal would not have stood out among the rest. It was just another instance of Tallon trading for a young unproven player. The lesson is, you never know what exactly you are going to get when trading for unproven prospects. For every player like Versteeg, who played an important role on a Stanley Cup winning team, you get countless Alius and Alexeevs i.e. players that never make an impact. The best thing to do is to stockpile as much talent as possible and you are bound to hit every once in a while.

2007-08 Season: (88 points, 10th Western Conference)

The Chicago Blackhawks had the 1st pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and they used that pick on the supremely talented Patrick Kane. In his third season as the general manager, Dale Tallon finally had a core of young talented players. The team went 40-34-8 and missed the playoffs by three points. Kane led the team in scoring with 72 points (21 goals, 51 assists). Jonathan Toews also made his debut this season and finished third on the team in points with 54 (24 goals 30 assists). With his team not yet serious contenders but no longer in full out rebuild mode, Tallon was stuck between being a buyer and a seller at the trade deadline. Because of this, he was not as prolific at the deadline as he was in years past but still managed to land some nice pieces:

Trade Deadline Feb 26th, 2008:

Feb 26th: Chicago Blackhawks trade Martin Lapointeto the Ottawa Senators and receive a 2008 6th round draft pick (169th).

Feb. 19, 2013; Buffalo, NY, USA; Winnipeg Jets left wing Andrew Ladd (16) against the Buffalo Sabres at First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Martin Lapointe was playing in what turned out to be his last NHL season. He scored 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists) in 52 games for Chicago and scored 6 points (3 goals, 3 assists) in 18 games following the trade to the Senators.

The Chicago Blackhawks drafted Ben Smith with their 2008 6th round draft pick. The 24 year old winger has played in brief spurts with the Blackhawks. Most notably, he scored three goals in 7 games during the 10-11 playoffs. He is currently with the Hawks AHL affiliate the Rockford Icehogs.

Feb 26th: Chicago Blackhawks trade Tuomo Ruutu to the Carolina Hurricanes and receive Andrew Ladd in return.

Andrew Ladd was a productive player on the Hawks stanley cup team scoring 38 points (17 goals, 21 assists) in 09-10. Ladd was 23 at the time of the trade and was poised to have a strong future with Chicago but cap issues forced Chicago to trade him to the Atlanta Thrashers the year after winning the Cup. Ladd has developed into a consistent scorer with the newly relocated Winnipeg Jets and serves as the teams captain.

Tuomo Ruutu has been a productive forward for the Carolina Hurricanes eclipsing 50 points twice. He is currently out with a hip injury.

Looking Back:

With a strong core of players firmly entrenched, Tallon was left to simply tinker with his team. The trade for Ladd was important because it gave the Blackhawks scoring depth and a young player who would be an important piece in the Hawks cup run.

2008-09 Season: (104 points, 4th Western Conference)

After three seasons of rebuilding under GM Dale Tallon, the Blackhawks finally made it to the playoffs. The team would advance to the Conference Finals but would fall to the Detroit Red Wings. By the March 3rd trade deadline, it was clear that Chicago had a strong team in place and would not have to make many additions. Tallon only made one trade at the deadline this year:

Trade Deadline March 3rd, 2009:

March 4th: Chicago Blackhawks trade Petri Kontiola and James Wisniewski to the Anaheim Ducks and receive Samuel Pahlsson and Logan Stephenson

This trade ended up having an insignificant effect on the franchise going forward. Kontiola is currently playing in the KHL while Wisniewski is currently a productive defenseman for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Samuel Pahlsson played in 13 games for Chicago recording three points. He currently plays in the Swedish Elite League. Logan Stephenson never played in the NHL, he currently plays in Norway.

Looking Back:

This would be Tallon’s last trade deadline as the General Manager for the Chicago Blackhawks. Dale Tallon was demoted to a Senior Advisor position on July 14th, 2009. The Blackhawks would go on to win the Stanley Cup in the 2009-10 season with a team built almost exclusively by Tallon. The Blackhawks honored Tallon’s contribution to the Championship by engraving his name on the cup.

What can we take away from Dale Tallon’s trade deadline performances with the Blackhawks? First of all we know that Tallon will not be afraid to trade veteran players on a struggling team (see this year’s Florida Panther team) in return for young prospects and/or draft picks. If Tallon’s history tells us anything it is that many off the returns on these trades will not have much of an impact on the NHL, if any impact at all. This is simply the nature of the trade deadline; you are not going to rebuild an entire team through trades at the deadline. The Blackhawks added key players through the draft and through free agency and off-season trades. You can however add important pieces just as Tallon did with Kris Versteeg and Andrew Ladd. Not every trade is going to be a block buster but the trade deadline offers teams a chance to build for the future.

On May, 17th 2010 Dale Tallon was hired as the GM of the Florida Panthers. Tallon has often talked about a ‘blueprint’ he has for the longterm rebuilding of the Panthers into a perennial contender. In Part 2 of our Dale Tallon Trade Deadline Retrospective, we will look at how Tallon has used the Trade Deadline to help advance his ‘blueprint’.

Mar 22, 2012; Dallas, TX, USA; Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo (1) warms up before the game against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center. The Canucks defeated the Stars 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

The trade rumors have been swirling around Roberto Luongo for months now.  The hockey press has speculated possible destinations for Bobby Lu, but the All-Star goaltender has made it no secret how he wants to these talks to end: with him back in Sunrise to play again for the Florida Panthers.  But because star athletes don’t always have things roll their way when talks between teams get going, it doesn’t look like a return to Florida is in the cards for Luongo right now.  The Panthers just don’t have a need at the position right now, and the future is also set with Jacob Markstrom in the wings.  Also when you factor in the huge albatross contract of Luongo, a trade to the small-market franchise seems even more unlikely.

But as implicit as Luongo has been about his first choice, he was been a little more than vague about secondary options.  Teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs and Chicago Blackhawks have demonstrated need in the net, so a trade for a high-quality goaltender makes sense.  And as far as we know (if we choose to ignore some unreliable twitter sources), Luongo hasn’t outright declared he would not accept a trade to either of those two cities.

But Luongo realizes that even though he wants to leave Vancouver since he will no longer have the starting gig, he doesn’t want to totally tie Canucks GM Mike Gillis’ hands.  His quote to Harvey Fialkov of the Sun-Sentinel yesterday proves it:

[The Panthers] makes sense for myself, for my career and my family.  This is a preferred location for obvious reasons, but I’m not shutting the door on other possibilities.

Even though the Panthers are choice number one, Luongo realizes that demanding a trade to that spot only will almost guarantee he won’t get traded.  Dale Tallon is not willing to part with anybody special, and Mike Gillis is demanding some top notch prospects in return.  The two are in a stalemate, and this is only assuming that Tallon still wants anything to do with Luongo.

The term he uses, “other possibilities”, mostly just appears to be a sort of empty phrase.  It stands to reason that if Luongo really had any interest in going to a place like Toronto or Chicago, a deal would have been made by now.  The Hawks and Leafs are willing to give up much more for a goalie than the Panthers would, and Gillis could certainly strike a better deal with those teams.

It’s becoming more and more obvious to everyone in the hockey world that there are only two possible outcomes to this Luongo trade fiasco.  It will either end with the Panthers finally deciding to give a little and trade for Luongo  (which is unlikely), or Vancouver will just have to stick with both Schneider and Luongo between the pipes for another year.

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Feb 27, 2012; Winnipeg, MB, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93) prior to the game against the Winnipeg Jets at the MTS Centre. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-US PRESSWIRE

 There are always certain times when teams will go out and try to gain a certain players services. Whether it’s on the trade deadline, draft day or free agency, teams are also out trying to find a way to make their team better than it already is. Last season right before the trade deadline struck, the Florida Panthers went out and traded for forwards Wojtek Wolski and Jerred Smithson. The year before that, the Panthers made a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on draft day sending Rostislav Olesz to Chicago for All-Star Brian Campbell. And I really don’t think I need to get started on what the Panthers did prior to last season during free agency.

It is without question that the Panthers have done a great job acquiring and signing different players in the league. Their commitment to winning showed off last season as the team was able to make it back into the postseason, while securing their first division title.

While the Panthers are a much improved team from previous seasons, there is still work to be done. Yes, the Panthers did go out and sign a couple of players this offseason with the expectation that they will fit right in with the team and help us continue being successful. Although I’m sure the players signed in the offseason will help us improve both offensively and defensively, there are still some holes that could affect this team down the road.

This article that I am writing is to explain who the one player in the league that I would want the Panthers to acquire. No, it’s not Sidney Crosby or Alex Ovechkin and its not even Steven Stamkos. While most of you are probably going to be shocked at my selection, I believe this player would significantly improve our team. Just to make sure we’re all on the same page, the player that I am going to say is not on the Panthers radar, there are NO trade possibilities for this player, just clarifying so no rumors are started; it is just the one player that I would like to see in a Panthers uniform.

Now that that is all cleared up, the player that I would most want to see in a Panthers uniform is, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Yes, you read that correctly, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is the player that I would want to see most on the Panthers and I’ll explain why.

The Panthers need help offensively, it’s obvious. Even though they were able to make the playoffs, last season the Panthers finished 27^th in the league in goals scored per game. Coming into this season, the only real added offensive threat has been Peter Mueller and he is a huge question mark due to injury issues. Not only has there not been done much offensively to this team, but the Panthers also lost their leading goal scorer defensively, Jason Garrison. My biggest fear with this team coming into next season is still their offense. After the first line offensively there aren’t exactly many threats to score goals. Although he was just a rookie last season, Nugent-Hopkins was third on the Edmonton Oilers in total points scored. After putting on an impressive display of speed, quickness and ability to score, it wasn’t a surprise to anyone that Hopkins was nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy (rookie of the year award). Despite not winning the award, Hopkins future is as bright as anyone’s in the entire league.

You might be asking yourself why not an offensive superstar such as Crosby or Ovechkin? Well for one, have you seen their contracts? Ovechkin signed an extension after his rookie season worth $124 million and just over a month ago Crosby signed an extension for $104.4 million. Oh and if you take the years on the contracts and add them together, you would get 25 years. No thanks, not only would we have to give up basically every threat on this team now, but the Panthers would also be taking in either a 12 year contract (Crosby) or a 13 year contract (Ovechkin). Those contracts are never a good thing and in almost every case it favors the players. I’d much rather the Panthers take all that money that could go to those players and spread it out over multiple players.

Ok, if not a superstar, why not a goaltender or a defensive player? The answer to that is simple; we don’t need a goalie or another defensive player. For the past couple of years, the Panthers have been developing young goaltender Jacob Markstrom in the AHL. If the Panthers go out and get a big time goalie such as Roberto Luongo, they would again be taking in an unnecessary contract and at the same time they would be giving up on their project goalie that hasn’t even played in ten NHL games. That’s not the only reason a goalie didn’t wasn’t selected. We currently have Jose Theodore. Yes, Theodore isn’t the best goaltender in the world, there is no denying that. But Theodore was good enough to help the Panthers make the playoffs last year and you can be sure that he will be again this year and he will be good enough for the Panthers until Markstrom takes over which should be after this season. Oh and the NHL is a business, and at a cheap 1.5 million dollars, Theo is the best business choice as well.

Defensively the Panthers are pretty much set for both now and the future. For now we have veterans such as Brian Campbell and Ed Jovanovski. To go along with the old vets are young guys Erik Gudbranson and Dmitry Kulikov. At the moment, there is no need to go out and get a big name defender. What the Panthers are doing is working. Patiently waiting for their players to mature and grow. If they go out and get a big time defender, the growing process of the younger guys could be affected and not in a positive way.

Dec. 13, 2011: Sunrise, FL, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Tomas Fleischmann (14) controls the puck during overtime against he New Jersey Devils at the BankAtlantic Center. The New Jersey Devils won 3-2. in a shootout. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

Hopkins isn’t the best player in the league, he might not even be in the top 20, but he is also a 19 year old stud who is just completing his rookie season. Last year for the Panthers the leading scorer was Tomas Fleischmann. In a total of 82 games Flesichmann scored 61 points. Hopkins missed the first 20 games last season, playing in 62 games. In those 62 games he scored 52 points, 9 less than Flesichmann. If Hopkins played those extra 20 games we could have easily seen his point total in the low to mid 70’s. The Oilers are lucky that they have Hopkins. He is a real threat to score the puck at any time and he is also a great skater and not only can he score the puck, but he is also great at getting the puck to other players and giving them an opportunity to score. What fan wouldn’t want a 19 year old player who can do that?

Once again, just to clarify things, this is the one player in the league that I would want the Panthers to get, doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.

Thanks For Reading!

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