Apr 21, 2012; Sunrise, FL, USA; Florida Panthers fans before game five of the 2012 Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the New Jersey Devils at BankAtlantic Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to Part 2 of Dale Tallon: A Trade Deadline Retrospective. In preparation for the April 3rd, 2013 NHL Trade Deadline I have gone back through Dale Tallon’s history as a general manager and looked at every one of his trade deadline deals. The purpose of this is simply to gain a better understanding of the man behind the curtain for the Florida Panthers. In Part 1 we looked at Dale Tallon’s tenure in Chicago where he rebuilt the Blackhawks into a Stanley Cup winner. In this, Part 2, we will look at how Tallon has handled the Panthers at the trade deadline since taking over as their general manager on May 17, 2010.

2010-11 Season (72 points, 15th Eastern Conference)

Dale Tallon was hired as the general manager of the Florida Panthers on May 17, 2010 replacing Randy Sexton. The Panthers were 32-37-13 with 77 points in 2009-10, the year before Tallon took over. Tallon did not wait long to begin overhauling Florida’s roster as he made a number of trades during the offseason, the biggest of which sent Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell to the Boston Bruins for Dennis Wideman and a pair of picks. Because our focus here is the trade deadline, I won’t go into the details of all Tallon’s offseason moves but it is worth noting that during the course of his first offseason as Panther GM, Tallon added the draft picks that would become Nick Bjugstad, Quinton Howden and Kyle Rau. All three of those players are now important Panther prospects and they project to have productive futures in the NHL. The other big addition to the Panthers was Eric Gudbranson who was Florida’s 1st round draft pick (3rd overall) in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

The Panthers were definitely in need of a rebuild as they only managed a record of 30-40-12 in Tallon’s first full season as GM. Tallon began this rebuild in earnest at the 2010-11 trade deadline making a flurry of moves that stripped the team of most of its veterans and opened up cap space for future acquisitions. Let’s take a look:

Trade DeadlineFeb 28th, 2011:

Mar 8, 2013; Sunrise, FL, USA; Florida Panthers right wing Jack Skille (12) tries to knock down the puck on a rebound off of Winnipeg Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec (31) as defenseman Dustin Byfuglien (33) defends in the second period at the BB

Feb 10th: Florida Panthers trade Michael Frolik and Alexander Salak to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Hugh Jessiman, David Pacan and Jack Skille.

Michael Frolik had been a 20 goal scorer for the Panthers, but the team was tired of waiting on his development. Frolik has played in 25 games for the Blackhawks this season scoring one goal and three assists. He has helped the team in other ways as he was mentioned in Sports Illustrated’s recent cover story on the Hawks as growing into a shutdown penalty killer.

Goaltender Alexander Salak is playing in the Swedish Elite League after being released from his contract on June 18, 2012.

Out of the players received by the Panthers, Jack Skille has had the most impact at the NHL level thus far. The 25 year old has developed a reputation as a fast player who brings a lot of energy to the ice. He has picked up his play of late and has scored 3 goals and 7 assists so far this year with the Panthers. Skille is a -1 player this season which is pretty impressive on a team with a -38 goal differential.

Hugh Jessiman played in two games for the Panthers during the 10-11 season. He is now in the Senators system. David Pacan is a 21 year old fringe prospect for the Panthers. He is currently playing in the ECHL for Panthers’ affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones where he is second on the team with 49 points.

Feb 24th: Panthers trade Cory Stillman to the Carolina Huricanes and receive Ryan Carter and a 2011 5th round draft pick (132: Sean Kuraly) in return.

Cory Stillman was a forward who had a productive NHL career behind him. When the Panthers traded him, he was on his way out of the league, and he did in fact retire after the 10-11 season.

Ryan Carter played in 7 games for the Panthers following the trade and did not registering a point . He was claimed off waivers by the New Jersey Devils on October 26th, 2011.

On the Devils, Carter would form one of the most diabolical trio’s of revenge to ever haunt the Florida Panthers with fellow ex-Panther Steve Bernier and ex-Panther head coach Pete DeBoer. Steve Bernier came over to the Panthers in the 2010 offseason trade that sent Keith Ballard to the Canucks (side note: this was the same trade that saw the Panthers receive Michael Grabner who also slipped away from the Panthers, but thats another story). After the 10-11 season when the Panthers did not resign Bernier, he signed with the Devils. Pete DeBoer was fired by the Panthers after the 10-11 season and was hired as the Devils coach shortly after.

March 9, 2013; Raleigh, NC, USA; New Jersey Devils left wing Ryan Carter (20) carries the puck against the Carolina Hurricanes at the PNC center. The Hurricanes defeated the Devils 6-3. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

In the 2011-12 Playoffs, fate worked its magic and the Panthers and Devils met in the first round. The ex-Panthers got their shot at revenge as Pete DeBoer deployed Carter and Bernier on the Devils’ fourth line alongside Steven Gionta. That fourth line killed the Panthers scoring five goals and four assists during the first round series. Watching the series, it became clear that one of the clear advantages the Devils had was their fourth line that could be productive compared to the Panthers fourth line which was more of a liability than anything else.

So anyway, back to the trade: Florida ended up trading the 5th round pick they received to the Thrashers who in turn traded it to the San Jose Sharks who used it to pick Sean Kuraly.

Feb 25th: Florida Panthers receive Alexander Sulzer from Nashville Predators for a conditional 7th round pick.

The Predators would receive the pick if Sulzer resigned with the Panthers, which he did not do. Sulzer now plays for the Sabres and has logged three goals and one assist in 17 games played. Not much to see here.

Feb 26th: Florida Panthers trade Bryan McCabe to the New York Rangers for Tim Kennedy and a 2011 3rd round pick (75: Logan Shaw).

Bryan McCabe scored two goals and four assists in 19 games with NYR after the trade. He retired after the 10-11 season.

Tim Kennedy tallied one assist for the Panthers following the trade. He played in 27 games during the 11-12 season scoring one goal and adding one assist. He was traded to San Jose for Sean Sullivan. Sullivan then left Florida and signed with the Avalanche as a free agent. Neither player has made any NHL impact so far.

Logan Shaw is currently the fourth ranked RW prospect in the Panthers system (hockeysfuture.com). The 20 year old currently plays for the Quebec Remparts in the QMJHL (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League).

Feb 28th: Florida Panthers trade Radek Dvorak and 2011 5th round pick (132: Sean Kuraly) for Niclas Bergfors and Patrick Rissmiller.

Radek Dvorak only recorded one assist in the thirteen games he played with Atlanta after the trade. Last year he played in 73 games with the Stars and recorded four goals and 17 assists. The 36 year old is currently retired/free agent.

Niclas Bergfors played in 20 games with Florida after coming over from Atlanta. He tallied one goal and six assists in those games. Bergfors signed with Nashville for the 11-12 season and now is playing in the KHL.

Patrick Rissmiller played in 9 games and recorded one assist. He is currently playing with the Rochester Americans of the AHL.

Feb 28th: Florida trades Chris Higgins to Vancouver Canucks for Evan Obergand 2013 3rd round pick.

Mar 7, 2013; Columbus, OH, USA; Vancouver Canucks left wing Chris Higgins (20) fires a shot as Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson (7) defends at Nationwide Arena. The Blue Jackets won the game 2-1 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

Chris Higgins played in 48 games for the Panthers prior to the trade scoring 11 goals and 12 assists. Higgins became a valuable piece during the Canucks cup run scoring four goals and assisting on four other during the playoffs. The 29 year old Higgins has found a consistent spot in the Vancouver lineup. This season he has seven goals and four assists in 26 games.

Evan Oberg played for the San Antonio Rampage briefly until he was traded to the Tampa Bay organization along with Mike Kostka. The two players Florida got in return were James Wright and Mike Vernace. Wright was picked up off waivers by the Winnipeg Jets at the start of this season and Vernace as we will see later was part of the trade that landed Florida Wojtek Wolski at the trade deadline of the 11-12 season.

Feb 28th: Florida trades Denis Wideman to Washington Capitals for Jake Hauswirth and 2011 3rd round pick (86th: Jonathan Racine).

Denis Wideman was a productive player for the Capitals after the trade. In the following season, 11-12, Wideman scored 11 goals and 35 assists for the Capitals. He Currently plays for the Calgary Flames.

Jake Hauswirth played in the Panthers system until he was traded to Dallas in Florida’s trade for Krys Barch in December of the 11-12 season.

Jonathan Racine is a 19 year old defenseman who is ranked 8th out of Panther d-men on by Hockey’s Future. He currently plays for the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL.

Feb 28th: Florida trades Bryan Allen to Carolina Hurricanes for Sergei Samsonov.

Allen, a defenseman is 32 and currently playing for the Anaheim Ducks. Samsonov played in 20 games for Florida and scored three goals and 11 assists. He is currently out of the NHL.

Looking Back:

Dale Tallon’s first trade deadline in charge of the Panthers was very similar to his early trade deadlines with the Chicago Blackhawks. In both cases Tallon tried to export aging veterans who would probably not factor into the long term plans. In return, Tallon stocked up on draft picks and young players. Aside from Jack Skille, no players that Tallon acquired at the deadline are currently playing for the Panthers but even so the picks and players Tallon accumulated gave him flexibility in making future trades, i.e. trades for Krys Barch, and Wojtek Wolski, and stocked the Panthers organization with young players.

2011-12 Season (94 points, 3rd Eastern Conference)

The purge at the deadline also set the stage for what Florida would do the following season. After trading away so many contracts, the Panthers had a ton of salary cap and roster space. This allowed the Panthers to bring in players such as Brian Campbell, Kris Versteeg, Tomas Fleischmann, Marcel Goc, Tomas Kopecky and Jose Theodore. 2010 3rd round draft pick Erik Gudbranson would also debut during the season and the Panthers also acquired Jonathan Huberdeauwith the 3rd pick in the 2011 draft. The new additions would lead the Panthers to an improbably Southeast Division title.

Mar 14, 2013; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks left wing David Booth (7) during the first period against the Nashville Predators at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

The Panthers made a couple of moves prior to the deadline, the biggest of which was trading David Booth, Steve Reinprecht and a 2013 3rd round pick to the Canucks for Maro Sturm and Mikael Samuelsson. Sturm and Samuelsson played vital roles on the 11-12 team although both are no longer with Florida. Reinprecht is out of the NHL while Booth has struggled to stay healthy this season.

The Panthers were relatively quiet at the trade deadline this year. With the team competing for a playoff spot, Tallon was content to attempt to add a few minor players to aid a possible playoff run.

Trade Deadline Feb 27th, 2012:

Feb 24th: Florida acquires Jerred Smithson from Nashville Predators for a 2012 6th round draft pick (164th Simon Fernholm).

Jerred Smithson has been a valuable player for the Panthers since coming over from Nashville. While usually centering the 4th line, Smithson has demonstrated a strong work ethic, steady defensive play and a knack for winning face-offs.

Feb 25th: Florida trades Mike Vernace and a 2013 3rd round pick from New York Rangers for Wojtek Wolski.

Wolski is a talented forward that added scoring depth for the Panthers during their playoff run. He did see playing his time diminish during the playoffs and he signed with the Washington Capitals as a free agent during the offseason.

Vernace is currently playing for the Rangers AHL affiliate the Connecticut Whale.

Looking Back:

With the Panthers looking like a playoff team at the 11-12 deadline, Tallon acted accordingly and approached the trade deadline with the mindset of strengthening the NHL roster for the post-season. While the success last year was nice, it was also unexpected. It was only a precursor to the long time success built on young players coming through the system that Tallon hopes to build.

Florida has taken a number of steps back this season and again we can expect Tallon to act accordingly. If the past is any indicator of Tallon’s tendencies then we can expect him to pursue all options that would allow him to export players that do not figure into the ‘blueprint’. With Florida not looking like they will be in the playoffs any time soon, the time leading up the the deadline should provide the most excitement that fans will experience going forward with this season.

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’.

Nov 3, 2011: Sunrise, FL, USA; Florida Panthers goalie Jacob Markstrom (25) during a game against the Chicago Blackhawks at the BankAtlantic Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

The 2011-2012 season for the Panthers was a wild and crazy ride. With massive changes all around, from the front office to the blue line, they made great strides to show that hockey can survive in Florida. The “We See Red” campaign made a huge influence on the fan base in South Florida, as well as draw in more fans than before. Dale Tallon’s complete overhaul of the roster has started to pay off in leaps and bounds, ans this team may have the best chance in a while of running deep into a playoff berth. Without going crazy into the details of the last season, we will take a brief look at some of the “rookies” I feel will make a big impact in the future.

Offense: Michal Repik

The 5’10″ RW from the Czech Republic may not be considered by many as a “rookie”, seeing that he was drafted on ’07. However, he is, for the most part, a rookie as far as his NHL experience is concerned. He has been putting up good numbers in the AHL affiliate, and comes in to play when there are too many blue line injuries. He played 17 games for the Panthers last season, putting up 2 goals, 3 assist, and 5 points (Source: http://panthers.nhl.com/v2/ext/pdf/PanthersSeasonInReview-201112.pdf, pg 25). I would like to see him do better with the Panthers in the future, maybe more pro ice time is the key?

Defense: Tyson Stracthen

The Panthers have been working hard to shore up that D line that has plagued games in the past. He may not be a Panthers drafted player, but he appears to be a solid defensemen. I would keep an eye on him in the future.

Goal: Jacob Markstrom, AKA “Bigfoot”(Pictured Above)

This is the player I am most excited about, and I hope many others are as well. At 6’6″, he is tall for a goalie. However, he fills the net with little effort and can move around well for a man his height in net. He also has put up good numbers in both the NHL and AHL, recording a 0.925 Save % for the Rampage and a 0.923 Save % for the Panthers (source: http://panthers.nhl.com/v2/ext/pdf/PanthersSeasonInReview-201112.pdf, pg 25). Dale Tallon has even said that he is the future of Florida goal-tending. I hope so. I don’t believe that A) Jose Theodore is the future of the club, and B) Sadly, Clemmenson was never set up to be a starting goalie. The Panthers will bring him in to start when he is ready, and when he is, I believe that the Panthers will become an even bigger threat in the NHL.

I am excited to see what happens this season, as long as we have a season to play. However, if the lockout persist, feel free to see these guys as they play for the San Antonio Rampage in the AHL. At least they aren’t locked out.