Florida Panthers: Don’t Cry for Lawson Crouse
The Florida Panthers got rid of Dave Bolland, and it cost them much less than it could have.
Irony is an amazing thing. I always love when irony rears it head and does something that makes me stop and think about how much of an impact I might have had, whether I meant to or not. I’m not taking credit at all for the events I’m about to talk about, but i find it ironic that I was working on a piece about Lawson Crouse and how I didn’t see him being the player others hoped he would be and my news feed on Facebook informed me on Thursday that he was traded. There’s even more irony that Dave Bolland was sent away, who as you’ve probably guessed by now is my least favorite Florida Panther.
What struck me right away is the deal Florida got. They gave up Lawson Crouse, who really isn’t a big name guy, but has potential. He wont be as good as the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, or anybody in that category, but Bob Marr said himself at one point that Crouse could be the next Cam Neely. Could is a strong word in that sentence because it implies that its possible, but not likely given Crouse’s point production isnt stellar. He has improved, however, its not at a pace to warrant keeping him around and losing someone else later down the road.
I’ve talked enough Dave Bolland since coming to The Rat Trick that I’d just be repeating myself to talk about how horrible his contract was. The pleasant part of all of this is that its over, and Florida can move on without that contract weighing them down. The negative part is that it cost Florida an additional player that could be a star forward in the future. Bolland really didn’t do much as a Panther, and he most likely will do the same in Arizona. Bolland now joins Pavel Datsyuk as Coyotes that will most likely never wear the uniform. Since the Panthers aren’t retaining any salary, thats a grand total of 13 million dollars the Coyotes are throwing away this season in cap space.
Florida Panthers
The Panthers walked away from this with two draft picks, a second round draft pick in 2017, plus one more which will be in round 3 of 2018 or 2017 depending on the trade conditions. They are most likely looking at that 5.5 million dollars in savings and looking at Jonathan Huberdeau, whose contract will be up next year and will be top priority now that most of the major names are locked in. Jaromir Jagr will be able to sign once again for the 2018 season if he chooses, and all seems to be right again in Sunrise.
If this deal sounds bad to you at any point, I want you to think about a couple of things.
- Bolland has three more years on his contract
- Crouse just wasn’t ready to be a major player for the Panthers
- Jayce Hawryluk and Dryden Hunt are still in the prospect pool
Three years at 5.5 million dollars is a brutal payout if you go for the buyout option, and to even hope for an expansion draft to make him go away just isn’t realistic. Arizona did Florida a huge favor, and made the nearly impossible happen by benefiting both sides. Arizona was at risk of hitting below the cap floor and with Bolland padding that for three years its beneficial to them so they can use that time to build up on prospects.
I honestly had an article typed and ready to go about how I felt Crouse needed more time either in the AHL or the ECHL to hone his game more. In short, I felt like his point production wasn’t there compared to a guy like Logan Shaw who played a much more productive game in the QMJHL. With the mix of high end talent coming up and guys like Aleksander Barkov, Nick Bjugstad and Vincent Trocheck who are long term forwards for the club, he wouldn’t be able to be as effective as he could possibly be elsewhere until his game improved.
Speaking of guys coming up, when you have two big stars who are coming out of the WHL in Hawryluk and Hunt, Crouse is expendable when it comes to saving a few million dollars. I honestly think if the scenario had played out where Hunt, Hawryluk and Crouse were all playing in the same Florida Panthers squad, Crouse would have been the odd man out and either been traded eventually or end up on the third or fourth line. Hawryluk won the WHL Championships with the Brandon Wheat Kings this season while Hunt was the WHL MVP this season. Hunt put up 117 points this season, while Hawryluk put up 106. Crouse put up 62 points in the OHL this season.
Next: Florida Panthers Make Trade With Arizona Coyotes
Overall, the trade was the best possible outcome for the Panthers, who now have money to spend again and prospects to still rely on in the future. Crouse was the right person to send to Arizona as he has always been risky player as far as speculation goes. Only time will truly tell us if Arizona got the better end of the deal, but for now, Florida is the winner of the trade.