Florida Panthers: Top Five Moves That Were Steals Made by Dale Tallon

Since arriving from Chicago back in 2010, Dale Tallon has been a key role in the Panthers’ recent roster rebuild.

Under Tallon, the Florida Panthers have made the playoffs only a mere two times, though separated by four years due to committing to a rebuild after the 2012-13 season. Tallon’s stay as GM was also separated by two parts, fired via promotion following the team’s playoff berth in 2015-16.

Through all that, the times have changed since Tallon’s initial hire back in 2010. Nine years later, the Panthers have one of their most promising rosters ever, including a franchise record-setting center in Aleksander Barkov, who is just 23-years-old.

On top of that, there’s been plenty of young talent to enter and emerge from within the organization at all levels. Some have been drafted, others signed, while a few have been snagged from free agency.

With a big month ahead for Tallon in the buildup to free agency opening up on July 1st, now is a good time to look at some of the best moves Tallon has made since becoming GM of the Florida Panthers.

This list may omit moves that were easier for the team to make. For example, drafting Aleksander Barkov may have been the best decision the Panthers have made this decade; however, the decision was relatively simple.

Barkov was widely considered a top five pick, despite most mocks projecting the Panthers to select Seth Jones at #2 instead.

This list will more focus on the steals that Tallon has made and the moves that panned out better than initially imagined.

#5: Trading for Frank Vatrano

This one may be seen as a surprise, considering that Frank Vatrano has only played 97 games as a Panther in his career thus far. Although, the trade has been an absolute steal by Tallon and Florida.

During the 2017-18 season, Vatrano struggled to retain any playing time as a member of the Boston Bruins. He struggled to find consistency after a solid start to his career as Bruin, in which he had.

After picking up an injury against Winnipeg on December 21st, Vatrano sat out for over a month with injury. During that time frame, younger talents such as Anders Bjork and Danton Heinen overtook Vatrano’s place in the organization.

After suffering another knee injury versus Detroit on February 6th, the Bruins decided to cash in on the Massachusetts native. They sent Vatrano to Sunrise in exchange for a third-round pick, in which they selected Jakub Lauko, a forward from the Czech Republic.

Lauko had a decent start to life in North America, with 41 points in 44 games for the QMJHL’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. For Boston, however, Vatrano has emerged into the player they had hoped.

This past season, in 81 games for the Panthers, he overtook his point tally from his 108 games for the Bruins. Vatrano was a key depth piece for the Panthers these past two seasons, scoring 29 times. With Boston, he only found the back of the net 20 times.

To go along with that, Vatrano is only making roughly $2.53 million per season and is paid until the end of the 2021-22 season. The Bruins really swung and missed on this deal, and Tallon is laughing at the aftermath, seeing that he has a quality bottom-six forward for years to come.

#4: Trading for Jaromir Jagr

Arriving via another trade, this time from New Jersey, ageless icon Jaromir Jagr was a key figure in Florida’s return to the playoffs during the 2015-16 season.

Like Vatrano, Jagr was another near-deadline trade for Tallon, and was also acquired for just picks. The Panthers traded their 2015 second-round pick and the Minnesota Wild’s 2015 third-round pick (acquired from trading Sean Bergenheim to Minnesota two days prior). The two selected players, Ryan Gropp and Rem Pitlick, never played a single NHL game for the Devils.

Jagr had an immediate impact on the 2014-15 season, playing alongside Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau, who were young enough to be Jagr’s sons.

Jagr put up 18 points (6G & 12 A) across the final 20 games of the Panthers’ season. The Cats made a miniature playoff push that March, but wound up missing out on a wild-card spot by just seven points.

It was the next season where Jagr’s impacts were truly felt. At age 43, Jagr finished with 66 points (27G & 39A) in 79 games on the Panthers’ top line as the Cats won the Atlantic Division and qualified for the playoffs for the first time in four years.

During his time in South Florida, Jagr advanced to 2nd all time in the NHL in both goals and points. He achieved both of these accomplishments at home, scoring 2 goals against Winnipeg in 2015-16 to reach 2nd all-time in goals, while assisting a Barkov goal against Boston in 2016-17 to reach 2nd all-time in points. Fortunately for me, I was there to witness both.

Overall, Jagr was a complete fan favorite in Sunrise, Florida. A total oddball on the roster, considering most of the top-six forwards for the Panthers were barely born when Jaromir Jagr debuted in the NHL, but he was still a vital piece.

This trade was a huge payoff as a “low-risk, high-reward” trade for Tallon. Jagr’s trade ranks above the Vatrano deal due to Jagr’s importance in a franchise-best regular season.

#3: Aleksander Barkov’s Contract Extension

I may have specified that Barkov’s draft pick may not have been on this list, but it’s hard to omit all of Aleksander Barkov from a Dale Tallon recap.

Barkov, after being the first-line center for the Panthers in 2 of his first 3 seasons, was given a hefty six-year/$34.5 million extension after the Panthers returned to the playoffs in 2015-16.

Barkov was seen as a top player in the NHL at the time by Tallon, and locking him up until 2022 with a no-movement clause and a modified no-trade clause in the last two seasons of his contract seemed necessary.

Since signing the extension, Barkov has been voted an all-star, named team captain, finished 10th in the NHL in scoring, and broke the Panthers’ franchise record for most points in a single season. Not bad for a 23-year-old.

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Barkov’s defense has also continuously increased over this time frame, nominated for the Selke award once, but losing out to Boston’s Patrice Bergeron. Barkov is hailed as a top forward in the NHL and a sure Selke winner for years to come.

Enough about Barkov, let’s discuss why the contract is one of Tallon’s best moves as GM. Barkov is being paid $5.9 million for the next three seasons, tied with Huberdeau for the third-most expensive Panther on the current roster. Considering his value to the organization, having to pay Barkov south of six million dollars is pure genius.

For more reference, let’s look at some of the other contracts of elite forwards in the NHL. Jack Eichel, Buffalo’s captain and franchise player, has just 86 fewer points than Barkov in 127 fewer games, very impressive for a center just one year younger than Barkov. Eichel is being paid $4.1 million more than Barkov and is under contract for four more years than Barkov.

Another divisional center Barkov out-scored this season was Toronto’s John Tavares. Tavares, to his credit, was a vital piece for a playoff team, and actually scored 16 more goals than Barkov did this season. His contact, however, sees JT make $5.9 million more than Florida’s captain, which pays him until he’s 34 years of age.

For more justice on how great the contract is, here is a list of players making at least $2 million more than Barkov: Corey Perry, Ryan Johansen, Ryan Getzlaf,  Bobby Ryan, and Phil Kessel. All of these players weren’t even within 10 points of Barkov this season.

#2: Trading for Brian Campbell

Tallon’s first move in the offseason leading up to Florida’s return to the playoffs in 2012 was trading for Chicago defenseman Brian Campbell. This would be the first of two Blackhawks he would recruit to the roster, but Campbell’s impact was much more felt than Tomas Kopecky’s.

The trade was one for one, with Florida trading forward Rostislav Olesz to Chicago. Olesz had shown glimmers of promise for Florida, with 112 points across 349 games for the Cats. Florida’s issue was on defense, with the Cats boasting the 24th worst defense in the NHL in the year prior.

Soupy’s impact in Florida was immense, with 53 points (4G & 49A) across a full 82-game season in 2011-12, considered one of the best defensemen in the East as the Cats won the Southeast Division. He also went on to put up 5 points (1G & 4A) in the Panthers’ first round defeat to the Devils.

After his debut season, Campbell regressed offensively, but improved his play on defense. Fully entering his veteran stage, Campbell began to take on more and more responsibility defensively.

He also became a very good teacher for a bright young student in Aaron Ekblad, who he played alongside with for roughly two seasons.

Campbell never missed a game for the Panthers across his five-year stint, and was the best defenseman at the club for a long stretch of that time.

His reliable defense helped Aaron Ekblad develop more offensively, leading to an All-Star Game selection for the former first overall pick in 2015-16.

That season, Campbell was a huge part in the Panthers’ return to the post season for a second time during his stay. Despite a similar first round exit, Campbell was still a reliable first-line defenseman with Ekblad into his late thirties.

And whatever happened to Rostislav Olesz you may ask? He played just 16 games in the NHL after the trade. A pure genius move made by Tallon.