Realistic, Logical, Ambitious: Three Trade Targets for the Florida Panthers
With February at our arrival, the trade fires will start to burn again. Teams will begin to buy and sell again as the deadline nears, and the Florida Panthers need to be buyers in 2020.
Despite the recent dip in form, the Florida Panthers are in a good position coming out of their extended All-Star break to make the playoffs. Florida is a point ahead of Toronto with a game in hand, with two matchups to go against the Leafs. In the case Toronto jumps the Cats, they are still just a point back of Carolina and Philadelphia, with a game in hand on both of those teams.
While the goal of playoffs looks likely, there is no secret the Panthers want to push for greater heights, and the only way to do that is at the trade deadline.
Right now, there are at least eight teams that could be looking to deal assets at the deadline for future pieces. Some playoff teams may even look to move pieces around to try and improve in areas that need strengthening, something that the Panthers should be no strangers to.
With that said, this is the start of a series that will continue up until the trade deadline called “Realistic, Logical, Ambitious.” Each article will contain three targets for the Florida Panthers, with realistic being the most likely, and ambitious being the players that fans hold out hope for.
The three players will be players that either I think could benefit the team or players that fans suggest, so feel free to ask us what we think about a player’s availability for Dale Tallon.
Without any further ado, we’ll dive right into our first three targets.
Realistic: Derek Forbort (27, D, Los Angeles Kings)
It’s no secret that the Florida Panthers need to improve on the blue line, and a defensive-defenseman in his prime might be a prime target for Dale Tallon this coming month.
Derek Forbort has been one of the consistent names in the lineup for the Los Angeles Kings in the past three seasons. Up until this season, Forbort had played 95% of the season for LA since 2016, playing 80+ games twice.
Forbort’s numbers don’t jump out to the common fan, 50 points in 241 games for Los Angeles, +13 plus/minus, 454 blocks. Not awful numbers, but certainly not great, either. These last two seasons, however, have been nightmarish for the Kings.
After a stunning playoff elimination to the then-expansion Vegas Golden Knights, the Kings stumbled to the basement of the West, finishing with a 31-42-9 record, their worst in that decade. This season hasn’t seen much change, as the Kings are still well and truly stuck to the bottom of a Pacific Division that they owned at the start of this decade.
With playoff ambitions gone, the Kings may become one of the quickest sellers at the deadline, getting rid of some of the unnecessary pieces to free up roster space for younger prospects. Forbort, this season, has been practically excluded from the roster, ruled out with injury multiple times.
Forbort has played just six games this season, picking up one point, but has been relatively solid defensively. With his contract expiring this season, the time is now for Los Angeles to try and get as much as they can for the defenseman.
Forbort could come in and challenge Mike Matheson for a consistent spot on this team. He has playoff experience with LA, throws the body around defensively, and records very minimal penalties. To go on top of that, he averages 20 minutes of ice time a night in his last three seasons and will cost little due to the expiring contract.
There are some weaknesses to Forbort’s game, however. The recent injuries will question if he plays at the same rate he does in 2018-19, but it isn’t impossible. Forbort also isn’t the most reliable with the puck on his stick, nearly averaging one giveaway per game.
For Florida, however, a defenseman with an expiring contract on a rebuilding team could be just the piece to boost the playoff run.
Logical: Chris Tierney (25, C, Ottawa Senators)
The logical options on these will be players that make sense for the Florida Panthers to look after but are slightly better than the realistic option. Someone in a very similar situation to Forbort is Ottawa center, Chris Tierney.
While this might not be the first thought for the Panthers in terms of need, with the Cats being one of the highest top-scoring teams in the NHL, the forward depth, especially at center, isn’t ideal for a team that wants to make a deep playoff run.
Tierney was one of the pieces involved in the Erik Karlsson blockbuster, traded to Ottawa after recording his best season for San Jose. Tierney recorded 40 points for the first time in 2017-18 and has continuously built on that season with the Senators.
Motivated to succeed with more shifts than what he got in San Jose, Tierney recorded his best season last campaign. Despite scoring just nine times, Tierney had 48 points in 81 games for Ottawa in his debut season with the Sens.
This season, Tierney has rediscovered both his goalscoring touch and defensive game. In 51 games this season, Tierney already has more goals than last season with a 15.4 shooting percentage and a -1 plus/minus. While Tierney had all nine of his goals last season at even strength, Tierney has scored four shorthanded goals this season, with only one coming on the power play.
Tierney will be an RFA at the conclusion of this season, and while it isn’t too likely he’ll be offer-sheeted, Ottawa may consider moving on if a good enough offer comes.
The key question is whether Ottawa wants to commit to Tierney long term and how important he is to their future. The Senators are locked into just three deals after 2021, with Colin White and Thomas Chabot likely being the only two they value for the future. Ottawa’s future is still very much a mystery, with players like Tierney, Anthony Duclair, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, and Vladislav Namestnikov’s futures all up in the air in this coming offseason if all stay with the club.
Tierney would be a legit 3C for the Florida Panthers. Tierney would provide great defense and some keen creativity over someone like Dominic Toninato on the third line.
Ambitious: Chris Kreider (28, LW, New York Rangers)
While Chris Tierney could potentially be one of the best third liners in the league, if Florida were to trade for and play him on their third line, he would be the best third-line player in the league.
Since joining New York from NCAA’s Boston College, Kreider has been one of the most consistent offensive weapons for the Blueshirts. Outside of 2013-14, his Calder season, and 2017-18, in which Kreider missed 24 games with an injury, the American has scored 20+ goals in each season.
In addition to the goals, Kreider’s points mostly come via 5-on-5 hockey, with 230 points coming at even strength, roughly 75% of his total points.
As if those numbers don’t speak enough volume, Kreider’s adjusted numbers make him look even better. This season, Kreider has just 19 goals and 18 assists, but his adjusted numbers show that the winger should have 30 goals and 28 assists just over 50 games in which would be an incredible season for any winger.
The cherry on top, Kreider is on an expiring contract and will be a UFA at season’s end. For New York, a team ten points outside playoff contention, the time may be now to cash-in on their No. 20, and the Panthers might be the team that needs his goalscoring. To make the trade easier, New York may retain salary, but it all depends on what they get back.
With Vincent Trocheck and Brett Connolly struggling for goals as of late, Kreider slotting in would give Florida another great source of offense. This is also someone who has some great experience in the playoffs, leading New York in playoff points in his rookie season, putting 13 points up in 15 games as the Rangers crashed out in the Conference Finals.
While there’s no guarantee New York would even consider moving on from the former BC Eagle, the Panthers could potentially secure Kreider as a sure rental, to potentially get them over the line come playoff time.
Your Panthers are back in action on Saturday, February. 8 @ 7 P.M. to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins, looking to get back into the win column.