3 trades that will supercharge the Florida Panthers quest for a Cup
The Florida Panthers aren’t sneaking up on anyone this season, and they are just a few pieces from finishing what they started last June.
The Florida Panthers are looking to hoist the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history after they went on an unprecedented run last season. While they are strapped for cash and assets that they can move elsewhere, there are a few under-the-radar forwards that will help this team return to the Stanley Cup Final and finish what they started last June.
None of the names mentioned below scream ‘blockbuster trade,’ but they are all serviceable role players who will make Florida a better overall hockey team. At the right price, one of them will fit into the Panthers limited budget in their quest for a Cup.
Keep in mind that some of these trade packages will overlap, and that’s because the Panthers would have a tough time realistically fitting them all into the lineup with a below-average prospects pool and little cap space. Therefore, expect one of them, or an identical player, to arrive in Sunrise with a similar package should Florida make a trade.
Dominik Kubalik is perfect, considering the Panthers current cap situation
Despite such little production this season, Dominik Kubalik can score, so let’s not fool ourselves into believing his game has taken a turn for the worst with just nine goals in 2023-24. He still has a 14.8 shooting percentage and a pair of goals on the power play. Therefore, trust in Kubalik if he arrives in an intra-divisional trade.
With a list of prospects as poor as the one the Ottawa Senators possess, Florida has enough draft picks to swap in this deal that could kickstart their division rival into replenishing their pool. In this trade, the Senators flip Kubalik to the Panthers for a third-round pick in 2024 and a second-rounder in 2025. This is a little more than Kubalik is worth, but Florida is more focused on winning a Cup than worrying about future assets.
Reuniting with Mike Hoffman could work at the right price
The Panthers worked well in the past with San Jose when they traded winger Anthony Duclair to the Sharks. This time, Florida once again calls up general manager Mike Grier if Kubalik is off the table, and they inquire about Hoffman’s services.
Like just about everyone on the Sharks this season, Hoffman was no stranger to struggling. But like Kubalik, when he manages to get a shot off, they have been finding the net often. Hoffman has just eight goals, but he also boasts a 13.8 shooting percentage, and he will also fit well on the bottom-six to provide experienced depth.
Best yet, Hoffman is a former Panther who spent his finest season in Sunrise back in 2018-19 when he scored 70 points and 36 goals. Hoffman also contributed defensively with 48 takeaways, and given the 23 he has with a bad team this season, it’s clear he can still play well when his team doesn’t have the puck.
Ironically, the Sharks were the team that traded Hoffman to the Panthers in the first place in 2018, so in this scenario, history repeats itself. Despite their lack of cap space, Hoffman will be easy to fit into Florida’s lineup, but the Panthers will give up that same third-rounder this year, and a second in 2025 to complete the deal should this take place.
Adam Henrique could realistically land on the East Coast
An ideal situation for the Florida Panthers would be to bring in Adam Henrique of the Anaheim Ducks. The 34-year-old is by far the best potential contributor on this list, and he’s been scoring and finding the net in roughly one out of every six shots on goal, good for a 16.1 shooting percentage.
The issue here is that simply trading for Henrique with picks or prospects would put Florida over the cap. But the Ducks can remedy this by retaining 50 percent of Henrique’s contract. This gives Florida breathing room, and they will trade away two second-rounders, one in 2025 and one in 2026, a third in 2024, plus prospect Jack Devine, to at least rent Henrique for the rest of the season. Ideally, Anaheim will want a first that the Panthers don’t have, but if they want a quantity of picks, Florida still has them.
He can help the Panthers out in many ways, whether it’s to provide scoring depth, win faceoffs, or even play sound defense when they don’t have the puck. The only real downside to this trade is that if the Panthers dealt for Henrique, it would be tough to see them getting any more help at the deadline.
That is unless general manager Bill Zito is able to move some players and more assets around. We will see if the Panthers can snag a prolific scorer like Henrique for the remainder of the season, if not longer, and perhaps he will prove to be the missing piece in Sunrise.
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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference as of February 9th, contract info provided by Cap-Friendly)