Panthers knew ‘something had to be done’ to stay in playoff hunt. Out goes Trocheck.
The Florida Panthers traded a piece of their core with the hopes it would provide help in the short-term and the future.
Gone the Carolina Hurricanes is Vincent Trocheck, their second-line center and a mainstay in the lineup since being drafted in 2011.
In return the Panthers receive versatile forwards Erik Haula and Lucas Wallmark along with a pair of prospects, including Pembroke Pines native defenseman Chase Priskie. Florida also acquired minor-league defenseman Emil Djuse from the Dallas Stars for a sixth-round pick.
The Panthers, two points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for third place in the Atlantic Division, are still in the thick of the Stanley Cup Playoff race.
But they have gone 4-8-1 since the All-Star Break, and Panthers general manager Dale Tallon knew some sort of roster reconfiguration had to occur.
“Something had to be done,” Tallon said on a conference call shortly after Monday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline passed. “You can’t sit still in today’s NHL. Teams are always looking to get better. You can’t sit still, and you’ve got to be adaptable and you have to make changes when necessary. You can’t sit there and hope. We have to make sure that we’re ready to challenge and get better every game to keep pace or get ahead of other teams. We’re not going to sit still.”
Trocheck was the casualty.
The 26-year-old finishes his Panthers tenure with 282 career points (111 goals, 171 assists) in 420 games.
“It was very emotional, but that’s part of the deal,” Tallon said. “I have good relationships with our players. I’m friendly with them. But the bottom line is what’s best for the Florida Panthers. We felt it was necessary to do this. It was emotional, but it’s a business. You’ve got to move on.”
In return, the Panthers have a new winger in Haula and center in Wallmark that Tallon said will give coach Joel Quenneville more options when constructing his lineups. Both are expected to join the team in Phoenix on Tuesday for their game against the Arizona Coyotes that caps a five-game West Coast trip.
Haula, in his seventh NHL season, has scored 85 goals and tallied 88 assists over 398 games. This season, he has 12 goals and 10 assists in 41 games. Wallmark, in his fourth NHL season, has recorded 54 career points (22 goals, 32 assists) in 160 games. Haula is an unrestricted free agent after this season. Wallmark is a restricted free agent.
‘Quiet’ on Dadonov, Hoffman
Tallon said there was “some action” on potential deals for wingers Evgenii Dadonov and Mike Hoffman, both unrestricted free agents after this season, but not enough for the Panthers to pull the trigger.
Dadnov leads Florida with 25 goals. Hoffman is right behind him with 24, including six in the 13 games since the All-Star Break.
“It was kind of quiet in that regard,” Tallon said. “We would listen to any deal that was good for us long-term as well, but we felt that now that we added these other pieces, our team would be deeper. Offense is still important and now we have a nice mix, a nice blend of players with a lot more depth and versatility on the forward lines. I look for them to have a good finish here.”
‘Critical’ stretch coming for Panthers
The Panthers collectively need a strong finish to the season. They have been bouncing in and out of playoff positioning for the better part of the last two months and only have 20 games left to clinch their postseason berth or be left out all together.
Florida hasn’t made the postseason since the 2015-16 season. It’s last time winning a playoff series came back in 1996 when they reached their only Stanley Cup Final.
Half of their 20 remaining regular-season games are against teams that entered Monday in playoff spots.
“These 20 games for us are critical,” Tallon said. “We know that. Busy schedule. Tough schedule. We want to get in.”
.JPG)