The Florida Panthers have acquired defensemen Sean Sullivan from the San Jose Sharks for forward Tim Kennedy. Kennedy was acquired by the Panthers last season, along with a third round pick (Logan Shaw) for Bryan McCabe. Kennedy played 27 games with the Cats, scoring two points (1G/1A) and played 18 games for the San Antonio Rampage, scoring nine points (3G/6A).

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Not quite hitting the level of the Booth deal - announced within 30 minutes of a puck-drop - but nonetheless newsworthy. Press releases after the jump.

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The Florida Panthers have announced on Twitter that they have signed former New Jersey Devils center John Madden. No details have officially been announced, though rumor is that it's a one-year contract, which is what would be expected. Madden played most of his career with New Jersey, followed by one year stints with the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild.

Madden has won multiple Stanley Cups, most recently in 2010 as a member of the Blackhawks. While in New Jersey, in addition to Cup wins in 2000 and 2003, he won the Selke trophy, awarded to the League's best defensive forward, for the 2000-2001 season. He brings experience, plus good faceoff and penalty killing skills to the Panthers, both areas that have needed improvement this season. In addition, he has played with current Panthers Kris Versteeg, Brian Campbell, Tomas Kopecky and Jose Theodore. He will wear Pavel Bure's David Booth's number 10 for the Cats, and he is expected to center the fourth line once Marcel Goc returns to action.

Madden's career statistics after the jump.

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With injuries coming in waves for the Florida Panthers and San Antonio call-ups not exactly impressing in their short stints in the big leagues, the Panthers have reportedly signed Bill Thomas to fill in a spot on the lower lines. 28 year old Thomas has seen time in Sunrise before, he served as the go-to guy for injury call-ups last season with the Panthers playing in 24 games across the span of the season. With injuries suddenly becoming a problem again (Jack Skille was injured vs. Calgary and Sean Bergenheim went down last game) Thomas will find himself in that position yet again for what could be a few months as players slowly return to the lineup. More on Thomas after the jump.

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Florida picked up 31 year-old penalty-machine Krys Barch and a 6th-round selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for minor league forward Jake Hauswirth and a 5th-round pick in '12.

Barch, a 1998 draftee of Washington, is best known for his physical play (555 pims in 253 career games), and presents an experienced, genuine "tough-guy" option for coach Kevin Dineen as Matt Bradley continues to rehab. He is in the final year of a two-season one-way deal, with an approximate cap hit of $837,500 (per CapGeek).

Hauswirth played 16 games for the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees (Central Hockey League), netting 12 points (6 goals). The 23 year-old was acquired in February from the Capitals along with a 3rd-round selection in 2011 (Jonathan Racine) for defenseman Dennis Wideman.

Update: per the club, Barch will wear #21.

The Florida Panthers have called up Evgeny Dadonov from the San Antonio Rampage. Dadonov is tied for fifth on the Rampage's roster for points with four (tied with Angelo Esposito and Mike Kostka), as well tied for second in goals with three (with Colby Robak). Coming into the season, Dadonov was ranked 7th in my list of the top 20 Florida Panthers Prospects heading into 2011-12.

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In the biggest trade of this early season, the Florida Panthers have traded David Booth and Steven Reinprecht to the Vancouver Canucks in return for Mikael Samuelsson and Marco Sturm along with a 3rd round draft pick in 2013. This was a difficult pill to swallow for Panthers fans, David Booth has always been a fan favorite, character guy and explosive player while in Florida, and it is unbelievably difficult to see him go. That said, I can't say it's a bad move for Dale Tallon; Mikael Samuelsson really turned a corner on his game after joining Vancouver a few years ago, and Marco Sturm may finally find some stability in Florida. The two forwards will be UFAs at the end of the season, but I doubt they will be difficult to resign if the Cats get their act together this season. Reinprecht was AHL bound and the 3rd rounder are both non-factors, so the trade seems pretty fair. Given Samuelsson's skill, he should easily replace Booth's numbers this season, perhaps without a -20 rating.

Let this trade sink in for a while, as we're all unhappy to see Booth go (I always pictured Booth as the face of the franchise), but we could be looking at an improvement for the roster. This trade levels up to the Michael Frolik trade, both had great scoring ability but had stretches where they were simply invisible, a characteristic that the new Panthers cant afford to harbor, especially through tough stretches early in the season. More from Nucks Misconduct here.

While Michal Repik is now a certainty to be heading for a fitted Rampage sweater, less clear is the immediate future for 35-year old Steve Reinprecht, who may likely be seeking a return to Germany in the absence of an NHL offer.

If given the option by the organization (and that very well may not be the case), I still feel he should suck it up and collect his guaranteed salary while working with the kids in San Antonio - who could use his valuable veteran presence - but whatever. We'll have an answer soon.

Also of note: Quinton Howden was returned to Moose Jaw this afternoon.