According to the American Hockey League’s transactions page, the Florida Panthers have sent Henrik Borgstrom, Ian McCoshen, Dryden Hunt and Juho Lammikko to the Springfield Thunderbirds.
Many were penciling the dynamic Borgstrom into the right wing spot on the third line, but that will not be the case, at least to start the season.
Look for the more seasoned Frank Vatrano to line up next to Jared McCann and Denis Malgin on Saturday night in Tampa.
Lammikko made it further than expected and could be in line to replace Derek MacKenzie as the club’s fourth line center once MacKenzie’s contract expires at the end of the season, or perhaps sooner.
In another somewhat surprising development (going back to what we thought about the roster pre-camp), Ian McCoshen was beaten out for a spot by Jacob MacDonald, who received a lot of positive feedback for his play during the exhibition season.
I don’t think Hunt was ever someone we expected to be on the opening night roster, but he had a solid camp and will again be in the mix as a call-up.
The Panthers are taking the day off today, so we should have more roster news tomorrow.