The Florida Panthers have decided to leave its roster as is for the remainder of the 2017-18 season and also keep all of their prized prospects in the organizational fold.
Florida reportedly made an offer for New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who ended up in Tampa after a blockbuster deal between the Lightning and Blueshirts, and kicked the tires on some other deals, but nothing came to fruition.
As per floridapanthers.com Jameson Olive’s twitter account, Dale Tallon had this to say after the NHL’s deadline for trades passed:
Tallon: “A lot of the teams wanted our top players and we weren’t willing to do that. We were close on a couple really good deals, but that’s just the way it goes. Sometimes it comes together and sometimes it doesn’t. We’re very satisfied with our young team.”
— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) February 26, 2018
Tallon: “We have a good young team and we didn’t disrupt it. We didn’t give up our top assets moving forward. All in all, we’re in good shape. I like the position we’re in with games in hand and the position were in and a chance to make the playoffs.”
— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) February 26, 2018
The Panthers did acquire forward Frank Vatrano on Thursday from the Boston Bruins in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. Vatrano is currently nursing a hug ankle sprain, but once he is healthy could find himself on the second line as a replacement for Denis Malgin, who will be out for a couple weeks.
Did the Panthers do the right thing on deadline day?
| Yes, let it ride and see what happens | 165 |
| No, they should have made a move | 41 |