CBS4's Steve Goldstein on trade deadline looming for Florida Panthers
SUNRISE - Historically the NHL is a trading league. Teams are aggressive if they think they have a chance to win the Stanley Cup, exemplified by the Florida Panthers last season.
Friday, March 3 is this year's deadline.
But the Panthers are in a much different position than they were a year ago when they were the best team in the league in the regular season and went for it. We have already seen a number of contenders. This season they may make their big moves in advance of Friday's deadline.
Buy, Sell, or Hold?
That is the magic question.
The Panthers have only played .500 the last couple of weeks and that has put them in a very difficult position to make the playoffs. It would take a big run to get in but this group hasn't shown the ability to get on a winning streak this season. So that likely eliminates the Panthers from being buyers unless a deal comes along for a player that has years left on his contract.
They will assess players currently on the roster that perhaps they don't think would be part of a championship team. Those are the players, depending on the trade return, that could be moved. That includes players whose contracts expire at the end of this season and players with terms beyond this season. They would be more valuable to other teams as they are not just rentals for this season.
There are still two games remaining until the deadline and the outcomes could nudge the team in a direction.
Friday's loss to Buffalo was a damaging one to playoff hopes. The Panthers will again play without Aleksander Barkov, and perhaps without Sam Bennett, Tuesday in Tampa. On Thursday they will host Nashville, just hours before Friday's deadline.
Management has stuck with the group all season long but with only a quarter of the season left, the team hasn't been able to go on one of its patented runs. There is time to do so, but time is running short.