Panthers Stay Idle While Teams Around Them Make Trades

The Florida Panthers have held true to their word this trade deadline.

While other teams around them have made decisions on being buyers or sellers the Panthers have just… done neither.

Panthers Not Selling But Don’t Seem to be Buying, Either

At the start of the week, head coach Paul Maurice stated that the team would not be sellers.

“I firmly believe we are all-in with the free agents we have, keeping them as Florida Panthers,’’ Maurice was quoted as saying.

“We are not at the tail-end of a five, six-year run. We are at the start of it. You are either buyers or sellers at the trade deadline — and we’re not sellers.”

Well, with all the trade activity happening around the league, they also don’t seem to be buyers.

But with roughly 24 hours till the whistle blows to end the 2023 NHL trade deadline, there is still time for Bill Zito to make his move.

And perhaps this has been his intent all along.

Zito hasn’t given up much for the rumour mill this trade season. You’d be hard-pressed to find any trade talk that’s held much weight in regard to its truth with the Panthers.

Zito’s poker face is dialed in. He’s sitting at the table and keeps “checking,” waiting to see what other teams will do.

It’s a smart play, really.

The Panthers don’t have much to give and can’t very well take on too much either because of their cap restraints.

So by waiting it out this week, they have been able to see which teams in the Wild Card race have become sellers and which ones are buyers.

By leaning out the herd, Zito can narrow his focus on which teams he needs to contend with and act/trade accordingly.

This will help maximize the return on whichever moves he does decide to make.

Two Teams Drop Out of the Wild Card Race

As this week has progressed, it has painted a clearer picture of which teams in the Eastern Conference are planning on making a run at the playoffs.

Before the week started, there were seven teams with a reasonable shot at securing the final two Wild Card positions: the Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, Washington Capitals, Ottawa Senators, and Florida Panthers — all separated by only a few points.

But as the week has gone on, it looks to be that the Red Wings and Capitals have bowed out of the race, leaving only five teams for two spots. 

That’s a nicer number to work with for Zito and the Cats.

The Capitals are in full sell mode. They’ve traded away Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway to the Boston Bruins, Lars Eller to the Colorado Avalanche, Marcus Johansson to the Minnesota Wild, and Erik Gustafsson to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Red Wings haven’t been selling to quite the same degree, but it’s still a sell nonetheless. Leaving the Motor City is forward Tyler Bertuzzi (who’s been dealt to the Bruins) and defenceman Filip Hronek (who’s headed to the Vancouver Canucks).

Sure, the Red Wings could still go on a run and make the playoffs, but those are key guys to deal away and definitely hurt their chances (which currently stand at just 3% according to moneypuck.com).

Two Teams Stacking Up for Wild Card Race

On the flip side, the Ottawa Senators have made a splash in the trade market following their recent stretch of wins.

The Sens won out on the Jakob Chychrun sweepstakes, acquiring the Arizona Coyotes defencemen for three draft picks.

Chychrun has seven goals and 28 points in 36 games this season.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have also added to their lineup. Their move wasn’t nearly as splashy, but it does indicate their intent to compete. 

The Pens added forward Mikael Granlund from the Nashville Predators for a second round pick in 2023.

The Sens are currently five points out of a wild card spot, whereas the Penguins hold the final playoff spot with 69 points.

Two Teams Staying Idle

So we have two sellers and two buyers.

Now we are left with just the Sabres and Islanders as teams who haven’t shown their hand completely yet.

The Islanders did add Bo Horvat before all the chaos of this trade deadline. Lou Lamoriello got ahead of the league in dealing for the former Canucks captain.

They had positioned themselves to be buyers by this point of the season, but an injury to star forward Mathew Barzal, who is out week-to-week, has dampened their plans to push for the playoffs.

If his timetable to return is too late, the Islanders will most likely stay put or sell off more assets before Friday afternoon.

The Sabres have also been surveying the situation. The upstart team out of New York has given their fanbase plenty to cheer about this season, but they don’t look to be getting ahead of themselves.

“I’m proud of how our guys have grown, are learning and evolving over the course of the season,” general manager Kevyn Adams said earlier this week.

“There’s a long way to go. We’re getting better. I’m proud with how hard our guys are battling and excited we’re in this spot where every game is critical, every game is meaningful. It’s exciting.”

The Sabres look poised to be perennial playoff contenders for years to come, so they won’t jeopardize their future for a run in a year where the Eastern Conference is the best it has been in years.

They currently have a 27.8% chance to make the playoffs.

Panthers’ Zito To Make Decision on Trade Deadline Status

And now that leaves us with the Florida Panthers. 

Much like the Sabres, Zito is looking at this year as one where he likes what he has and doesn’t need to jeopardize the future by taking big swings on the market.

The Panthers could still benefit from making some minor trades to build their pipeline to use for future trade deadlines.

If this team can stay healthy and get Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett back, they have just as good a shot as any of these teams to make the postseason.

At least that’s what Zito and Maurice see.

That being said, the Panthers have one more game before the trade deadline: a home date with the Nashville Predators.

The outcome of that game could very well be the decision maker on if Zito decides to be a buyer or a seller tomorrow if he hasn’t made up his mind already.

Whatever his decision, tomorrow should shape up to be an entertaining day in the hockey world.