The Florida Panthers made two trades today. The first one was to trade Mackie Samoskevich to the Seattle Kraken for the 25th pick in the first round this year and a conditional second round pick next year (2027). The Kraken get a young 23-year-old Right Winger that the Kraken desperately need. But enough about a team that is on the bad side of mediocre.
This trade was one that made no sense if you looked at it alone. The Florida Panthers are in win now mode. One that looked like a MASH unit last year, but still a dangerous one. Just look at their team and the people they have on their roster. Look at the paper, you might think you are watching 1970’s hockey if you look at the film with all the thuggery that they use.
So after they complete the trade with the Kraken, the Panthers call a bit further north to Ottawa. The Senators that were swept in the Playoffs first round. The only thing that you will remember for that series is the opening faceoff when Brady Tkiachuk goaded Jordan Staal into a fight and then promptly got smoked by the Hurricanes captain. I know I smiled when I saw that happen. Back to the task at hand. The Panthers ask for Brady Tkachuk. The Senators give up Brady Tkachuk. In return, the Florida Panthers send The Number 9 and 25 picks in this years !st Round of the Draft to Ottawa. Okay, 2 First Round Picks for Brady Tkachuk? A bit of a small return for a Olympic Gold Medalist.
But that isn’t all that Florida sent North in this trade. They sent a 2029 1st Round Pick and a 2030 2ndf Round Pick. Let’s talk about the Senators for a second here. Yes, they trade their captain and let’s be honest a real good hockey player. Negative. Positive? They get rid of a disruptive force in the locker room if the rumors are to be believed. The team also gets salary cap relief to go out and sign someone that might gel in their player group. And finally, they will probably trade one or both of those 1st round picks this year for players that can help them in their quest to become a playoff force in the next couple of years. The foundation is there and it could be addition by subtraction with this trade.
Now let’s get to the why I labeled this post the way that I did. I like Brady Tkachuk the player. Wish he was on my favorite team. But his personality is all wrong for the Stanley Cup Champions. If you are fans of the Carolina Hurricanes, you dislike the Florida Panthers and the smug arrogance that they had been displaying for the past couple of years since winning a couple of Stanley Cups. From the coach (God, I loved Paul Maurice in Hartford), all the way down to the last cheap shot artist that they have on the roster, there is a dislike of them. Add in a brash talkative player who thought that he could play tough against the Hurricanes and do a couple of dirty things during the playoffs. Of course, he turned chicken when the Hurricanes tough guy asked him to fight. Damn Chickenhawks.
Anyways, the Panthers now have a Top 9 that might be the best in the NHL. You cannot argue with what Bill Zito has created in South Florida. They do need goaltending and possibly a MASH Unit to travel with them because this core is old for NHL standards. They think that they have their Number One center of the future on the roster already, so the cupboard won’t be completely bare when this team falls apart and they need to retool. But for now the team that is widely known as the dirtiest in the league just bolstered their forward group. And that to me just means more problems for the NHL.