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Matthew Tkachuk and The FLORIDA PANTHERS?
David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period: St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong could not compete with what the Florida Panthers brought to the table. Just like that, Matthew Tkachuk became a Florida Panther late Friday night.
The official trade looks like this.
- To FLA: Matthew Tkachuk (8-year, $76M extension) 2025 conditional 4th RD pick
- To CGY: Jonathan Huberdeau Mackenzie Weegar Cole Schwindt 2025 conditional 1st RD pick
Quick update: The conditions of the Tkachuk trade are as follows. Calgary’s acquired pick from Florida is lottery protected. As for the fourth round choice to Florida, if the 2025 1st RD pick that Florida sent to Calgary is a lottery pick resulting in Calgary receiving Florida’s 2026 1st RD pick instead, then the 2025 4th RD pick that Calgary sent to Florida also slides to 2026.
Yes, Florida now has its gritty, grimy top-line winger that can play with Aleksander Barkov. This is all while getting physical so that Florida does not get knocked around so much. In the meantime, Calgary gets an up and coming defenseman, and Jonathan Huberdeau (who had 115 points last year).
Imagine two 115 point players (Huberdeau and Johnny Gaudreau) getting moved within this short of a time frame. Let that sink in.
The expectations were that prices would go up. Were they thought to be this high? Probably not. However, it happened. It is a hell of a gamble for Calgary. Can they convince Huberdeau and Weegar to stay? Anything is possible.
The worst case scenario is that Treliving does some more flipping for more players and prospects come the 2022-23 trade deadline. As for Florida, they are going for it in their way. As Jeff Marek put it, “Florida will not see a first-round pick until 2026”.
Bill Zito not being content with what happened last year is clear. Florida will have no pressure at all and Tkachuk getting $9.5 million AAV in a state ($1 million salary, $8.5 million bonuses) with no income tax. There is a lot to digest.
Eventual trade possibilities for Florida?
From CapFriendly: That is correct. The Florida Panthers are now temporarily over the salary cap by around $3.375 million. Florida projects to have a 22-man roster at press time. That includes 13 F, 7 D, and 2 G.
Now, the Panthers are in trouble if Aaron Ekblad cannot stay healthy. He has missed 20+ games in each of the past two seasons. Florida needs to find a way to shed some salary while potentially adding back some depth on the blueline. Bill Zito has his work cut out for him.
Florida’s four highest paid players now make $37.5 million. It does not quite rival the Toronto Maple Leafs but there is some serious top-heaviness. Expect Zito to try and sure up the defense modestly. After this year, Keith Yandle’s ($5+ million) huge buyout comes off the books.
Do both Zito and Treliving reignite more trade winds? That is the question. There are those J.T. Miller rumors which never seem to go away. Then, there is still Vladimir Tarasenko. Either way, it is safe to say Calgary is not done and Florida is definitely not done.
As for the two general managers in question, both have options after the rearranging of their teams. Calgary stops the bleeding but needs depth much like Florida now. Stay tuned.
