On the Florida Panthers …
Arpon Basu of the NHL.com: The Florida Panthers are on a roll and they have over $9 million in salary cap space heading into the trade deadline.
“The goal is to be buying,” president of hockey operations Dale Tallon told NHL.com in a phone interview Saturday. “I like where we’re at, but I’d like to add some offense to get our power play going.”
Jonathan Huberdeau returned earlier this month, finally giving them a healthy lineup.
Tallon may be willing to trade some prospects in their system since they have such a young roster, but adds:
“But it has to be for the right asset,” Tallon said.
The trade deadline is a just over a week away, but the trade market is quiet.
“It’s quiet right now,” he said. “It’s probably going to go down to next Sunday or Monday before trades are made.”
On the Winnipeg Jets …
Arpon Basu of the NHL.com: Jets forward Mathieu Perreault signed a four-year contract extension in the offseason, but has heard his name in the rumor mill.
“At first I was asking myself where those rumors were coming from,” Perreault said before the Jets played the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Saturday. “I signed a four-year contract extension in the summer, and six months later people are talking about trading me. That’s why, when I talk to the coaches and the organization, I know it’s not coming from the organization. I don’t know if it’s coming from the media or how it’s getting out there.”
Perreault does realize that the expansion draft could be the reason his name has come up.
“Maybe I’m a guy they might lose for nothing,” he said.
Perreault’s wants to remain on Winnipeg, but his modified no-trade clause doesn’t kick in until next year.
“If a trade happens, it will probably be to a team that’s going to make the playoffs, and at my age I’d like to try to win the Stanley Cup eventually. So if it happens, at least it would be to a team that’s going to make the playoffs.”