[Rumour] Panthers making a push for Hanifin. Hanifin's preference is Tampa

[Saqe]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

Do the Panthers not want to keep Forsling and Montour or are they going to let those guys walk? Can they afford to keep those 2 and give Hanifin the big deal he wants?

If they want Hanifin then someone has to go, I could see it be Ekblad at the end of the year. But they are trying to re-sign both Forsling and Montour or that's what has been leaked.

[TOfan]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

Do the Panthers not want to keep Forsling and Montour or are they going to let those guys walk? Can they afford to keep those 2 and give Hanifin the big deal he wants?

I wonder if we’re going to see more Gaudreau like situations where players head into UFA status only to find out the 1 or 2 teams they want to play for are not options after all.

[flambers]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

Do the Panthers not want to keep Forsling and Montour or are they going to let those guys walk? Can they afford to keep those 2 and give Hanifin the big deal he wants?

They have cap room and have flexibility around their roster.

I would guess Panthers, will bring in a dman at the deadline.

No idea if its Hanifin.

In terms of the UFAs, I doubt they will have problem re-signing if they want to keep the players

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by Saqe

If they want Hanifin then someone has to go, I could see it be Ekblad at the end of the year. But they are trying to re-sign both Forsling and Montour or that's what has been leaked.

Or Montour or Forsling want to test the market and have informed the Panthers.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by flambers

They have cap room and have flexibility around their roster.

I would guess Panthers, will bring in a dman at the deadline.

No idea if its Hanifin.

In terms of the UFAs, I doubt they will have problem re-signing if they want to keep the players

There is a salary cap, even in Florida, they won't keep everyone

[Saqe]

Originally Posted by Bonded

Or Montour or Forsling want to test the market and have informed the Panthers.

If both are asking for the moon then I think they'll pay Forsling and let Montour walk. They brought in three new UFA defensemen this year haven't missed a beat, Zito has been a magician with his signings so far. I don't see them handcuffed.
Hanifin trade would make sense if Montour is walking at the end of the year. My bet is still Boston though.

[Hackey]

Montour has had a poor year but has been on fire recently. It will be interesting to see what his contract looks like.

[flambers]

Originally Posted by dino7c

There is a salary cap, even in Florida, they won't keep everyone

Agreed, same thing happened with Tampa.

[InternationalVillager]

Originally Posted by Hackey

Montour has had a poor year but has been on fire recently. It will be interesting to see what his contract looks like.

I would just chalk that up to coming back from shoulder surgery and the time that it took to get back to his level from last year. See Ekblad. He is struggling as well.

[konradical]

They get Hanifin and let one of Forsling/Montour walk. Simple

[FanIn80]

Zito traded Weegar and Huberdeau after winning the President's trophy. Does he trade 28 year-old, injury-prone Ekblad with another seaon left at 7.5M for 27 year old workhorse Hanifin with an 8 year deal in place?

He's gonna have to pay up on either Forsilng or Montour this off season (I would 100% keep Forsling), and Ekblad is already making 7.5M and will be almost 30 and most likely want something that starts at around 10M when his current deal is up.

They obv have to give us more than just Ekblad for Hanifin (signed for 8 years), but hopefully Conny flips Ekblad in the offseason for even more.


Don't get me wrong, moving Ekblad ahead of the playoffs when you're the current favourite is a ballsy move... but it's probably also the smart move too (although a bit of a dick move to Ekblad).

[Major Major]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Zito traded Weegar and Huberdeau after winning the President's trophy. Does he trade 28 year-old, injury-prone Ekblad with another seaon left at 7.5M for 27 year old workhorse Hanifin with an 8 year deal in place?

He's gonna have to pay up on either Forsilng or Montour this off season (I would 100% keep Forsling), and Ekblad is already making 7.5M and will be almost 30 and most likely want something that starts at around 10M when his current deal is up.

They obv have to give us more than just Ekblad for Hanifin (signed for 8 years), but hopefully Conny flips Ekblad in the offseason for even more.


Don't get me wrong, moving Ekblad ahead of the playoffs when you're the current favourite is a ballsy move... but it's probably also the smart move too (although a bit of a dick move to Ekblad).

I thought the same thing but full NMC so no chance...

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by Major Major

I thought the same thing but full NMC so no chance...

Yeah that's fair, for sure.

There's that whole "do I stay and try to win a Cup with a team that wants to trade me, especially when it gets out that I prevented them from going younger/cheaper/better?"

I mean, I really like Ekblad and I wouldn't blame him at all for saying no... but Hanifin is an upgrade on him in terms of durability and (at least this season) performance. Worst case, it's an even trade in points (moving forward), but still Hanifin still wins out in age, cost and durability.

I dunno. It's tough. I don't know what I would do in that situation if I was either Zito or Ekblad.


Edit: Also, that would be a pretty massive chunk of team chemistry going out the door, with a lot of pressure on Hanifin to replace a lot of it. Imagine it backfires in the playoffs... even if it smoothes out in the offseason and Zito's proven right in the coming years, if they don't win Cup(s) with Hanifin, there will always be a "we could have won that year with Ekblad" thing.

[Sec214]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Yeah that's fair, for sure.

There's that whole "do I stay and try to win a Cup with a team that wants to trade me, especially when it gets out that I prevented them from going younger/cheaper/better?"

I mean, I really like Ekblad and I wouldn't blame him at all for saying no... but Hanifin is an upgrade on him in terms of durability and (at least this season) performance. Worst case, it's an even trade in points (moving forward), but still Hanifin still wins out in age, cost and durability.

I dunno. It's tough. I don't know what I would do in that situation if I was either Zito or Ekblad.


Edit: Also, that would be a pretty massive chunk of team chemistry going out the door, with a lot of pressure on Hanifin to replace a lot of it. Imagine it backfires in the playoffs... even if it smoothes out in the offseason and Zito's proven right in the coming years, if they don't win Cup(s) with Hanifin, there will always be a "we could have won that year with Ekblad" thing.

He wouldn't even answer the phone call from Zito. Ekblad isn't leaving, him and Sasha are the beat of that team closely followed by Chucky.

[Saqe]

If Zito moves Ekblad it's in the off-season, they're all in again and have cap space right now to add pretty much anyone. Also Ekblad's nmc turns into a 12 team ntc in the summer.

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by Hackey

Montour has had a poor year but has been on fire recently. It will be interesting to see what his contract looks like.

I’ve always liked Monty, all the way back to his Anaheim days.

[Circa89]

the storms and flooding may be getting worse, maybe not, but who better to deal with them than a Man named NOAH. Get that man his boat and send him south.

[Saqe]

Originally Posted by Sandman

I’ve always liked Monty, all the way back to his Anaheim days.

Now that he is going again (13 points in the last 7 games) he's an absolute beast. Him and Forsling. Two of the best kept secrets in the league.

[Major Major]

Extended Hanifin for extended Montour?

[Royle9]

Originally Posted by Major Major

Extended Hanifin for extended Montour?