Is Bennett or Reinhart Available as Panthers Rebalance Roster?

Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff was asked recently about what the Florida Panthers might be up to and he believes their season could get very interesting. Currently 7th in the Atlantic Division, the Panthers haven’t come close to meeting expectations and they look nothing like the club that took the NHL by storm last season. Part of that resulted from a blockbuster trade the Panthers completed with the Calgary Flames over the summer, and another is due to what Servalli calls an unbalanced roster.

While speaking with Tyler Yaremchuk about what would happen if the Panthers found themselves in sell mode ahead of this season’s NHL Trade Deadline, Seravalli hinted that it’s likely something like that happens. He noted, “I think their key objective for the deadline is to set themselves up for the summer. They’ve essentially got $12 million coming off the books between dead cap money and also the deal for Patric Hornqvist, which expires.” With that, the Panthers would like to come back next season with a more balanced roster. To get there, they’ll need to use both the money they free up and some current assets to fill holes in other places.

Key among the holes they need to fill, Seravalli believes the Panthers might consider trading Sam Reinhart or Sam Bennett to secure the services of a top-flight defenseman to play with Aaron Ekblad.

Elliotte Friedman talked about the Panthers as well on a recent episode of The Jeff Marek Show and along with Matt Marchese, the discussion revolved around the Panthers’ goaltending and lack of current resources. Marchese noted: “Now Florida is 12th in the East in points. It’s a much tighter Eastern Conference, I’ll say that much, but this does feel like … Do I think they’ll get out of this? Sure. Do I think they’ll need to figure out their goalies, do their goalies need to be more consistent? Sure.” He doesn’t think that will happen immediately and Friedman agreed, saying, “No. No they can’t because their just, they also don’t have a lot of resources to trade with.”

This includes not having a first-round pick and that the team didn’t insist on lottery protecting that #1 pick in the Ben Chariot trade is coming back to haunt them. Friedman said, “They’re tight in the cap and they don’t have a lot pieces that they can move for top-end players. And so they’re in a really tough spot. There’s no question about that.”

Can Reinhart of Bennett Get Them What They Need?

Reinhart has two seasons (including this one) remaining on a deal that pays him $6.5 million per season. It’s not an inexpensive contract that any team can fit onto their roster, but the forward is productive. He’s coming off of an 82-point season and has 12 goals and 26 points in 39 games this year. Clearly, that’s a dip in production, but he’s still only 27 years old.

Bennett is a grinding forward with skill who has the ability to finish plays and play up and down the lineup. He’s a bit more affordable at $4.425 million per season for two more seasons after this one and he scored 28 goals last year. He too has taken a dip in production and is on pace for about 17 goals.

Next: Mattias Ekholm Put on Trade Block By Nashville Predators