The Florida Panthers experiment seems to have come to an end for general manager Dale Tallon. After spending the summer of 2011 to stock up on any free agent, the team won the Southeast division title and made the playoffs for the first time in almost a decade. However, the team got off to a league-worst start in 2012-13 and is poised to miss the playoffs. The result is that a rebuild could be in order for the Panthers.
According to Bruce Garrioch of The Calgary Sun, "With the exception of center Jonathan Huberdeau, defenseman, Erik Gudbranson, goalie Jakob Markstrom and center Drew Shore, pretty much every player on the Florida roster is up for grabs as the Panthers try to shed some cash."
Two major names in trade rumors of late include Stephen Weiss and Brian Campbell. Eklund of Hockeybuzz writes that the Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers are major contenders to trade for Campbell. However, Campbell carries a large contract that carries a $7.1 million cap hit until 2015-16.
Garrioch added that the Bruins, Penguins and Canucks were all major players in the Weiss sweepstakes earlier in the month, but the star suffered a wrist injury that has sidelined him for the remainder of the season. As a result, he is like not tradable, especially considering his contract situation. Weiss is slated to be a free agent this summer and has asserted that he will not talk about his contract during the season. Since he will not play for the rest of the year, it is unlikely that any team would want to trade for him and then see him walk away in the summer. If Weiss is to be traded, then it is likely with a promise of signing a new contract with the team he is being moved to.
CBS Sports adds that other major assets include Alex Kovalev, Tomas Fleischmann, and Tomas Kopecky.
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