Post by Florida Panthers on Jan 18, 2022 17:43:40 GMT -6
The Florida Panthers have had a busy few weeks.
After an unexpectedly hot start to the season, Florida completed two significant trades which saw key veterans Oscar Klefbom and Marc-Andre Fleury depart the club in exchange for a gaggle of young forwards.
Klefbom was shipped to the McDavid-led San Jose Sharks for a package headlined by promising young forwards Jake Neighbours and Fabian Lysell. Then, in a surprise late-night move, both Florida netminders -- Marc-Andre Fleury and Jake Allen -- were dealt to the powerhouse Chicago Blackhawks when Blackhawks GM Tyler Hetherington offered up blue-chip forward Seth Jarvis and a 2022 1st round pick as part of the deal.
When asked why he steered one of the league's early-season leaders towards a rebuild, Panthers GM Jay Seo offered a blunt assessment.
"Our success wasn't going to be sustainable long-term," Seo explained. "We started the season with a 10-3-0 record, but that was off the back of an incredible run by Mark Scheifele and Kirill Kaprizov. I felt that we needed an injection of younger talent that can come up and support those two stars in the next season or two."
Jarvis, Neighbours, and Lysell add to an impressive group of forward prospects that includes Peyton Krebs, Alex Turcotte, and Kirill Marchenko. If all goes well, most of these players should be ready to compete for a Panthers roster spot in one or two seasons. For now, new additions Thomas Greiss and Darcy Kuemper will look to keep the Panthers above water while the club's youth develops.
