The Florida Panthers are coming off one of their most disappointing games they have had in some time on Friday night. They were completely clobbered by the Carolina Hurricanes in a 9-1 loss. Florida bounced back nicely on Saturday as they defeated the Washington Capitals by a score of 5-2, but there is a growing feeling if they want to win a third consecutive Stanley Cup, they have to find a way to improve their defense, and improve their defense now.
On Friday, the Panthers simply could not contain Nikolaj Ehlers, who notched his sixth career NHL hat trick. Ehlers had a four point game and led the Hurricanes in scoring. Florida currently does not have defensemen Dmitry Kulikov (tear in his shoulder) and Seth Jones (upper body injury since January 2) on their active roster.
Who is available at this timer that the Panthers are interested in?
The Panthers are showing interest in Rasmus Andersson, Justin Faulk, and Connor Murphy. Let’s take a look at these three possibilities.
Rasmus Andersson
Earlier today, Jeff Hawkins reported that the Boston Bruins had made a trade offer for Rasmus Andersson. It appears that the Bruins are not the only team interested in Andersson, as there are reports today that the Dallas Stars, Vegas Golden Knights and Panthers are interested too. I have heard from one hockey insider who strongly believes Andersson will be traded before the Olympic break, but the Flames are doing their homework. Andersson did play for the Flames on Saturday, and was a key contributor in a 4-2 Flames win over the New York Islanders. The Malmo, Sweden native has 10 goals and 20 assists for 30 points this season. Andersson is an unrestricted free agent with a no-trade clause. He is making $4.55 million this year.
Justin Faulk
The Blues have struggled keeping the puck out of their net this season, but the verdict is out whether it is because of their struggling defensive group or bad goaltending from Jordan Binnington. Faulk is making $6.5 million this season and $6.5 million next season. The native of South St. Paul, Minnesota has 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points this season and is a -5. Where Faulk provides the Panthers value is the fact he has 2379 shots in 1028 career regular season games.
Connor Murphy
The Panthers are well aware that Murphy is an unrestricted free agent this summer and may try to acquire him as a rental in the coming six weeks. Murphy only has eight points in 47 games, but may provide the Panthers with veteran presence and stability.
