Bouwmeester still in play

Sunrise - Panthers Assistant General Manager Randy Sexton said Wednesday that he has spoken with every general manager in the league about potential deals, including a trade of soon-to-be unrestricted free-agent defenseman Jay Bouwmeester.

[DREW]

So basically... blah blah blah... nothing new blah blah ... same stuff different pile... yacketty schmacketty ... panthers offseason ... blah blah.

Go Panthers, now where are my free tickets.

[JimH]

Jay's a goner. Take the first decent offer you hear, Randy!

[Wait a Minute]

Trading the negotiating rights to Bouwmeester isn't likely to net them a good 2nd line center. I just don't see any team giving away that much for signing rights. To me it says they also plan to trade someone else - Vokoun, Horton, Olesz, Kreps, Matthias?

But now they also need a good puck moving defenseman and there really aren't too many of those around who can play the minutes Bouwmeester can play and play in a top two pairing. I still like the idea of getting a kid like Kulikov in the draft, as he is projected to be ready to play at the NHL level.

Interesting couple of weeks coming up right up until the draft. I also continue to think Sexton is going to be named the GM. Anyone else they might hire would likely come after the draft and that means a new GM would have had almost no input on next season's roster if they intend to use pre-draft trades instead of free agency to fill roster spots.

[JimH]

WaM, do you think they'll have a GM in place before July 1? I'm not so sure they will, so whichever they hire will have pretty much no impact on the '09-10 roster (unless it's Randy). Most of the free agents worth having are gone at the beginning of the FA period. the others that will be available are either too expensive or too common.

If they get a pick for Jay, or a decent prospect, it's a good trade. I think if they take aboard a salary dump it'll be ok if it's still a good player (Phaneuf?)

[Drag Queen]

Now with the so called negotiations to sale : more reasons to do NADA- the Panthers will be sold maybe after 3 years.
Now Cohen is moving his wallet from the rear right pocket to the rear left and has a big laugh in the process...

[panthersfan751]

If we wanted to move up in the draft, would Edmonton swap 1st round picks with us if we gave them Bo's rights?

[Jack Tupp]

panthersfan751 wrote:

If we wanted to move up in the draft, would Edmonton swap 1st round picks with us if we gave them Bo's rights?

I don't think the Oilers would do that. Merely getting Bouw's telephone number is a steep price to pay for dropping four spots (10 to 14). If the Oilers could talk to him prior to the proposed trade of draft picks to ensure a deal was in place first then I'd say go for it.

[panthersfan751]

Jack Tupp wrote:

<quoted text>
I don't think the Oilers would do that. Merely getting Bouw's telephone number is a steep price to pay for dropping four spots (10 to 14). If the Oilers could talk to him prior to the proposed trade of draft picks to ensure a deal was in place first then I'd say go for it.

What else would the Panthers have to throw in for the Oilers to make the deal?
I ask because I'd rather do this type of a deal than trade Bo's rights for a pick in the 2nd/3rd round.

[Jack Tupp]

panthersfan751 wrote:

<quoted text>
What else would the Panthers have to throw in for the Oilers to make the deal?
I ask because I'd rather do this type of a deal than trade Bo's rights for a pick in the 2nd/3rd round.

I'm not sure the Panthers could even get a third-round draft pick. Everyone seems to know he wants to test the free agent market and see what type of offers come in, so most teams are probably reluctant to offer anything substantial other than a late-round pick, around the fifth or sixth round as it would only give the receiving team less than two weeks to secure a deal before July 1st. The time to trade him, as we all know, was at the March deadline when roster players and/or draft picks would have been sent to the Panthers.

[The GM]

Bouw's exclusive rights will be dealt to Calgary and the Cats will get Phaneuf in return - bank on it.

[Wait a Minute]

The GM wrote:

Bouw's exclusive rights will be dealt to Calgary and the Cats will get Phaneuf in return - bank on it.

Steep price to pay for exclusive rights. I'll take Phaneuf if that's the price. Have you ever heard Phaneuf interviewed? For a guy who is tough as nails on the ice, he comes off as a soft spoken (and well spoken) nice guy. Used to not like him so much until I heard him interviewed. He would fit in very well in DeBoer's system.

[Wait a Minute]

JimH wrote:

WaM, do you think they'll have a GM in place before July 1? I'm not so sure they will, so whichever they hire will have pretty much no impact on the '09-10 roster (unless it's Randy). Most of the free agents worth having are gone at the beginning of the FA period. the others that will be available are either too expensive or too common.
If they get a pick for Jay, or a decent prospect, it's a good trade. I think if they take aboard a salary dump it'll be ok if it's still a good player (Phaneuf?)

I think they have their GM now. Sexton. It just doesn't seem logical to hire someone after the draft and after the free agent season starts. If they are hiring someone from the outside it just makes sense to do it early and let them make preparations for draft picks and deals based on their evaluation/view of the available talent. I expect them to make their announcement either before the draft or before July 1st (to give Sexton a bit more mojo).

[The Other Side]

Wait a Minute wrote:

Trading the negotiating rights to Bouwmeester isn't likely to net them a good 2nd line center. I just don't see any team giving away that much for signing rights. To me it says they also plan to trade someone else - Vokoun, Horton, Olesz, Kreps, Matthias?
But now they also need a good puck moving defenseman and there really aren't too many of those around who can play the minutes Bouwmeester can play and play in a top two pairing. I still like the idea of getting a kid like Kulikov in the draft, as he is projected to be ready to play at the NHL level.
Interesting couple of weeks coming up right up until the draft. I also continue to think Sexton is going to be named the GM. Anyone else they might hire would likely come after the draft and that means a new GM would have had almost no input on next season's roster if they intend to use pre-draft trades instead of free agency to fill roster spots.

Why draft Kulikov? So he can have 4 seasons of amazing play only for us to not make it and then he leaves? The team is exactly where it was right when Bou was coming up. No offense. Crappy management and a fan base that just doesn't believe right now. Not the best situation for an NHL franchise. Calgary would be totally stupid to give us Phaneuf for Boumeester. He's a franchise player for that team. And you know if he comes here he's going to be hurt all the time. As far as our defense goes, I think the best scenario involves bringing up some young guys. I know I said not to draft Kulikov but do it. I was being sarcastic. Skrastins is a solid player so bring him back. I like Boynton but after his run in with Deboer last season I doubt he's coming back. Not too much quality on the blue line via free agency either. Sexton says we need to find a "number 2" center. I wasn't aware we had a number 1... Weiss is a SOLID forward. A good player. But I don't think he's a number one center. Also we need a number 1 winger. Horton isn't going anywhere. I do think trading Olesz is plausible. Mattias maybe as well. You can bet Repik will be on this team this year. And I say bring back Dvorak. Solid 3rd/4th liner who plays great on the penalty kill and scores the occasional big goal. Bye Peltonen. Bye Mclean... comments?

[Louie]

The Panthers seem to be a ship without a rudder. And no Captain. And on top of that, the ship may be sold.
But they are continuing the journey anyway. The question is, where are they headed?

[Potvin]

Louie wrote:

The Panthers seem to be a ship without a rudder. And no Captain. And on top of that, the ship may be sold.
But they are continuing the journey anyway. The question is, where are they headed?

Indeed, the Panthers rudder has left to coach Montreal. We can only hope we hire someone good. At this point there are a lot more questions then answers.

[Potvin]

With JM gone, I seriously doubt Jay would stay here.

[Jim]

let me look into my panthers crystal ball..

bouwmeester leaves, and we sign a bunch of scrubs and has beens. we'll sign the bunch of guys that score 10 goals a year, sign no players worth anything, raise ticket prices and miss the playoffs yet again.

[Wait a Minute]

Potvin wrote:

With JM gone, I seriously doubt Jay would stay here.

Jay is on record as having disliked Keenan. It was Jacques who forced Keenan on the Panthers the second time around. Jay was no great fan of Jacques, a guy who also never picked up the phone once the season ended to speak with Bouwmeester or his agent.

[Wait a Minute]

Potvin wrote:

<quoted text> Indeed, the Panthers rudder has left to coach Montreal. We can only hope we hire someone good. At this point there are a lot more questions then answers.

Jacques = rudder = a ship unable to find the harbor.

[AC is Bernie Madoff]

Louie wrote:

The Panthers seem to be a ship without a rudder. And no Captain. And on top of that, the ship may be sold.
But they are continuing the journey anyway. The question is, where are they headed?

You are not a true fan........
That Ballard hip-check in March was awesome!