McKenzie, LeBrun reveal two star players the Panthers could potentially take a run at

BarDown Staff

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On Friday, the Penguins and Panthers shook things up with a trade involving some pretty big names.

Official details of the recent trade between Pittsburgh and Florida. Who won the trade? 🤔👇 #TradeCentre

A post shared by TSN (@tsn_official) on Feb 1, 2019 at 9:39am PST

Both Derick Brassard and Nick Bjugstad were on the "Trade Bait" list ahead of the deadline, so it's no surprise they were dealt. What might surprise some hockey fans, though, is Florida's reported motivation for making the trade.

I suspect waiting until July 1 makes more sense given that the Panthers wouldn’t have to give up assets to sign them but we’ll see
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 1, 2019

Key for FLA is shedding salary commitments beyond this season, getting flexibility to potentially take a run at pending UFAs Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky. Key for FLA was turning expiring contracts into younger contract players without taking an immediate step back now.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 1, 2019

The Columbus Blue Jackets have been the talk of the hockey world ahead of the trade deadline because of Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky. Both star players are UFAs at the end of the season and Columbus has a decision to make that's not going to be easy.

On one hand, they can keep both players and risk losing them for nothing in the summer. On the other, they can trade one or both and risk making a playoff run. Either way, it appears as though the Panthers will take a crack at both Bobrovsky and Panarin, and that information alone is interesting to monitor.

(H/T: Bob McKenzie, Pierre LeBrun)