Florida Panthers general manager Dale Tallon might have made Friday's trade with his eyes set on bigger moves.

The Panthers hope to take a run at Columbus Blue Jackets stars Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun. Inquiring about the two pending unrestricted free agents before the Feb. 25 trade deadline or waiting until July 1 when free agency begins are both options, LeBrun adds.

Tallon hinted that the latter was more of a possibility.

"We've freed up a lot of space for an aggressive summer in free agency," according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

Friday's deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins certainly puts the Panthers in a better position to do so.

The Panthers now have six picks in the first four rounds of the 2019 draft after Friday's deal. The club only saved $250,000 in cap space this year, but it's possible they could flip pending unrestricted free agents Brassard and Sheahan before the deadline, which would give them more cap space and more draft picks to use as bait in future trades.

The Panthers only have $3.1 million in projected cap space this year, according to Cap Friendly. By dealing Brassard and Sheahan, though, they could theoretically afford either Panarin ($6 million) or Bobrovsky ($7.425 million) for the rest of this season.

When asked if dealing Brassard and Sheahan was a possibility, Tallon said "performance will determine what we do with these players," per Johnston. The Panthers currently sit 11 points out of a playoff spot, and the team could run the risk of losing them both for nothing come July 1.

If a deal isn't consummated, the Panthers project to have $21 million in cap space this summer with just a handful of restricted free agents to retain. This is $5.35 million more than they would've had given Bjugstad and McCann were signed beyond this season.

Panarin would help round out a potent top-six forward group which already features Aleksander Barkov, Vincent Trocheck, Jonathan Huberdeau, Evgenii Dadonov, and Mike Hoffman. The 27-year-old leads the Blue Jackets with 57 points in 48 games. Several contenders have already reached out regarding his availability.

Bobrovksy has had an uncharacteristically poor season and currently owns a .901 save percentage and 3.01 goals-against average - both well off his career marks. Yet, he would certainly provide an upgrade to a squad that ranks dead-last in the NHL in save percentage. However, goaltenders Roberto Luongo ($4.53 million through 2021-22) and James Reimer ($3.4 million through 2020-21) remain under contract, so one would have to be moved before Bobrovsky could come aboard.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins traded forwards Derick Brassard and Riley Sheahan to the Florida Panthers on Friday in exchange for forwards Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann, the teams announced.

Additionally, the Penguins are sending a second-round pick and two fourth-rounders - all in the 2019 draft - to the Panthers.

Both Brassard, 31, and Sheahan, 27, are set to become unrestricted free agents at season's end. Neither center is having a particularly strong season, as Brassard has collected just 15 points, while Sheahan has only nine. Sheahan is not known for his offensive abilities, but Brassard has been a consistent 40-to-50 point player over his 12-year career.

Pittsburgh may look to its new additions to fill the roles left by Brassard and Sheahan. Bjugstad, 26, is a natural center but has spent most of the season playing right wing, yielding just 12 points. He does have an offensive touch, though, scoring 19 goals last season and a career-high 24 in 2014-15. The towering 6-foot-6 forward is signed through the 2020-21 campaign at a $4.1-million cap hit.

McCann, 22, has collected 18 points in 46 games. Originally a first-round pick of the Vancouver Canucks in 2014, he was dealt to Florida in exchange for Erik Gudbranson. McCann will become a restricted free agent after next season.

The Panthers have won three straight games but still sit 11 points out of a playoff spot, meaning they could be inclined to flip Brassard and Sheahan if they don't plan to re-sign them.

Pittsburgh has had an up-and-down season but currently sits tied with the Washington Capitals for second place in the Metropolitan Division with 60 points.

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As the unofficial second half of the NHL season rolls on, the Hart Trophy race is coming further into focus.

A handful of MVP candidates have emerged during the campaign's first four months, a list that includes past winners, and the most electrifying player on the league's most dominant team.

Here are our top five Hart Trophy contenders at this point:

5. John Gibson

While other goaltenders like Robin Lehner are playing better lately, none are singlehandedly keeping their teams competitive all season like Gibson.

Only the lowly Ottawa Senators and Chicago Blackhawks are allowing more shots on goal per game than his Anaheim Ducks, and only the moribund Los Angeles Kings are generating fewer goals per contest. Anaheim's analytical figures aren't any better, as the club ranks third-worst in five-on-five Corsi For rating and second-worst in scoring chances for percentage.

And yet, Gibson is still posting admirable numbers, recording the fifth-best GSAA and the fifth-best high-danger save percentage among goalies with at least 25 appearances.

Even more remarkably, the Ducks are a single point out of a playoff spot despite their problems. The Pacific Division has been the NHL's worst, but Gibson still deserves the lion's share of the credit for keeping Anaheim on the postseason doorstep.

4. Alex Ovechkin

The Washington Capitals have lost seven straight games, but don't blame the captain for that. Ovechkin has scored five goals during the skid, and seven in his last eight games.

He's accounted for almost a quarter of the Capitals' goals this season, and his total still leads the league, with a six-goal cushion over the Buffalo Sabres' Jeff Skinner.

No Washington player is matching even half of Ovechkin's goal production at this point (Jakub Vrana and T.J. Oshie are closest with 15 apiece), proving how valuable The Great Eight is to his club.

Despite their recent woes, the Capitals still sit fairly comfortably in a playoff spot, and Ovechkin should be in the Hart Trophy conversation as long as that's the case.

3. Connor McDavid

We've said it many times: McDavid is arguably the most valuable player to his team, and he should therefore be the Hart front-runner if the Edmonton Oilers make the playoffs, or even finish within striking distance.

The Oilers losing three straight games has hurt his candidacy recently. That includes a defeat at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings that sealed Peter Chiarelli's fate last week.

Despite those struggles and the subsequent front-office shuffling, Edmonton is only three points out of a postseason position. However, the club will need to leapfrog five teams.

McDavid doesn't deserve blame for that, and in a perfect world, he wouldn't be penalized for it. Without him, Edmonton would probably be a cellar dweller. But Hart voters won't consider him the top dog - despite McDavid contributing to an incredible 51.7 percent of the Oilers' goals - unless Edmonton has a more realistic shot at the playoffs.

2. Johnny Gaudreau

Gaudreau has been performing at a high level for pretty much the entire season, so it's time to recognize him as worthy of MVP consideration.

The dynamic winger leads the first-place Calgary Flames in the key offensive categories, he's scored 10 goals and 22 points in his last dozen contests, and has contributed to 38.4 percent of the club's goals in 2018-19.

Calgary will likely have more than one award finalist if the team sustains its success, and Gaudreau should be in the MVP hunt thanks to his recent exploits and consistency since October.

1. Nikita Kucherov

Yes, there's plenty of talent around him, but Kucherov has been the catalyst for the Tampa Bay Lightning, helping to transform the team from a perennial Stanley Cup contender to the unquestioned favorite this season.

The 25-year-old forward leads the NHL in points, points per game, and assists. He's also contributed to a higher percentage of his team's goals (39.7) than Gaudreau has for the Flames, even with the Lightning's impressive depth.

Kucherov has been particularly explosive lately, piling up 30 points in his last 15 games, with multi-point efforts in 10 of those contests, and six of his eight goals in that span coming at even strength.

With all that success, it wasn't surprising to see him lead the Pro Hockey Writers Association's midseason Hart voting, and it won't be at all shocking if he claims the award in June.

Honorable mentions: Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Lehner, David Pastrnak, Elias Pettersson.

ATOI = Average time on ice
SCF% = Percentage of scoring chances generated by the player's team with him on the ice at five-on-five
CF% = Percentage of shot attempts generated by the player's team with him on the ice at five-on-five
HDSV% = Save percentage on high-danger shots
GSAA = Goals saved above average (calculated by applying a goaltender's save percentage and total shots faced to the league average save percentage)

(Analytics courtesy: Natural Stat Trick)

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Columbus Blue Jackets forward Anthony Duclair probably didn't need a postgame shower on Thursday night.

Duclair played just one shift - a 24-second outing - in the first period against the Winnipeg Jets and was then benched for the rest of the game. He and defenseman Dean Kukan failed to get the puck out of their zone in a joint effort, and Duclair (No. 91) didn't hustle back to pick up his man, leading to the Jets' opening goal.

Head coach John Tortorella was cut and dry about the decision after the club's fourth straight loss.

"The meetings we had today about some of the things we needed to do, if you're not ready to play you're not going to play," Tortorella told Brian Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch.

Tortorella has been extra testy of late and ripped his team after Tuesday's loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Now, Duclair has worked his way into the coach's doghouse.

Duclair has provided a nice return on the one-year, league minimum $650,000 contract signed this offseason, collecting 10 goals and five assists in 2018-19. However, he could be watching Columbus' next game from the press box.

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