With the unrestricted free-agent negotiating period opening Sunday, TSN's Bob McKenzie initially reported that Bobrovsky and Panarin would be in Florida to meet with the Panthers on Monday, but it appears the timing has been pushed back.
The Panthers have been interested in Bobrovsky and Panarin since at least Feb. 1, when TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported Florida hoped to take a run at the pair in free agency.
A few days later, Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported the Panthers were interested in trading for Bobrovsky and enticing him with an eight-year contract extension.
Aside from Matt Duchene, Panarin, 27, is expected to be the best player available on the open market come July 1. He notched 28 goals and led Columbus with a career-high 87 points in 79 regular-season games in 2018-19, adding five goals and 11 points in 10 playoff contests.
Bobrovsky, 30, had a turbulent regular season but excelled in the postseason with a .925 save percentage. He's spent the last seven campaigns with the Blue Jackets after playing two seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers to start his NHL career.
The first round of the 2019 NHL Draft on Friday lacked the blockbuster deals some were expecting, but Day 2 did not disappoint. Let's dive into Saturday's three major trades:
P.K. Subban ➡️ Devils
John Russell / National Hockey League / Getty
Predators receive
Devils receive
D Steven Santini
D P.K. Subban
D Jeremy Davies
2019 2nd-rounder (F Egor Afanasyev & F Alexander Campbell)
2020 2nd-rounder
Even after flipping this year's 34th overall pick to Philadelphia for the 45th and 65th choices in Saturday's selection, this is a pretty underwhelming return for the Predators. Santini is a No. 5 or 6 defenseman at best. Davies, a 2016 seventh-rounder, has been nearly a point-per-game blue-liner the last two years at Northeastern University and, by all accounts, appears to be a promising prospect. Not a blue-chipper, though.
This deal was obviously about clearing cap space, as Subban carries a $9-million cap hit for the next three seasons. Nashville already has Ryan Ellis, Mattias Ekholm, and Roman Josi on defense. With Josi needing a new extension after this coming season and youngster Dante Fabbro ready for an increased role, having Subban on the payroll was a luxury the Preds could no longer afford.
It remains to be seen what Nashville will do with its newfound cap space. If they can land Matt Duchene or Artemi Panarin in free agency, the Predators receive an A on this trade. If they whiff and fail to acquire a much-needed game-breaking forward, pencil them in for a D-grade.
For the Devils, it's quite simple: They acquired one of the best blue-liners in the league and didn't give up much of anything. Subban is coming off a poor season by his standards, but it would be foolish to think he won't rebound. The cap hit may be high, but New Jersey has plenty of room to work with and the term is very tolerable.
Devils: A Predators: TBD
Patrick Marleau ➡️ Hurricanes
Steve Babineau / National Hockey League / Getty
Leafs receive
Hurricanes receive
2020 6th-rounder
Patrick Marleau
Conditional 2020 1st-rounder
2020 7th-rounder
The Carolina Hurricanes spent $6.25 million in cap space to acquire a first-round pick. For an organization that rarely approaches the cap ceiling - and won't need to this coming season - this is a pretty savvy move. The Hurricanes will make their pitch to Marleau to stay. If they're unsuccessful, he'll be bought out and can potentially return to the San Jose Sharks as a free agent.
The cost of doing business was likely higher than the Leafs expected, but this is in no way a loss for Toronto. Given the organization's position right now, cap space was much more valuable than a first-round pick. Just in case everything goes wrong in 2019-20, the pick is top-10 protected for next season.
Just because the trade was necessary for the Leafs, however, doesn't mean it warrants a high grade. In the grand scheme of things, they parted with a first-rounder so they could re-sign their own RFAs. This obviously isn't ideal.
Hurricanes: A+ Maple Leafs: C+
J.T. Miller ➡️ Canucks
Scott Audette / National Hockey League / Getty
Lightning receive
Canucks receive
G Marek Mazanec
F J.T. Miller
Conditional 2020 1st-rounder
2019 3rd-rounder (G Hugo Alnefelt)
J.T. Miller had to go. The Lightning need cap space to sign Brayden Point, and Miller was one of their few expendable players who didn't have a full no-movement clause. His deal carries an eight-team trade list that kicks in July 1, so it was rather obvious he'd be on his way out before then. Despite most GMs in the league likely knowing this, the Lightning still managed to get a nice return for a player they had to move.
Miller is a versatile, two-way forward capable of playing up and down the lineup and is signed for the next four years at a $5.25-million cap hit. The 26-year-old will certainly help the Canucks throughout the duration of his contract, but the cost to acquire his services seems a tad steep. He had 13 goals and 47 points last season after setting career highs with 23 goals and 58 points the year prior.
Vancouver did give itself some insurance, though. If the Canucks fail to make the playoffs next year, the Lightning receive Vancouver's first-rounder in 2021 instead. Regardless, a first-rounder and third-rounder should net a better player than Miller, especially considering the Lightning didn't have much leverage.
Pavelski becomes an unrestricted free agent July 1 and can begin talking with other teams on Sunday. The 2018-19 campaign was the final season of the five-year, $30-million ($6 million AAV) contract he signed with the Sharks in 2013.
The soon-to-be 35-year-old has played his entire 13-year career in San Jose and scored 38 goals in 75 games last season.
San Jose could have trouble matching lucrative offers from other teams if Pavelski hits the open market. The Sharks have roughly $14.8 million in available cap space, according to Cap Friendly, and need to sign restricted free agents Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc, as well as sort out the future of UFA Joe Thornton.
Myers' contract with Winnipeg, which carried a $5.5-million cap hit, expired after the 2018-19 campaign, and the 6-foot-8 blue-liner will likely be too pricey for the cap-crunched Jets to retain.
The 29-year-old appeared in 80 games this past season and registered 31 points while averaging just over 20 minutes per night.
Vancouver already made a splash in the early stages of the offseason, acquiring J.T. Miller from the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. Factoring in that trade and the newly set salary cap of $81.5 million, the Canucks have $17.6 million to spend this summer, according to CapFriendly.
The salary cap limit for the 2019-20 season has been set at $81.5 million, the league announced Saturday.
It marks a $2 million increase from last season's cap, but is lower than the $83 million projection commissioner Gary Bettman provided after the Board of Governors meetings in December.
Gusev, the 2018 KHL MVP, signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the Golden Knights in April. That deal expired at season's end, so he's now a pending restricted free agent.
The 26-year-old led the KHL with 82 points in 62 regular-season games for SKA St. Petersburg before adding 19 points in 18 playoff contests.
Vegas acquired his rights from the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2017 expansion draft.
Karlsson is a restricted free agent coming off a one-year, $5.25-million deal he inked with the Golden Knights last August.
He notched 24 goals and 56 points while playing all 82 regular-season games in 2018-19 after pouring in 43 goals and 78 points while appearing in all 82 regular-season contests in 2017-18.
Miller collected 13 goals and 47 points in 75 regular-season games with the Lightning this past season.
He has four years left on his contract with a cap hit of $5.25 million, according to CapFriendly.
Miller notched 10 goals and 18 points in 19 contests with Tampa Bay in 2017-18 after the club acquired him from the New York Rangers in the Ryan McDonagh deal at the trade deadline.
The 26-year-old spent parts of six seasons with the Rangers, who selected him 15th overall in the 2011 draft.
