Friday, November 15, 2013

Panthers Ship Versteeg Back to Chicago


On Thursday night, a deal in the NHL was announced.  The Florida Panthers send forward Kris Versteeg and defenseman Philippe Lefebvre to the Chicago Blackhawks for forward Jimmy Hayes and defenseman Dylan Olsen.  In terms of bodies, it is a deal that is two for two, but the Panthers have also agreed to retain half of Versteeg's remaining salary, where he has two years remaining after the 2014 season at $4.4 million per year and half of the remainder of this season.  For more cap details, check out capgeek.com.

In essence, this deal is a salary dump for the Panthers, to a certain degree, freeing up some salary going forward, while acquiring some reasonable prospects in return.

Out of the four players, only Versteeg and Hayes have any games played in the NHL this season.  Versteeg has played 18 games for Florida, scoring 2 goals and 5 assists, ranking 267th in pool scoring, 60th among available forwards for the Waiver Draft..  Hayes, on the other hand, has only played in two games and has failed to register a point, spending most of his season in the AHL.

ImplicationsThere are no direct implications of this deal on the hockey pool today, but with the move of Kris Versteeg back to Chicago, seeing as though he is an available player and the Waiver Draft starts on Monday, there are some indirect implications, suggesting that someone may want to take a chance on Versteeg on their team, now that he has moved to an offensive powerhouse.  It is somewhat of a tall assumption, but not one that is out of the question, given what Versteeg has done in the past.

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