The Florida Panthers raised eyebrows for allowing forwards Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith to be exposed to the Vegas Golden Knights’ expansion draft, but at least they’d only lose one valuable scorer, right?
Well ...
In what might be the continuation of a front office overhaul that essentially is hitting the reset button on last year’s moves, TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that both Marchessault and Smith are headed to Vegas.
Now, the parameters of such a deal aren’t clear, but that would be a heck of a haul for Vegas, whatever might happen next.
The indication is that the Panthers wanted to part ways with some players, maybe Smith most of all.
Counter-intuitive as it may seem, there's been talk FLA was trying to move both Marchessault and Smith even before VGK entered the picture.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 21, 2017
That’s ... puzzling. Then again, if you don’t like a player, beginning a deal that carries a $5 million cap hit doesn’t seem ideal.
As much as this expansion draft is about building the Golden Knights, it can also be a chance for certain teams to shake the Etch-a-Sketch and get a cleaner slate. Perhaps the Panthers will prove to be one of those teams.