3 Trade Deadline Targets the Panthers Should Lock In On – The Hockey Writers Florida Panthers Latest News, Analysis & More

Folks, it is once again getting scarily close to the NHL Trade Deadline. Every year, teams all around the NHL scramble to make the right moves – if any at all. While some trade deadlines have been quieter than others, they’ve seemed to ramp up in chaos and disarray within the past five or so seasons.

With Bill Zito at the helm, the Florida Panthers have only failed to be active on or before deadline day once, and that was at the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline. Since 2021, the Panthers have acquired huge names like Sam Bennett, Claude Giroux, Ben Chiarot, and Vladimir Tarasenko (the former and latter of which were members of the Cats’ Stanley Cup-winning roster).

This year’s pre-trade deadline blockbusters have seemingly come and gone, but the Panthers reportedly remain in the hunt for a top-four right-handed defenseman. Our very own Justin Giampietro wrote a fantastic piece about what a potential Noah Dobson trade would look like for the Panthers and the New York Islanders, and I personally think that would be a great scenario.

While I am wholeheartedly on board with a Dobson acquisition, there are a few other players out there that I think the Cats could and/or should target at this year’s trade deadline.

Shoring Up the Defense – Bowen Byram

This is an obvious starting point for many reasons. If the Panthers make a move at all, it will likely be for a defenseman. Which defenseman that is, however, is a bit up in the air at the moment.

After waiving Adam Boqvist earlier this season, it’s clear that the Cats are looking for something that can’t be found in-house. Aside from Dobson, I think a very solid addition to the Panthers’ roster would be none other than the Buffalo Sabres’ Bowen Byram. I know, I know, Byram is a left-shot defenseman, and the Cats are reportedly looking for a right-shot defenseman. Handedness notwithstanding, Byram is a fantastic skater and has a penchant for finding his way onto the scoresheet.

Despite having been traded twice now at the tender age of 22, I still think he has tremendous upside, especially on a team that has resurrected the careers of Gustav Forsling, Brandon Montour, Niko Mikkola, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The Panthers are well-known for turning even the most below-average of defensemen into near-franchise mainstays. Under head coach Paul Maurice’s system, Byram could easily find himself excelling while quarterbacking the Cats’ second power-play unit.

The Blockbuster That Never Was – Mikko Rantanen

I hope you folks saw this one coming. The Carolina Hurricanes are reportedly having trouble extending Mikko Rantanen, and Elliotte Friedman himself has reported that they could very well flip him if a deal isn’t done in the coming weeks.

Related: Panthers Should Look Into Acquiring Sabres’ Jokiharju

I know this comes off as a bit of a joke, but hear me out. For starters, I agree that Zito is likely not going to be in on any rentals at this year’s deadline, regardless of how well they’d play on Aleksander Barkov’s wing. I don’t see the Cats having any sort of leverage in negotiating with Rantanen to take a discount outside the usual lack of state income tax, but they wouldn’t have the cap space for it anyway. At least, not without moving a large contract or two.

If Zito is going to pull the trigger on any rentals, though, it would have to be this one. The Panthers don’t have a wealth of picks and prospects to dole out that they’ve had in years past, and I doubt they’d move a guy like Sam Bennett for a rental, so this move is admittedly a bit far-fetched. A man can dream, though, eh?

Shoring Up the Defense In A Secret Third Way – Mario Ferraro

Mario Ferraro is yet another left-shot defenseman that I could see the Panthers adding, especially if they value goal-scoring and puck-moving ability over handedness. While Byram is more of an offensive defenseman, Ferraro is a solid two-way defenseman who still has another year left on his contract after this season.

The San Jose Sharks are still very early in their rebuild, and Ferraro isn’t necessarily a piece that would benefit them very much during the process. He would, however, shore up the Cats’ top-four defensive corps and help push the needle quite a bit more than a guy like Uvis Balinksis.

The Cats’ puck-moving woes from the blue line haven’t quite been a problem yet, but we all know how things tend to break down in the playoffs. Adding a guy like Ferraro would add more offensive depth to the backend while still at a pretty tremendous value; the Cats wouldn’t necessarily have to move a rostered player if Zito is able to work his magic and get a bit creative with trade logistics.

In all, the Panthers don’t seem to be under as much pressure during this year’s deadline as they were under last year’s deadline. After all, they had something to prove after getting ousted in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final by the Vegas Golden Knights. This year, the chip on their shoulders may have been mended after winning the Cup in 2024, but the Cats are nothing if not hungry for a repeat.