Rounding up the Later Rounds

 He said he wouldn't do it and it wouldn't happen again, but 12 picks later, once again were the Panthers one of the major players on draft day. Though not without a few differences. "Not only did we not pick in the top 5 for the first time ever under my reign (going back to Pietrangelo at #5 in 2008) but we didn't even have a 1st round pick, and really I think that shows our progression. It’s also noteworthy to point out that we didn't deal our first for a veteran guy to help in a playoff run, it was a trade well over a year ago to get Quinton Howden, a guy we really like and looking at the board, there was no one at 28 that we would have picked over him, so it worked out."

The Panthers spent the few days leading up moving out players for picks. Guys like Toni Lydman, RJ Umberger and Dan Cleary were moved out for draft picks and prospects, most notably Russian Kiril Kabanov and the return of Aaron Ness (picked by the Panthers in round 2 in '08). "We felt this was a good time to really advance our prospect pool with lower end picks. We had already had our fair share of top picks, and we have a great core to our team now along with some top end prospects, so this was  an opportunity to pick up guys to fill out our team and be role players in our future runs at the cup."

"We really want to wish Toni, RJ and Danny the best of luck. All of them were really key in our first playoff appearance this year and really helped mentor our younger players. We really wanted to keep RJ around as well but looking at the roster, we felt it was better to give him a chance elsewhere, where he could play a bigger part."

"We also moved out some good depth guys like Ben Smith, Alexander Sulzer, Tom Wandell and Kurtis Foster. We would have loved to keep all these guys around, but we got some many guys ahead of them in the depth chart or kicking at their heels, that it was in ours and there best interest to get a chance with another team."

 Of the 12 picks made by the Panthers, 3 were defensemen, 8 forwards and 1 goalie. "After picking up Stajcer, and already having Quick, Wedgewood, Mason, Poulin and Kuemper, we weren’t planning on taking any goalies, but when the opportunity to Korpisalo came up, we couldn't pass on that. Our main goal with all these picks was to build up more depth and guys that we envision playing a part in our future, no matter what the role is. We would have liked to have drafted more D-men, but unfortunately the opportunities didn't arise. And with getting Quincey and Ness earlier in the week, it wasn’t as necessary as it first was."

With free agency looming, the question is, will the Panthers be active? "We have the cap space to do so; our main goal is to fill out our roster. This means we will be targeting 3rd and 4th line guys. We may also try for some higher end guys, but at this point it is not a priority. We are happy with our D and goaltending situation and with our top end forward talent. So it’s just a matter of plugging the holes with solid players who not only want to play here, but to help us win and overcome that last hurdle into becoming Stanley Cup Champions."