4:01 p.m. Florida officially gets the "What the heck?" award for their activity this year. They have acquired center Chad Kilger from Toronto for a third-round pick. Check back later for analysis.
6:50 p.m. Analysis: This one I really don't understand. True, the Panthers are only six points out of a playoff spot, but they would have to leapfrog five other teams to get there.
Given their lifeless performance in a 5-0 loss to the Rangers on Sunday, I assumed they were ready to pack up their tents and start planning for next year. But even a few hours after the deadline, I still don't know what the heck they are thinking.
First they acquired tough guy/defenseman Wade Belak from Toronto, which I assumed would be a prelude to them trading away another defenseman. Sure enough, an hour later, they sent impending free agent Ruslan Salei to Colorado for a third-round pick. But it wasn't quite a salary dump, as they also picked up veteran d-man Karlis Skrastins in the process, who is signed through next year and only makes $600,000 less than Salei. And to top it all off, they gave up a third-round pick (I'm not sure if it's the same pick they got from Colorado in the Salei deal) for Chad Kilger.
Panthers GM/coach Jacques Martin said that with Richard Zednik out with a throat injury, "We needed a big, fast and skilled winger to play on one of our top lines... [Kilger] is a gritty, character veteran that will bring experience and a positive attitude to our locker room.''
Skilled? The guy has 10 goals this year. Sure Kilger may have a few intangibles, but if the Panthers were looking to add someone who could get them over the hump, they badly miscalculated. Maybe Martin's head was still spinning from that Rangers game.