Posted by The Florida Panthers and Phoenix Coyotes dropped the puck on the offseason yesterday, by completing a minor trade. The Panthers sent AHL prospect Stefan Meyer to the Coyotes in exchange for exclusive negotiating rights to veteran center Steven Reinprecht, who signed a 3-year deal with the Panthers. Reinprecht would have been an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.
In acquiring Reinprecht, the Panthers filled a giant need in a true center. Last season, Nathan Horton filled in at center with little to mixed success. Most of the time, the Panthers had just three centers in the lineup. Thoughts around south Florida are that Reinprecht will allow Horton back on to his natural wing position, and hopefully increase productivity on both top lines. Although he is not the high caliber scorer that the Panthers desperately need, Reinprecht brings high character and leadership, along with a Stanley Cup ring, to a still relatively young and inexperienced Panthers locker room.
Stefan Meyer has spent the past four seasons with Florida’s AHL affiliate. He had a brief call-up to the Panthers two seasons ago, but never really showed any signs that he would grow into an NHL player. The Panthers have a number of prospects lined up ahead of him on the depth chart, so trading Meyer away should have little effect on the big club, and he could be given a chance to prove himself with the Coyotes.
A couple of interesting notes about this deal from the Panthers’ perspective. First off, a “breaking news, stay tuned” bulletin was posted on the Panthers’ facebook and twitter page a couple of hours before the deal was officially released. Although the end result was a bit of a letdown, it certainly got people talking.
Also, the deal was pulled off while Florida does not have a general manager. Randy Sexton, who was the assistant GM under Jacques Martin, has been pulling the strings while the GM search continues. Clearly, Sexton wants the full time gig, and with the draft and free agency approaching, he will get a chance to prove he deserves it. Trading away a probable AHL lifer for a player of Reinprecht’s character is a nice, first step.
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