Revisiting the Predators & Panthers’ Tomas Vokoun Trade

On draft day in 2007, the Florida Panthers acquired goaltender Tomas Vokoun from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2007 second-round pick, a 2008 first-round pick, and a 2008 second-round pick. General Managers Jacques Martin of Florida and David Poile of Nashville agreed to the deal. Those picks eventually helped the Predators land Nick Spaling and Colin Wilson, but the goaltender was the biggest piece.

Vokoun’s With Panthers

With the Florida Panthers, Vokoun helped anchor the success of the post-Luongo 1.0 era as a dependable game-in, game-out starter throughout his tenure. Across his run, he appeared in 248 games and started 243 of them.

He finished with a record of 101 wins, 108 losses, and 30 overtime losses. He also posted a save percentage of .923 and a 2.57 goals-against average. He was also able to contribute 10 assists from in between the pipes.

Vokoun Panthers Awards

He was also a one-time All-Star representing the Panthers and was in the running for All-Star votes on two other occasions as the Panthers’ selection. His two award-voting highlights came in the 2008-09 campaign, when he placed ninth in Vezina Trophy voting. He also ranked 23rd in Hart Trophy voting in 2009-10.

Vokoun With Predators

Vokoun had been with Nashville since their inception in the 1998 expansion draft before later moving to South Florida. While with the Predators, Vokoun appeared in 383 games, starting 362 of them.

He finished with 161 wins and 159 losses across his run in the Predators crease. He also posted a combined 46 ties plus overtime and shootout losses. He also recorded a .913 SV% and a 2.54 GAA. While with Nashville, he also tallied a 13th-place Calder Trophy voting finish in 1998-99. He also placed 10th in Vezina Trophy voting in 2002-03. In the 2003-04 campaign, he appeared in the All-Star Game and ranked eighth in Vezina Trophy voting. In the 2005-06 campaign, he finished fifth in all-star voting among goalies, 16th in Hart Trophy voting, and fourth in Vezina Trophy voting.

Nick Spaling

Across his five seasons with the Nashville Predators after being selected in the second round with the 58th overall pick that they received from the Panthers, Nick Spaling appeared in 297 games of regular-season action. He contributed 40 goals and 44 assists for a total of 84 points. He finished his tenure as a minus-22 and totaled 70 penalty minutes.

He landed just shy of 50% in the face-off dot at a 49.2% win rate on draws. He also closed out his time there with 133 blocked shots and 173 hits registered. He was a valuable depth piece in Nashville and later played in Pittsburgh, Toronto, and San Jose. He was the 2007 second-round pick the Panthers sent to Nashville as part of the assets to acquire Tomas Vokoun.

Colin Wilson

On draft day 2008, the Predators packaged the remaining two picks they received, along with a first-round pick that became Josh Bailey and a second-round pick that became Aaron Ness, to move up from pick 9 to pick 7 and eventually select Colin Wilson.

While with the Predators, Wilson spent eight seasons with the club. During that time, he appeared in 502 games and registered 95 goals and 142 assists for 237 points. He finished his run in Nashville as a plus-37 and racked up a total of 124 penalty minutes. He also was able to contribute 185 blocked shots on the defensive end as well as 324 hits. He was a key piece for several seasons with the club and played a significant role up the middle as well.

Tomas Vokoun was a key piece and stalwart for this Panthers organization during his time there and was instrumental in backstopping this era of Florida hockey. Jacques Martin made a deal to add a critical goaltender and to propel them in a new direction after Roberto Luongo left for the first time. He carried a heavy workload with the club, with a season low of 55 starts. The team had little success, but he still shined individually and will be remembered as one of the greatest goalies in franchise history.