GO_NUCKS_24

When a team manages to drop 13 of 14 -- a trip down the mineshaft currently being made by the Florida Panthers -- one of two things is inevitable: a move in management or a shakeup of the roster.

Coach Jacques Martin, signed just this summer to a five-year deal, and GM Mike Keenan each deserve a hearty share of the blame for the team's current state, but their jobs are as sound as the pound -- for now.

No wonder then that trade rumors have been flying, most centering on superstar goaltender Roberto Luongo and defenseman Jay Bouwmeester. While something noteworthy will happen -- perhaps as soon as this weekend -- it won't involve either of those two building blocks.

Keenan engineers deals to acquire franchise defensemen (Chris Pronger in St. Louis, Ed Jovanovski in Vancouver), not to move them out. Bouwmeester's staying put.

And Luongo? No doubt his agent, Gilles Lupien, would like to see him dealt to a contender in the West such as Colorado or Vancouver, places where he's likely to avoid another acrimonious round of contract talks next summer. But that won't take place, at least not anytime soon.

Keenan understands there is no way to come out ahead in any deal involving the 26-year-old stopper, considered by many as one of the game's two true aces along with Martin Brodeur. Whatever the Panthers would get in return would be either young and unproven (and unlikely to help the team out of its current slide) or too expensive, which goes against the grain of the team's self-imposed cap of $27 million.

Instead, expect the Panthers to wait until January, when they are allowed to negotiate a new, long-term deal with Luongo. If things go south quickly, that may be the point where they consider a deal involving the impending free agent. Their bargaining power would be diminished at that point, but compared to what they'd get in return if Luongo left next summer, he'd still command better than a draft pick.

In the short term, look for the Panthers to move out some skill (i.e. Europeans) and move in some grit. The first shoe dropped yesterday when the Cats waived Kristian Huselius, a slick Swedish forward whose wildly inconsistent efforts epitomized the team's woes. That he cleared waivers on Wednesday might suggest there's no interest in the 27-year-old winger, but you can expect Keenan to continue shopping him for the next week or so. If that fails, he'll be headed for the minors to make a point to those left in Miami.

Right winger Niklas Hagman is being offered around, and don't be surprised to see free-agent busts Jozef Stumpel and Alexander Karpovtsev set adrift as well. Stumpel would likely clear waivers and could be shunted down to Rochester, but with so many teams desperate for defense, someone might take a flyer on the veteran Karpovtsev, who already has cleared waivers once this season.

The big move, though, could well involve All-Star center Olli Jokinen. He's young (26), relatively affordable for a first liner ($2.5 million) and is a consistent performer. Hardly the type of player most teams would want to move, but he's an unrestricted free agent after this season and seems unlikely to re-sign with Florida. He'd certainly fill a need for a number of teams, with Calgary -- a club in dire need of a top pivot -- being a potential landing site.
from:http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...nhl/index.html
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