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After their first playoff appearance in a decade in 2011-2012, the Florida Panthers just have not managed to get it together this season. They’ve had their fair share of injuries, but they currently sit third from the bottom in the Eastern Conference. In a shortened season, they’re already almost done.
Which means it’s probably time to get ready to look at the trade market and turn some players into future assets. There’s already some young talent on this team, but there are some veterans that should probably be shown the door as well. One of those is franchise mainstay Stephen Weiss.
We’ve heard Weiss’ name come up several times over the course of the past few seasons, but nothing has ever really come close to materializing. This may be the year that the Cats finally part ways with Weiss, but it won’t be for the return that they could have had a couple of seasons ago.
Weiss is a center capable of playing in the top six, but in 15 games this season he hasn’t gotten the job done. He has just four points on the year and is an atrocious minus-11 in 15 games. He’s still only 29 though, and coming off of the fourth 20-goal season of his career, so he still has some mileage left, even if it seems like he’s been around forever.
To this point in the season, we haven’t heard much in the way of potential teams that could try and acquire Weiss. The Vancouver Canucks probably would have taken him in a Roberto Luongo trade, but that sort of swap seems unlikely at this point, with Luongo playing so well.
The Panthers probably aren’t going to get what they would have liked for Weiss. But they’ll be able to find a taker for him. There are plenty of teams looking for a center and would take a chance on a guy like Weiss, who would benefit from a change of scenery. The Panthers also need to continue building for the future. Weiss is going to be gone by the trade deadline this year, and it’s the right move for both parties.
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