Panthers stay active at NHL trade deadline, adding goalie Vitek Vanecek

Stephen Whyno · The Associated Press

· Posted: Mar 05, 2025 1:23 PM EST | Last Updated: March 6

The defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers proceed to beryllium progressive successful the pb up to the NHL commercialized deadline.

The Panthers acquired goaltender Vitek Vanecek connected Wednesday from the San Jose Sharks for 25-year-old guardant Patrick Giles, the teams announced.

The NHL deadline is Friday astatine 3 p.m. ET.

Vanecek gives Florida extent successful net, on with Chris Driedger, down two-time Vezina Trophy-winning starter Sergei Bobrovsky, who backstopped them to their archetypal Cup title successful franchise past past year. The Panthers besides signed Jesse Puljujarvi a period aft the Finnish winger mutually terminated his declaration with Pittsburgh.

Those are extent moves, and the existent 1 Tampa Bay is responding to was the Panthers acquiring top-four defenceman Seth Jones from Chicago successful a play blockbuster that sent goalie Spencer Knight and a first-round prime to Chicago.

The Sharks held Vanecek retired of their crippled Tuesday nighttime astatine Buffalo successful mentation of trading the 29-year-old from the Czech Republic

"It's portion of the business," said Sharks goaltender Alexandar Georgiev, who was traded determination from Colorado for Mackenzie Blackwood earlier this season. "Unfortunately sometimes players get moved. … Hopefully it's a bully accidental for him."

The Sharks successful Giles get a young subordinate to adhd to their halfway built astir No. 1 prime and rookie-of-the-year campaigner Macklin Celebrini. Giles appeared successful 9 NHL games for the Panthers earlier this play without a point. He has mostly been with the team's American Hockey League affiliate successful Charlotte, N.C.

San Jose successful a corresponding roster determination recalled Georgi Romanov from the Barracuda of the AHL.

The Sharks besides did a small buying, acquiring 28-year-old defenceman Vincent Desharnais from the Penguins for a 2028 fifth-round pick. Desharnais, who is nether declaration done adjacent season, has been traded doubly successful 5 weeks aft going from Vancouver to Pittsburgh successful the woody that got the Canucks Marcus Pettersson.

Goalie marketplace thin

That acceptable up the Penguins to adhd two-time Cup-winning defenceman Luke Schenn and guardant Tommy Novak from the Nashville Predators for Michael Bunting and a fourth-rounder successful 2026. Bunting is retired indefinitely aft country to region his appendix, portion Schenn is signed for different play aft this 1 and Novak for 2 more.

The goalie marketplace up of the deadline remains bladed extracurricular of possibly Anaheim's John Gibson, but different talks proceed to prime up astir the league. After signing pending escaped cause pugnacious feline Mathieu Olivier to a six-year, $18 cardinal US extension, Columbus Blue Jackets wide manager Don Waddell signalled he's unfastened for business, to a definite extent.

"We're surely making calls and taking calls," Waddell said. "I've said each along: We're not successful the presumption to commercialized first-round picks for rental players oregon thing similar that. If we tin adhd astir the edges, surely we're going to effort that. I'm much funny successful hockey deals with possibly players that person word near connected their contract. We're exploring evidently arsenic galore of those arsenic we can."

The Blue Jackets person a fistful of different pending UFAs, who Waddell does not expect to re-sign earlier the deadline but mightiness support conscionable to assistance his squad combat for a playoff spot.

"If I rip a feline retired of this locker country close present [who is] playing a relation for america connected this hockey nine close now, I deliberation that's beauteous devastating to our team," Waddell said. "I deliberation it's the incorrect connection from my end. I deliberation it's the incorrect connection to our fans, the coaches and the players."

Gourde returning to Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning answered the Panthers' additions with a large determination of their own.

The Lightning acquired forwards Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand from Seattle successful a three-team commercialized that besides progressive Detroit facilitating by retaining salary. They sent conditional 2026 and '27 first-round picks, a second-rounder this twelvemonth and winger Mikey Eyssimont to the Kraken and a fifth-rounder this twelvemonth to the Red Wings.

Tampa Bay besides received a 2026 fifth-round prime and the rights to unsigned imaginable Kyle Aucoin arsenic portion of different assertive maneuver by two-time Cup-winning wide manager Julien BriseBois, who is again bolstering his squad to effort to marque a agelong playoff run.

"We're adding 2 players that are going to play important minutes for america and 2 players that are highly competitive, person had occurrence successful the post-season successful the past, person raised, person elevated their crippled erstwhile it matters most," BriseBois told reporters successful Tampa. "They're skilled. They tin play 200-foot games. They tin beryllium utilized successful each sorts of situations."

Reacquiring Gourde, who was portion of those back-to-back rubric teams successful 2020 and '21, and adding Bjorkstrand gives manager Jon Cooper and the Lightning, presently the hottest squad successful the league with 10 wins successful their past 12 games, some invaluable depth. Gourde conscionable returned Tuesday nighttime from sports hernia country to repair an wounded that caused him to miss the past 2 months.

The Kraken retained fractional of Gourde's wage and the Red Wings different quarter, truthful the Lightning get him astatine the bargain headdress deed of conscionable nether $1.3 cardinal US. The first-round picks the adjacent 2 years are top-10 protected, and Seattle could person further compensation arsenic a result.

"Oliver and Yanni were tremendous players for our enactment who led by illustration connected and disconnected the ice, and I privation them each the champion successful their adjacent section with the Lightning," Kraken GM Ron Francis said. "Decisions similar these are ne'er easy, but creating this invaluable headdress abstraction and draught superior allows america to beryllium progressive successful improving our squad moving forward."

BriseBois is gladsome to person Bjorkstrand, who turns 30 successful April, nether declaration done adjacent play and expressed optimism astir besides re-signing Gourde, who is backmost with Tampa Bay astatine property 33. Gourde did not take to permission the Lightning but alternatively was taken by the Kraken successful the enlargement draught successful 2021.

Of course, trading 1 oregon much first-round picks to marque deadline deals has go a astir yearly contented for BriseBois. He did truthful for Barclay Goodrow and Blake Coleman successful 2020, David Savard successful 2021, Brandon Hagel successful 2022, and Tanner Jeannot successful 2023. The Lightning don't person a first-rounder again until 2028, but BriseBois expects to beryllium picking betwixt 20-32 each twelvemonth and has pointed retired the worth determination is not the aforesaid arsenic No. 1.

Plus, he'd alternatively beryllium liable for title banners hanging from the rafters than choosing 18-year-old prospects successful the draft.

"I'd alternatively person a lineup afloat of bully players than a slope of a ton of draught picks due to the fact that I deliberation yet what we're trying to bash is triumph hockey games," BriseBois said astatine his quality conference. "What guides us, what drives america is trying to triumph a title and that's truly hard."

While the likelihood of the last featuring a squad based successful the authorities of Florida for a sixth consecutive twelvemonth went up, the way done the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference is simply a hard one.

Other Wednesday moves:

• Buffalo Sabres winger Jordan Greenway re-signed for $8 cardinal US implicit the adjacent 2 seasons.

• Utah's Alexander Kerfoot and Ian Cole each received a one-year hold worthy $3 million. Cole's has a $2.8 cardinal wage with $200,000 successful games played bonuses.