Florida -- The Florida Panthers made a shocking trade last night acquiring Jay Bouwmeester from the Nashville Predators. In Jay the Panthers get a 6'4 220 lb defenseman who can handle things at both ends of the rink. The smooth skating Bouwmeester has 18 points in 45 games this season.
The deal was a costly one as the Panthers gave up Jason Spezza. It was the classic deal that helps both teams. The Predators pick up a pivot who will play number one minutes while the Panthers bring the help they need on defense.
The trade breaksdown as follows:
TO FLA - Jay Bouwmeester and a first round pick in this year's draft (ATL)
TO NAS - Jason Spezza and Daniel Carcillo
Panthers GM Ironmike has this to say ..... "It was tough trade to make. Jason Spezza has been the face of this franchise for a number of years and posted big numbers for our club. We thank Jason for his contribution and for what he brought to our team. Daniel Carcillo is a young hard nosed winger who is just starting to make a name for himself in this league. We thank Daniel for his effort this season and wish him well in the future.
This season we have struggled on defense. The team is second in the league in team scoring but near the bottom in team defence. We have regularly given up too many quality scoring chances. It shows up on the scoreboard every night and we wanted to address this problem before the playoffs. Jay Bouwmeester can solidify our defense for years to come. He can shutdown top players and he can join the rush to create scoring chances. He skates and handles the puck well and we think he'll will fit in well with our defense corps."
Bouwmeester will suit up tonight when the Panthers play Montreal. The speculation is he'll be paired with veteran Chris Chelios. Bouwmeester should also see playing time on the power play with slick defender Sergei Zubov.
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