Draft, Trades and Buyouts - Hooray?

I was in Tampa for a few days, so I missed most of the draft and everything else that Sexton has been doing recently, but while you likely already know, to recap:

Florida traded Jay Bouwmeester to Calgary for Jordan Leopold and a third

Leopold is, like Bouwmeester, a UFA. His agent, however, says that they are open to signing here and the Panthers are no doubt working on this.

Draft:

Round 1 (14th overall): Dmitry Kulikov (Drummondville, QMJHL)
6'1", 195
Defense

The shortest way to describe Kulikov is that he is simply a complete defenseman. Be it puck movement, skating ability or just defensive awareness, Kulikov has all of these things and he executes well. He had 62 points in 57 games with Drummondville of the QMJHL and in the process was named the QMJHL's Rookie of the Year, Defensive Rookie of the Year, Best Professional Prospect and Defenseman of the Year. His contract status and the ever-lingering uncertainty of Russian players had a hand in his falling to the Panthers, and even if you were hoping for a different player, Kulikov was almost certainly the best player available - and he has an outside shot at cracking the Panthers roster as early as this coming season.

Round 2 (44th overall): Drew Shore (USNDP)
6'3", 190
Center

Over the past decade, the United States' National Development Program has produced quite a few NHLers and more recently, some of the best American prospects in the league. Shore was a borderline first round pick in some mock drafts and his size and skill should have the Panthers excited about his development. On the ice, Shore says he models his game after Joe Thornton. Both are big centermen and both are playmakers above all else. In Drew Shore, the Panthers have an American center with top six upside that plays offense first. Fortunately, he won't avoid going back to help out if he needs to. Shore, a native of Colorado, is headed to Denver in the fall and will be playing with two other Panthers prospects in Marc Cheverie and John Lee.

Round 3 (67th overall): Josh Birkholz (Fargo Force, USHL)
6'1", 182
Right Wing

The Panthers picked from the United States Hockey League with their third selection and this time chose a right wing from Minnesota. Like Shore, Birkholz is committed to his home college and will be moving to the University of Minnesota in the coming months. At present, Birkholz's skating is his strongest element while consistency is his weak point. He has been spending his mornings working out with former Gopher Keith Ballard, and hopes to move through the ranks quickly to get to the NHL (but really, who doesn't?).

Round 4 (107th overall): Garret Wilson (Owen Sound Attack, OHL)
6'2", 199
Left Wing

Wilson has good size for a left wing and that's a welcome attribute for a player that his coach in Owen Sound says has a good nose for the net. But despite his size, strength appears to be one of his weak points, although that is nothing that can't be improved. Similarly, his skating stride is not without its flaws, but like strength, this is something on which Wilson can work. It seems, though, that Florida is getting a defensively responsible center that at worst can be a sound penalty killer, and that's not too shabby. Wilson was suspended for 15 games after a slew foot penalty which resulted in Kitchener Rangers forward Dan Kelly suffering a broken ankle. In watching a replay (don't worry, you can't really see anything break.. and more importantly, if you watch, don't close it after the first replay because it looks like very malicious, however, the second angle clearly shows that there was no penalty), there was no slew foot and Kellywas run in to cleanly, losing his footing from a clean hit. By the time Wilson's skate was underneath, the Ranger was already crashing in to the boards. But, the point remains the same. Florida's got another solid prospect here that could someday be a valuable role player on the Panthers.

Round 5 (135th overall): Corban Knight (Okotoks, AJHL)
6'1", 180
Center

Corban Knight played this season as a rookie in the Alberta Junior league and finished in the top ten for overall league scoring while leading all rookies with 72 points in 61 games. He elevated his game in the playoffs and despite being eliminated in the second round, Knight was still third in playoff goals (10) when all was said and done. Another college bound player, Knight will be attending the University of North Dakota - but not this fall, rather the fall of 2010. That means there's another year in Alberta to be had. But to a fan, what made Corban Knight stand out in spite of the limited scouting detail and video has to be his performance at the NHL's draft combine. Knight showed impressive overall athletic ability, ranking third in VO2 max testing, second in pushups and fourth in upper body power with a 4kg ball.

Round 5 (138th overall): Wade Megan
6'1", 185
Center

A low ranked American high-schooler, the Panthers took Megan after interviewing him earlier in the morning. Megan's goals and assists both improved, and in fewer games, this season. Add to that Megan is committed to reigning NCAA champion Boston University for this coming fall and it's a nice late round pick to take.

Round 6 (165th overall): Scott Timmins
6'0", 193
Center

Last, but not least, the Panthers took former Kitchener Ranger Scott Timmins. Timmins turns 20 in September and will be eligible for the AHL this season. And he knows how to win. Timmins was on the Kitchener Rangers when they won the Memorial Cup two years ago (under Peter DeBoer, no less) and this season, played for the Cup winning Windsor Spitfires after being traded mid-season.

What else?

The Panthers tendered qualifying offers to only two of their restricted free agents: David Booth and David Brine. That means Steve Eminger, Anthony Stewart, Tanner Glass, Drew Larman, David Shantz and Franklin MacDonald will become unrestricted free agents.

The case for Eminger was most definitely money. When he got to Tampa, he became a fixture on their defense and logged high minutes and played in all situations. He was supposedly seeking a nearly $3M deal so the Lightning bit the bullet and made a trade, because they knew he would likely be able to get something similar through arbitration. And that's where the Panthers now find themselves. Eminger, if qualified, could take the Cats to arbitration, but by not qualifying him, Florida has taken away that element of the negotiations. If the price comes down, Florida would be silly to not want to bring the defenseman back. But if he holds out for more money, Florida will have no choice but to pass.

With all of these players, returning is not out of the question, though for some, it seems unlikely they would be brought back. A few, however, could still be brought back depending on the market.

Which leaves us with the most recent move (and one that was foreshadowed by the acquisition of Steve Reinprecht): Brett McLean being placed on unconditional waivers.

This is the typical start to a contract buyout, so it looks like McLean's time with the Panthers is done.