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There has been recent news coming out of Florida that GM Dale Tallon is interested in moving his first round pick at this year’s NHL draft.
The Panthers are slated to pick 1st overall this year and it appears that their GM isn’t only listening to possible offers for the pick, but he might actually be shopping it, according to Toronto Star reporter Damien Cox.
Florida GM Dale Tallon told PTS he is actively shopping the No. 1 pick in this summer's NHL draft. Not just accepting offers - shopping it.
— Damien Cox (@DamoSpin) May 2, 2014While this isn’t unordinary for GM’s to “shop… their first round picks, it seems to me that with the Panthers late success, or lack thereof, that holding on to it might be their wisest choice. That said, it appears that the GM and his organization might be more interested in what other teams are willing to sacrifice in order to possibly land a player like Aaron Ekblad or Sam Reinhart.
"We’re in good position," said Tallon during the NHL scouting combine this week. "We’ll take advantage of it."
Another point made by Tallon which I found rather interesting, was his “disinterest… in the strength testing of the players. He, like former GM Jay Feaster, appears to place a lot of stoke in character players, or players with a higher level of Hockey IQ. In fact, Tallon went as far as to say that, and I quote "The puck doesn't weigh that much".
If you recall, I wrote a blog a year ago found here which went over the importance of these traits in their draft selections for the Flames. While I feel that Burke likes to place a lot of stock in the "tenacity" of players, I don't believe he's much different than Feaster was in this regard. The game is not only big and physical, it's smart and fast and you need players who can adapt to any situation, not just beat up the opposition.
That said, I thought I’d comment on the above as I feel that one of a few GM’s who will likely be making a phone call or two to Dale will be Brian Burke and or newly hired Flames GM Brad Treliving.
While this may be a little too much to handle on his own right off the bat, I can imagine that if that first overall selection is available, that the Flames organization will certainly assess whether they can afford the asking price.
And let’s be clear here, the asking price for a first overall draft selection which will likely land you Aaron Ekblad, is going to be pricey. The question then becomes – what do the Florida Panthers need? While just about any team could stand to add another high end prospect such as Ekblad, perhaps the Panthers are hoping to bring in a few more experienced, but still young, players in order to pull themselves out of the NHL basement and avoid a possible Edmonton Oilers scenario.
Should Calgary make a pitch for this first overall draft selection? Of course! Should they try and outbid anyone and possibly give up some young players of their own? Not a chance.
The only scenario in which I can envision the Flames partaking would be by moving players closer to their 30’s, or players they may not be overly comfortable with for whatever reason. The team is not in a position to be moving prospects/picks for one that is slightly higher than their own.
And while a 1st overall selection will possibly yield a franchise type player, selecting 4th overall and keeping their assets should most certainly be the wise plan for this team.
What do you think? Would you make a strong move to acquire the Panther’s pick?
Thanks for reading!