NHL Rumors: Florida Panthers May Trade Surprising Name

The Florida Panthers are 15-4-3 on the season and look poised to be contenders out of the Eastern Conference. Which is why hearing about them trading one of their top forwards is awfully surprising, however Patric Hornqvist could be on the move.

The 34-year-old veteran is signed for this season and the next at $5.3 million per season. He holds no-trade protection that keeps him away from eight teams of his choice. So far in 2021-22 Hornqvist has recorded 11 points in 22 games and has found himself mostly on the team's bottom-two lines. 

After a trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins, Hornqvist has performed well for the Panthers, including 32 points in 44 games last season and then another five points in six playoff games.

Hockey insider Frank Seravalli had Hornqvist listed #6 on his latest trade list and had this to say about the Panthers winger:

It feels odd to have the third-highest paid forward on one of the best teams as a Trade Target. But that’s actually why Hornqvist made the list. He was a great pick up for GM Bill Zito last year. This year, Hornqvist has fallen back to the least productive season (0.50 points per game) of his career. His minutes have been significantly reduced, down nearly four minutes per game from last season, whittled down to a fourth line even-strength role with power-play time. And if there’s one thing we’ve learned about Zito, it’s that he finds a way to move out salary (Brett Connolly, Anton Stralman) to make room – and the ‘Cats are going to need it with their dead cap buyout money doubling next season.

The Panthers have a history of making expensive contracts go away by pairing them with a young asset, so we will have to keep an eye on the Sunshine State as some deals could be coming soon!

Photo credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports