The Chicago Blackhawks dealt forward Tomas Kopecky on Monday to the Florida Panthers in return for a conditional 2012 NHL Draft pick or a 2013 seventh-round pick. Kopecky will become an unrestricted free agent on Friday, so this trade gives the Panthers a few days to try to strike a deal with him before he hits the open market.
Tomas Kopecky Traded By Blackhawks To Panthers For Draft Pick
Kopecky had 15 goals and 27 assists for the Blackhawks in 2010-2011, but Chicago might have decided they just didn’t want to pay too much for a season that might well turn out to be his peak. SB Nation’s Blackhawks blog, Second City Hockey, explains why it might make sense to drop Kopecky for what appears likely to be a very minimal return. Kopecky had a somewhat productive-looking season, but his weaknesses might make him a square peg for the Blackhawks:
Kopecky can be a confounding player. There are obviously things to work with. There's decent size, but an inability to use it as he frequently bent from the waist and thus would lose all leverage and be knocked over with a suggestion. There was a pretty wicked wrister, but needed War And Peace-like time to get it off. He provided a net presence ... sometimes. But he didn't have enough speed or skill to consistently be on the Top 6. He didn't have the defensive awareness to be on a checking line, and though he liked to be a pest that act rang hollow because everyone knew that he wouldn't fight due to Francois Beauchemin breaking his face in the '09 playoffs ...
More importantly, with his 15 goals and 42 points, TomoKop is going to seriously cash in from someone. That will probably be with Florida, who need to drastically overspend just to reach the floor, and thus will warp the market. Kopecky isn't a $2 million player, at least not in my mind and neither the Hawks.
Litter Box Cats, SB Nation’s Panthers blog, also thinks it’s pretty likely that Kopecky will end up signing with the Panthers, who will probably give him more than any other team. We’ll see how this develops as the July 1 deadline approaches.
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