Jay Bouwmeester Traded to Calgary

The Florida Panthers took quite a gamble at the NHL's trade deadline by holding onto soon-to-be free agent defenseman Jay Bouwmeester. In the end, the Panthers not only missed the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season, but now they've also lost their one-time franchise defenseman, as the team traded his rights to Calgary for Jordan Leopold and a third-round pick.

Leopold, like Bouwmeester, will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, assuming deals can't be reached before then.

Even though Florida received considerably less this weekend than it would have back in March, it's hard to argue against its original decision. The Panthers were in a playoff position at the time of the deadline, and trading their best player would have put a significant dent in their chances (not like it mattered in the end) and been a PR nightmare.

The team was so committed to making the playoffs that it even put together a ticket package that promised fans free tickets in 2009 if it failed to end its postseason drought.

If the Panthers can work out a deal with Leopold, however, it's actually a decent haul given the circumstances. He's not Bouwmeester, but he's a capable NHL defenseman that can log about 20 minutes per night, and even provide some offense.

Assuming the Flames can sign Bouwmeester before he hits the open market on Wednesday, this gives them a potentially lethal defense when you combine the former top-five pick with Dion Phaneuf and Robyn Regehr. The problem, of course, is how are they going to fit him under the cap? Currently, the Flames have nearly $47 million committed to 16 players for 2009-10, while Bouwmeester was expected to get anywhere between $5 and $7.5 million in free agency.

Bouwmeester, 25, matched a career-high during the 2008-09 season with 15 goals, while also recording 27 assists. He hasn't missed a game since the 2003-04 season.