Panthers and Bruins Consummate Deal

			2009-2010 NHL Statistics				2011 Cap Info
To Boston	Position	Age	GP	G	A	P	Years	Cap Hit
Nathan Horton	Forward	25	65	20	37	57	3	$4 million
Gregory Campbell	Forward	26	60	2	15	17	0	RFA
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To Florida	Position	Age	GP	G	A	P	Years	Cap Hit
Dennis Wideman	Defense	27	76	6	24	30	2	$3.9 million
2010 1st Round Pick (15th overall)
Undisclosed Draft Pick

The busy off-season continues on Tuesday with a deal that has been churning on the rumour mill for some time now, as Nathan Horton has been dealt from the Florida Panthers to the Boston Bruins.  Horton has been a popular player in the rumour mill in this off-season, being attached to all sorts of teams for almost a calendar year now.

In what is a pretty big deal overall, the Bruins acquire both Horton and forward Gregory Campbell from the Panthers in exchange for veteran defenseman Dennis Wideman, one of the Bruins 1st round picks and another draft pick, which was not disclosed by Bob McKenzie of TSN.

In this deal, the Bruins pick up a pair of slightly underachieving forwards, Horton, a former 3rd overall pick, that hasn't broken out as a headline player, and Campbell, a former 3rd rounder, that didn't really find a niche with the Panthers in five full seasons with the club.

The Panthers acquire a veteran defenseman in Wideman to help out Bryan McCabe on the back end with some more veteran scoring.  The blueline in Florida is becoming very reasonable to look at with young players like Keith Ballard and Dimitri Kulikov already in the fold.  The Panthers also get another first round pick for the Entry Draft on Friday night, which will change the outlook and the mock drafts for everyone.

So, as expected right now, the money really doesn't look too much different on either side of the ledger. The Bruins currently have 14 players signed on for $49.8 million, which is very reasonable today and the Panthers currently have 15 players signed on for $44.1 million.  Both teams will have ample room to play with and help sign their current batches of free agents, likely both being players after July 1st and they both have added some new blood without going overboard.

Both teams will have a little different identity with this swap, likely for the good, I'm thinking.  Horton will likely enjoy a change of scenery and some new veteran help, while Wideman will get play a bigger role with the Panthers going forward.  For both, this could mean some bigger numbers, fantasy-wise, but we'll assess that when the time grows nearer to October, possibly through training camp to see who each play with.