Florida Panthers And Winnipeg Jets Swap Goaltenders In Surprise Deal

Already on Thursday, the Florida Panthers have added forward depth in a deal to acquire Nico Sturm from the San Jose Sharks, and now just a matter of hours later, they've made another surprise deal.

Announced by Frank Seravalli on social media, the Panthers are swapping goaltenders with the Winnipeg Jets, sending Chris Driedger to the top team in the Western Conference in exchange for Kaapo Kahkonen.

The deal is a surprising one from both parties, as neither goaltender figures to be a major factor behind Connor Hellebuyck or Sergei Bobrovsky, but with all Stanley Cup teams needing depth, this one could turn out to be a very intriguing deal.

Both goaltenders are set to be free agents in the summer, with Kahkonen's $1 million cap hit a little higher than the $975k for Driedger, with very little implications of that for both teams moving forward with 24 hours left at the trade deadline.

In a few months, this could be a potential Stanley Cup Finals matchup between two of the NHL's best teams, and if that ultimately happens, it's very unlikely that either player in this deal will be playing a significant role for either team.

Ultimately, we've already seen some very surprising deals made at the deadline, but this one may be the most surprising of all given that it has very little impact on either team, but perhaps this is leading to something more. As always at this time of year, only time will tell at the NHL trade deadline.