Panthers give up on Tanguay?
The Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet is reporting that the Florida Panthers are giving up on signing star winger Alex Tanguay. The paper claims that Canadian press now believe it’s a race between the Phoenix Coyotes and Tampa Bay Lightning to sign the experienced forward.
I have been unable to either confirm or reject these latest rumors that the Cats have given up on Tanguay. The interest of Tampa Bay Lightning and Phoenix Coyotes however has been widely reported. The deal between those two teams, which brought Radim Vrbata to Phoenix for Fedoruk and Hale, does give our western neighbors the necessary cap space to pursue a player of Tanguay’s caliber.
It would no doubt be a real blow to Panthers fans if these rumors came true – and Alex Tanguay were to join Tampa Bay instead of us. Take this latest information for what it is though, speculation, but as soon as anything more substantial comes along I’ll let you know…
On a sidenote, the same paper – this time using Russian sources, claims that winger Ilya Kovalchuk of the Atlanta Thrashers; is going to sign a new multi-year contract. The deal, if these sources are correct, will give him the maximum amount possible (20% of the teams total wages against the cap) and make him the best paid player in the NHL, earning an estimated $11.36 million a year!
Not bad for a player plying his trade on one of the worst teams in the league…
