Prince of Pucks: Jokinen still staying put

Over the past two NHL seasons the name of Florida Panthers captain Olli Jokinen has frequently popped up in trade rumors.

It was understandable when his name first surfaced in the rumor mill during the 2005-06 season. The Panthers were struggling and about to miss the playoffs, then-teammate Roberto Luongo was at loggerheads with then-GM Mike Keenan over a new contract, and Jokinen ? who was also eligible for a new contract at season's end ? had expressed concern over the direction of the team.

That led to plenty of speculation heading toward the NHL's March 2006 trade deadline that Jokinen wouldn't re-sign with the Panthers, that his desire to play on a post-season contender would force Keenan to trade him.

So the NHL world was stunned when, scant days before the trade deadline, Jokinen inked a four-year, $21 million contract extension with the Panthers.

It was subsequently discovered Keenan had no intention of trading Jokinen unless he received a mind-blowing offer, while Jokinen admitted he'd never entertained any thoughts of seeking a trade, citing his desire to turn the Panthers into a playoff team and his family's contentment living in Florida.

That should've ended all trade talk about Jokinen, but 16 months after re-signing with the Panthers, the rumors are swirling again.

What re-ignited them was a report by TSN on July 1 suggesting the Calgary Flames might consider offering up Alex Tanguay to the Panthers for Jokinen.

Panthers GM Jacques Martin (who replaced Mike Keenan last year) and Flames GM Darryl Sutter both denied the report. Still, it was enough to spark internet chatter claiming Jokinen was available, based on the Panthers supposed desire to dump his salary in hopes of landing good young players for their "rebuilding project".

But the Panthers are no longer rebuilding. This is a team that has made continual improvement since the 2001-02 season, and came oh-so-close to making the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs. Indeed, had former GM Keenan not traded away Luongo to Vancouver in one of the worst deals in NHL history (a move that likely led to Keenan's firing), the Panthers probably would've made the postseason.

With the acquisition last month of goaltender Tomas Vokoun from Nashville, Martin solidified his goaltending and bolstered his team's chances to make the 2008 postseason.

Their defense corps, anchored by quiet young star Jay Bouwmeester, made significant improvement last season under Martin's coaching. Young forwards Nathan Horton and Stephen Weiss had breakout performances in 2006-07 while Rostislav Olesz showed flashes of improvement.

Veterans Jozef Stumpel, Martin Gelinas (likely to re-sign with the Panthers) and Ville Peltonen had solid performances last season and should continue to do so in 2007-08.

Leading the way is Jokinen, the Panthers leading scorer over the past four seasons, who's coming off a career-best campaign (39-52-91).

It simply makes no sense for the Panthers to trade Jokinen. Not when he's under contract for three more seasons at $5.25 million per, a bargain when one considers comparable players are earning much more.

Trading their leader for Tanguay, a player who comes up short in both the statistic and leadership categories compared to Jokinen, would be ludicrous.

Furthermore, Jokinen isn't asking to leave. He's repeatedly claimed his love of playing in Florida, of his family's happiness living there and of his determination to make the Panthers a playoff team.

That doesn't sound like a guy who wants a change of scenery.

Granted, star players get traded all the time. As the old saying goes, if Wayne Gretzky could be traded at the peak of his career, it can happen to anyone, including Jokinen.

That being said, those types of trades are rare and usually involve circumstances unrelated to on-ice performance.

In Jokinen's case, there really aren't any significant factors that would force such a trade.

The Panthers are facing a declining fan base, one that slipped from an average of 16,014 in 2005-06 to 15,370 last season. Trading their franchise player at this time would be box-office poison.

Freeing up cap space isn't a requirement or a necessity. The Panthers still sit below $40 million in cap space, with only a handful of players to re-sign.

If they were thinking "salary dump" it wouldn't make sense to move Jokinen's $5.25 million per to Calgary for Tanguay's $5.25 million per.

The Panthers are a team that appears poised for a breakthrough this coming season, so it makes absolutely no sense to dump their best player now.

Most importantly, Jokinen doesn't want to leave. He actually wants to play for the Panthers and make them a playoff club.

It's possible the general manager of a rival team could call up GM Martin and ask if he's willing to entertain offers for his captain, but that doesn't mean Jokinen's available.

Barring the unforeseen, don't expect Olli Jokinen to be playing elsewhere this coming season.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/7051592