SUNRISE, Fla. -- After making a splash with last week's surprise acquisition of future Hall of Fame forward Jaromir Jagr, Florida Panthers General Manager Dale Tallon stood pat on Monday afternoon as the NHL trade deadline came and went with no subsequent moves.
''We did a lot of our work earlier, as most teams,'' said Tallon. ''There wasn't a lot going on and most teams had gotten their trades done earlier in the week and throughout the last couple of weeks. We looked at certain possibilities with certain teams and certain players, but we knew going in that today would be a quiet day.''
Unwilling to mortgage his team's future for high-priced rentals and immediate gains, Tallon made it very clear to other teams around the league that the organization's young players such as Nick Bjugstad and Aleksander Barkov were not available.
''I set the tone, we're not trading these guys,'' said Tallon. ''We're not going to mortgage our future for a Band-Aid. That's been pretty obvious for a long time.''
Although no deals came to fruition on Monday, Tallon did field phone calls and listened to several offers throughout the afternoon for his two soon-to-be unrestricted free agents in forwards Tomas Kopecky and Scottie Upshall.
In the end, however, Tallon did not want to risk jeopardizing his team's current makeup for what was believed to be a very minimal return.
''If we could get something of value in return, because they have the option from walking away from us and getting nothing on July 1, you're always looking to retain asset value,'' Tallon said. ''It just wasn't (anything) out there that made sense. We'll go with what we've got and I'm excited about our team.''
Last week, Tallon did succeed in dealing one of his pending unrestricted free agent forwards when he sent Tomas Fleischmann to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a 2015 third-round pick and former 50-goal scorer Dany Heatley.
Heatley, who has reported to Florida's American Hockey League affiliate, is thought to be well past his prime, but could potentially earn a call up with the playoff-hopeful Panthers this season.
''I talked to Dany and told him I'd give him an opportunity,'' said Tallon, who spoke highly of the 34-year-old winger. ''If you go down there, lead and play well, you'll get a shot. He had a tough time last year with injuries and tried to play through it because his contract was up and it affected him. You never know, you can't have enough good players.''
In the end, though, plucking Jagr from the New Jersey Devils for two draft picks was the feather in Tallon's cap during an overall successful week in which the Panthers managed to play the role of both buyers and sellers.
At 43 years old, Jagr is already making an impact with the Panthers, notching a goal and an assist in back-to-back victories.
''I think the whole team is excited about it,'' Tallon said of the deal. ''I saw the energy level rise and the attitude change in the locker room a little bit. The performance of the young guys he's playing with and his performance, pretty impressive. It gives us all optimism moving forward in the next 19 games.''
Monday's deadline may have been quiet, but Tallon believes that the organization's pre-deadline deals will have the Panthers making noise down the home stretch.
''We're in the hunt,'' said Tallon. ''We're two points out. Team morale is very good and very high. There's energy and enthusiasm.''
You can follow Jameson Olive on Twitter @JamesonCoop or email him at JamesonOlive@gmail.com.
