PANTHERS, BLUES SWAP AHL VETS
The Florida Panthers acquired winger Mark Mancari from the St. Louis Blues for winger Eric Selleck.
What does it give the Florida Panthers
Mancari has an intriguing mix of reach and offensive instincts (proven over several years in the AHL), but he's 28 years old and has struggled to stick at the NHL level. He's also posting a middling AHL campaign so far by his fairly lofty standards, and Mancari's inexpensive contract comes off the books this summer (so this may just be a short-term, low-risk audition of a sleeper by Panthers management).
What does it give the St. Louis Blues
In their recent blockbuster deal to land {P Ryan Miller} and {P Steve Ott}, the contending Blues shipped out quite a bit of size on the wing (in {P=5722 Chris Stewart} and prospect {P=10124 William Carrier}). Mancari is a big fella too, but he's more an offensive skill player; so adding the big, bruising Selleck fills an organizational need for toughness up front. That said, Selleck will stay in the AHL for now and if he doesn't pan out, he can be let go this summer.
Fantasy impact
Neither Mancari nor Selleck holds much fantasy appeal, even if one of them somehow manages to stay up in the NHL this season and gets regular ice time down the stretch. Mancari probably has a bit more deep sleeper potential (since he's the better offensive talent and is joining a Florida team whose lineup isn't nearly as tough to break into as the Blues).
