Insider reveals that the Florida Panthers will be forced to make a significant trade very soon for cap reasons

Duclair suffered an Achilles injury in July and has been out of action ever since but could return around Christmas. He carries a $3M cap hit for this season and next, but before he is eligible to return from LTIR, the Panthers will have trade someone making at least $3M so that they have the cap space to activate Duclair. Seravalli noted that the easiest thing for the Panthers to do would be to give him away for essentially free, similar to how Vegas traded Marc-Andre Fleury and Max Pacioretty for "future considerations" to free up cap space. Should the Panthers decide they want to keep Duclair, they have other options they could potentially move in Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart or Patric Hornqvist. All of which make significantly more than Duclair's $3M.

Given their cap crunch and the eventual return of Duclair, the Panthers are in a vulnerable position, as Seravalli notes, and teams are starting to take look at who they can take advantage of to acquire a player, prospect or picks for little to no cost. Florida and Bill Zito are at the top of the list.