SUNRISE · Majority owner Alan Cohen did not
confirm<br> or deny reports Saturday that the Panthers would
be<br> willing to trade superstar Pavel Bure if the
right deal<br> were offered.<br><br> However, Cohen
echoed General Manager Chuck<br> Fletcher's comments
that anybody is tradeable if the<br> deal makes sense
for the long-term future of the<br>
organization.<br><br> "Our goal is to win a Stanley Cup. I'll trade me
to do it,"<br> Cohen said. "Having said that, as you
know, I'm a big<br> Pavel Bure fan. He's an amazing
athlete. He'd be<br> impossible to replace."<br><br>
Still, with nine days to the trade deadline, sources
say<br> the Panthers have made it clear Bure can be had
for<br> the right price, and the Dallas Stars are
interested.<br> Florida has reportedly asked for Jamie
Langenbrunner<br> and Brenden Morrow and a first-round draft
pick.<br><br> While Stars GM Doug Armstrong wouldn't "confirm
or<br> deny anything," President Jim Lites told the
Dallas<br> Morning News, "Obviously Pavel Bure is a player
we<br> would be interested in. I don't know if the fit
is there,<br> though."<br><br> Lites is referring to
both Bure's contract and the assets<br> the Panthers
would want in return. Bure, the<br> second-highest-paid
player in the NHL at $10 million (a<br> quarter of the
Panthers' payroll), is owed $20 million over the next two
seasons<br> and potentially $31 million over three.<br><br>
Langenbrunner, 26, and Morrow, 23, make $2.3 million combined,
meaning if the<br> Panthers were to obtain the talented
wingers, they'd be saving significant payroll<br> and
could use the difference to bring in other quality
players to rebuild via free<br> agency or trade.<br><br>
The Panthers need improvement everywhere, and one
area is scoring off the<br> wings. Langenbrunner, a
complete player, has a knack for scoring big goals (10<br>
goals in a 1999 playoff run that ended with a Stanley
Cup).<br><br> Morrow scored 20 goals last season and combines
that with grit. The Panthers<br> are searching for a
better balance because they have skilled forwards who
don't<br> pay the price to score and gritty forwards who
can't score.<br><br> Dallas could just wait for
free-agent-to-be Teemu Selanne, Tony Amonte or Bill<br> Guerin to
become available in summer, but with San Jose, Chicago
and Boston<br> in playoff races, it's doubtful they'd
be traded.<br><br> Deep-pocket owner Tom Hicks wants
to make a splash now, sources say,<br> because the
seventh-place Stars are on the playoff bubble in the
West.<br><br> Building around Bure hasn't worked for a poor
team like Florida, but put him on a<br> quality team
such as Dallas with responsible defensemen behind him
and<br> forwards alongside, and Bure likely becomes a
choice commodity. <br><br><br>eh, probably a rumor.
You'll never know.<br><br>Tia