"I think you're always reading and evaluating defenseman and obviously Jay's a pretty highly rated guy in the League. We wouldn't have tried to go after him if we didn't think he could play a lot of minutes." -- Darryl Sutter
The Florida Panthers traded their All-Star defenseman's negotiating rights to the Calgary Flames on Saturday for unrestricted free agent defenseman Jordan Leopold and a 2009 third-round draft pick. Florida used the pick to take right wing Josh Birkholz).
Flames General Manager Darryl Sutter told NHL.com that he will contact Bouwmeester's agent, Byron Baltimore, to begin talks upon his return to Calgary.