The star center has struggled this season, scoring just 1 goal and adding 3 assists in 17 games for the Panthers. It’s not clear as to what degree the wrist injury has impacted his production, but clearly the injury is worse than anyone knew which could explain the lack of points.

Weiss, who is in the last year of his contract with the Panthers, was set to become a hot commodity at the trade deadline.  The reliable 29-year old has averaged 76 games per season over the last six seasons and would regularly contribute between 50-60 points a year.  He is the type of forward that many clubs would have been interested in acquiring for the playoff race.

Panthers GM, Dale Tallon was expected to deal Weiss on or before April 3rd due to the organization not being able to afford the lofty salary increase that Weiss will be seeking and likely receive on the open market.  The Panthers now have the unenviable decision of either trading him before the free-agency begins this summer, resigning him or letting him walk for nothing.  A deal before July 5th is the most probable scenario.

For the Panthers it’s unfortunate given a playoff bound team may have overpaid for Weiss at the trade deadline to secure his services.  With a July deal now most likely, the star forward’s stock may have dropped a little meaning Tallon may not receive what he could have had a deal taken place in the next four weeks.

Starting in Buffalo, Elliotte Friedman of CBC’s Hockey Night is hearing that the Sabres are getting serious about moving a defenseman.  With multiple clubs in need of help on the blue line the Sabres are one of only a few teams that have a stockpile of back end players.  Two names that will surely garner the most attention are veterans Jordan Leopold and Robyn Regehr, both of whom are set to become unrestricted free agents this summer.  Wisely Buffalo will try and receive something for them rather than losing them for nothing.

The Edmonton Oilers are without their top two centerman in Eric Belanger and most recently Shawn Horcoff who is said to be out a month with a broken knuckle.  Given the Oilers struggles to score even strength goals, the club is said to be looking to add some help up the middle.

They could look to the free-agent market where Jason Arnott has been cleared to play after having a scope on his injured knee according to Mark Spector via Twitter.  Daymond Langkow, Brendan Morrison, Dominic Moore and Blair Betts are a few other names mentioned by the Edmonton Journal as possible fits for the Oilers.

Bob Stauffer via Twitter mentions David Steckel as a potential target for the Oilers given he is inconsistently in the Maple Leafs lineup and could come relatively cheap.

Ryan O’Reilly who is the middle of a nasty contract dispute would be a perfect fit for the Oilers but given his ransom demand of $5 million per season and the fact the Colorado Avalanche are a division opponent, it’s unlikely they’d let him go to Edmonton.

Despite Florida Panthers GM, Dale Tallon calling any trade rumors involving Stephen Weiss “ridiculous” the skilled center’s name continues to surface as available.  Weiss is set to become a free agent this summer and there are reports that the Panthers won’t have the cash to re-sign him, forcing the club to trade him and get something in return.

Jimmy Murphy of ESPNBoston.com says he continues to hear that Weiss is available despite what Tallon is saying via Twitter.

Finally, in Pittsburgh the Penguins are said to be seeking a skilled winger to play alongside Evgeni Malkin reports TheFourthPeriod.com. One name that has come up is Nikolai Kulemin of the Maple Leafs who was of interest to the Penguins last season before Brian Burke reportedly turned down a first-round pick according to TheFourthPeriod.com.

Malkin and Kulemin played together in the KHL during the lockout and were said to have some chemistry together.

Stay tuned, the trade rumors are only heating up and as the season progresses, the chatter will intensify.

The top four remains unchanged with the San Jose Sharks comfortably at number one, followed by the Tampa Bay Lightning, Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues.  Again, do the Hawks deserve to be ahead of the Bolts?  Probably, but it’s petty at this point arguing over number 2 and number 3 so we’ll move on to bigger and badder issues.

The Montreal Canadiens surprisingly hopped up into the top five this week based on the signing of P.K. Subban and the unexpected return of Max Pacioretty.  Petty reasons?  Perhaps, but given they are 6-2 to start the year and beat the Ottawa Senators on the weekend, we’ll let it slide this time.

The Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ottawa Senators, Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers round out the top ten.  The Ducks are soaring thanks to Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry who have helped propel the Orange County club to a nice 5-1-1 start.

The Oilers at number 10 is surprising given their record of 4-3-1.  They haven’t scored a lot of even strength goals, rather relying on the power play which leaves many questions if this club is top ten worthy.

The bottom of the pack is relatively unchanged with the Carolina Hurricanes holding steady at number 25.  The biggest drop of the week belongs to the Winnipeg Jets who were railroaded on their trip to Florida over the weekend that led to their three game losing streak in which they were outscored 18-9. Their blueline is suddenly thin with the absence of Zach Bogosian and now Dustin Byfuglien, meaning this team does not have a lot left to rely on offensively.  Don’t be surprised to see if the Jets linger around the bottom of the rankings all season long.

Sitting at 27 are the Nashville Predators, down three spots from 24.  The loss of Patric Hornqvist and Martin Erat is devastating but this club continues to grab at least a point via the shootout, making their ranking a surprise.

The Calgary Flames slid down another two spots this week from 26 to 28 and while the sit in last place in the league, they have played the fewest amount of games. Injuries and absences haven’t given the Flames a full roster yet this season and Jarome Iginla is slow out of the gate.  Miikka Kiprusoff has been hot and cold to start the year, looking great one night and terrible the next.  Many experts have picked the Flames to finish near the bottom of the Western Conference and so far the Flames are making them look like….well….experts.

The Florida Panthers and Washington Capitals flip flopped spots this week as the Caps continue to surprise everyone and lose more games than they’re winning.  Their goaltending has been bad and Ovechkin isn’t scoring.  Two things that are surely adding grey hairs to Adam Oates.

Meanwhile, back-to-back wins for the Panthers have them out of the basement in the rankings.  Throw in a healthy Stephen Weiss and a return from Kris Versteeg and suddenly the cats have a decent lineup, now they just have to start winning consistently.

It’s worth noting that the Dallas Stars fell twelve spots this week from 12 to 24.  A strong start has been replaced by a 3-5-1 record and too often they’re giving up more shots on goal then they’re generating.

Movers and Shakers: The Phoenix Coyotes were the biggest mover this week, jumping nine spots from 22 to 13 that saw them go 2-0-2 over the last seven days.

Free Fall: as already discussed, the Jets are in a nasty free fall, tumbling down seventeen spots from number 9 to 26.  And there aren’t a lot of reassuring points or perspectives for fans to grasp to, aside from pulling the rip cord.  But they signed up for five years, which could turn into five years of misery if management doesn’t get creative with this roster.