from Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald,

Out went the foursome of Brian Campbell, Willie Mitchell, Erik Gudbranson and Dmitry Kulikov.

In came the trio of Keith Yandle, Jason Demers and Mark Pysyk. The first two are a pair of veterans with 17 combined years of NHL experience. The third is an up-and-coming 24-year-old who has shown flashes of potential over the last four years with the Buffalo Sabres and their AHL counterpart, the Rochester Americans.

“We felt these were three guys that we wanted to go after aggressively so they could complement the pieces we had up front,” Panthers General Manager Tom Rowe said.

Rowe said the vision for the Panthers’ blue line features players who aren’t afraid to be offensive-minded. It’s a transition to a style similar to that of the Tampa Bay Lightning and San Jose Sharks, two teams that have reached the Stanley Cup Finals within the last two years.

They aren’t just defensemen anymore, Rowe said. When the opportunity presents itself, they need to take hold of the puck, drive up the ice and make the play, whether that’s passing it to a forward or taking their own shot.

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