TSN Hockey Insiders Bob McKenzie, Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dreger gathered for the latest installment of Insider Trading and the topics discussed were Tim Thomas's professional tryout with the Panthers, the status of contract extension talks between the Canucks and the Sedin twins, the Rangers' negotiations with Henrik Lundqvist on an extension and restricted free agent Derek Stepan on a new deal, the chances of free agent Brenden Morrow signing with a new team, as well the NHL's new rule that sees a minor penalty given to a player who removes his helmet prior to a fight.

Why are the Florida Panthers taking a chance on a 39-year-old Tim Thomas who hasn't played in 17 months?

Pierre LeBrun: For Dale Tallon, he's got a young goalie in Jakob Markstrom that struggled at times last season when given the No. 1 mantle. Dale Tallon wants Tim Thomas to come in and be a mentor for Jakob Markstrom just as he was for Tuukka Rask in Boston. Now, he's 39. He hasn't played in a year-and-a-half. All indications are that he's in pretty good shape and he's going to hit the ice for the first time on Tuesday, but it's a tryout. If this doesn't work out, there are no strings attached. In the end, this is about Markstrom so that he isn't overwhelmed at being No. 1.

Bob McKenzie: This is also about Tim Thomas knowing that there's an Olympics this year. People realize that this is a long shot and he hasn't played in over a year, but just for the record the Team USA had added him to their long list. That didn't just happen today in light of what happened with the Florida Panthers. It was actually done in the summer. David Poile and Team USA are not taking any chances. Tim Thomas is on the long list of players eligible to be named to Team USA.

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