- The Panthers have placed defenseman Olli Juolevi on injured reserve, relays George Richards of Florida Hockey Now (Twitter link). The 23-year-old has had a tough first season in Florida as he has struggled to stay healthy, playing in just nine games. He had been on a nice little stretch as of late, averaging nearly 16 minutes per night on the third pairing in his last four games but that has been put on hold for now.
Panthers Rumors
Gustav Forsling Added To COVID Protocol
One of the less talked about developments that have made the Florida Panthers such a deep, imposing team the last two seasons has been the progression of Gustav Forsling, a fifth-round pick snatched off waivers in early 2021. Forsling has become one of the most trusted defensemen on the Florida roster and is averaging over 21 minutes a night for the Panthers this year.
Unfortunately, they’ll need to find someone else to eat those minutes for the next few days as Forsling has been placed in the COVID protocol. He won’t play tomorrow against the Edmonton Oilers, and likely will be out against the Vancouver Canucks and Seattle Kraken, should he face the regular five-day isolation period.
Now 25, Forsling is in the first season of a three-year deal signed last July that carries a cap hit of just $2.67MM through 2023-24. That’s an incredible bargain for a defenseman that is eating incredibly tough defensive deployment and yet still has 19 points in 34 games. The Panthers have outscored their opponents 43-25 at even-strength this season despite the defenseman starting just 39 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone. Without him, a player like Olli Juolevi will have to step into a bigger role after playing a little over 15 minutes against the Calgary Flames yesterday.
Prospect Justin Sourdif Traded In The WHL
- Panthers prospect Justin Sourdif was traded to the Edmonton Oil Kings from Vancouver at yesterday’s WHL trade deadline. A third-round pick in 2020, the winger has 32 points in 24 games this season and now goes to an Edmonton squad that is gearing up for a long playoff run. Florida has already signed Sourdif to an entry-level contract, one that will slide this season and begin in 2022-23.
Florida Panthers Sign Evan Fitzpatrick
The Florida Panthers have signed Evan Fitzpatrick to a one-year, two-way contract to give the team some additional goaltending depth. Fitzpatrick had been playing in the minor leagues on an AHL contract but will have that voided now to get an NHL deal. That allows the Panthers to bring him up to the taxi squad, which they have immediately done as they deal with absences at the NHL level.
Fitzpatrick, 23, was a second-round pick by the St. Louis Blues in 2016 but failed to receive a qualifying offer from them when his entry-level contract expired in 2021. That made him an unrestricted free agent and looking for a job, which he found with the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. The young netminder signed a two-year AHL contract in August and had split this season between Charlotte and the Greenville Swamp Rabbits of the ECHL, seeing much more time in the low minors than the AHL.
Now, he’ll basically become a practice goaltender for the Panthers, who have recently been forced to navigate absences from Spencer Knight and Jonas Johansson due to COVID protocols. With Fitzpatrick in place, the team will at least always have a professional goaltender to go in as a backup, should the team run into any more last-minute absences.
While the release does not include the financial details, it is very likely that Fitzpatrick will carry a cap hit of just $750K at the NHL level–a cap hit that is completely buried while the waiver-exempt goaltender is on the taxi squad or in the minor leagues. Technically this will leave Fitzpatrick as a restricted free agent at the end of the season, though he would once again be a candidate to go unqualified.
Panthers, Ducks Announce More COVID Protocol Additions
The Florida Panthers will not have Patric Hornqvist in the lineup this evening when they take on the Carolina Hurricanes, as he has entered the COVID protocol. Hornqvist joins Mason Marchment, Sam Reinhart, and Spencer Knight, stealing quite a few important names from the team’s regular roster.
The Panthers, among the league’s elite teams so far this season, lost their last game against the Dallas Stars in a shootout and have now called two points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for first place in the Atlantic Division. The team is not only without these key players due to COVID-related absences, but also names like Sam Bennett due to a suspension and Markus Nutivaara due to injury. Despite that, they will need to try to take down the red hot Metropolitan-leading Hurricanes.
Lucas Carlsson and Aleksi Heponiemi will both enter the lineup tonight, while Sergei Bobrovsky will take the net again, his fifth start since returning from the holiday break.
In Anaheim, the Ducks are facing their own COVID absences. Vinni Lettieri is the latest addition to the protocol, where he will join John Gibson, Hampus Lindholm, Derek Grant, and Sam Carrick. Ryan Getzlaf has technically left the protocol, but he’ll also miss tonight’s game against the New York Rangers as the team gets him back up to speed.
The Ducks have recalled five players ahead of the game. Benoit-Olivier Groulx, Jacob Perreault, Buddy Robinson, Greg Pateryn, and Lukas Dostal are all up from the San Diego Gulls. Perreault, still just 19, would be making his NHL debut when he hits the ice tonight (he is expected to play with Trevor Zegras and Sonny Milano). Selected 27th overall in 2020, Perreault has 18 points in 23 games for the Gulls this season as one of the few junior-aged players eligible to play in the minor leagues. That’s thanks to the number of games he played last season–27–during the OHL’s postponed campaign. The son of longtime NHL forward Yanic Perreault, he would be the 16th player from the 2020 first round to make his debut–the second for Anaheim, after Jamie Drysdale.
Spencer Knight Enters COVID Protocol
Florida Panthers goalie Spencer Knight entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol on Wednesday, as per a team announcement. The team confirmed he’ll be unavailable for Thursday’s game against the Dallas Stars.
It’s been an unexpectedly rough year for the rookie netminder after he took the World Juniors (and the NHL, briefly) by storm with a string of impressive performances. Florida’s 13th overall selection in 2019 has just a .896 save percentage through 14 games, though, and he’s spent some time on the taxi squad and with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers to continue to develop his game.
Luckily, the Panthers have a better insurance policy in the net than they did at the start of the season. After losing Sam Montembeault on waivers to Montreal prior to the start of the year, the team only had three goalies under contract. That changed when they claimed Jonas Johansson off waivers from Colorado last month, allowing them to give Knight some time off.
Johansson will need to come into action now with Knight on protocol, though. He hasn’t fared any better in 2021-22, posting a .885 save percentage through nine games. The team’s won four straight games after the holiday break, though, giving themselves a comfortable 12-point cushion in terms of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
If all goes well for Knight and he can exit protocol in five days, he could look to return on January 11 against Vancouver. He would miss tomorrow’s game against Dallas and Saturday’s game against Carolina.
Sam Reinhart, Mason Marchment Added To COVID Protocol
The Florida Panthers will be without two forwards for their next game, as both Sam Reinhart and Mason Marchment have been added to the COVID protocol. The team has also placed assistant coach Tuomo Ruutu in the protocol.
Reinhart and Marchment will be unavailable for tomorrow’s match against the Calgary Flames and, if they tested positive, Thursday’s game against the Dallas Stars, but shortened isolation periods could mean those are the only two they miss. Olli Juolevi, who had been in the protocol, was back at practice today for the Panthers.
The Panthers are also without Sam Bennett after his recent suspension, meaning they’ll be shorthanded as they head into a tough matchup against the Flames. Reinhart has been excellent of late, scoring 13 points in 10 games since the start of December and climbing to second place among all Panthers with 26 points in 32 games on the season.
Panthers’ Sam Bennett Suspended Three Games
Following a hearing earlier today with the NHL Department of Player Safety, a decision has been handed down to Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett. Player Safety has announced that Bennett has been suspended for three games for an illegal check to the head of Montreal Canadiens forward Cedric Paquette on Saturday. Bennett will miss more than a week of game action, sitting out against Calgary on Tuesday – a revenge game for the former Flame – Dallas on Thursday and Carolina on Saturday, returning to action against Vancouver on Tuesday, January 11. The league’s reasoning was as follows (video):
Bennett delivered a high, hard hit on [Paquette], making his head the main point of contact on a hit where such head contact was avoidable… Bennett delivers a forceful shoulder check to Paquette that makes his head the main point of contact, knocking him to the ice. This is an illegal check to the head… While we acknowledge that Bennett does make subsequent contact with Paquette’s left shoulder after going through the head, it is clearly Paquette’s head that absorbs the brunt of the force of this blow. Bennett’s shoulder makes direct and forceful contact through Paquette’s head and jaw, snapping his neck back… Bennett has the time and space to deliver a legal check that hits through Paquette’s near shoulder and core. His chosen angle of approach however forces him to cut across and in front of the body and make the head the main point of contact.
Player Safety also took into account that Bennett is considered a repeat offender. The physical forward has only been suspended once, but it was just last year during the postseason and for a similar incident. Bennett was suspended one playoff game for boarding Blake Coleman, another dangerous hit to the head of an opposing player. It also did not help Bennett’s case that Paquette was injured on the play, eventually leaving the game with a reported neck injury. As for the length of the suspension, it was likely taken into account that no penalty was called on the play meaning Bennett did not miss any time on Saturday as a result of the incident.
Bennett’s absence will be felt on a number of levels for the Atlantic-leading Panthers. Bennett is playing a major role in his first full season in Florida, averaging a career-high 18:30 in ice time and on pace for a career-best – by a wide margin – 31 goals and 48 points. The second-line center is also relied upon at the face-off dot and for his defensive play. Bennett has a regular penalty kill role, his 59 hits rank second among Panthers forwards, and his +12 rating is also among the best marks on the team. In every facet of the game, Bennett will be missed for the next three games, especially against two fellow division leaders in the Flames and Hurricanes.
Sam Bennett Will Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety
The NHL Department of Player Safety tweeted Sunday morning that Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett will have a hearing today for an illegal check to the head on forward Cedric Paquette of the Montreal Canadiens.
During Saturday’s game between the two teams, Bennett laid a hit on Paquette in the low slot in the Panthers’ offensive zone. When looking at the video replay, it seems as though Bennett’s shoulder made contact with Paquette’s head during the hit.
In advance of the hearing, it’s important to note two things that aren’t working in Bennett’s favor. For one, he has a history — he was suspended one game during the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs for boarding Tampa Bay’s Blake Coleman. Secondly, Paquette did suffer an injury on the play, leaving yesterday’s game with a neck injury.
The 25-year-old Bennett is on his way to a career year in his first full season with Florida. He’s averaging 18:30 per game, by far the highest mark of his career, and he has 11 goals and six assists through 26 games.
Florida Panthers Expected To Have Interest In Ben Chiarot
Through the first period of today’s afternoon tilt against the Florida Panthers, the shorthanded Montreal Canadiens were able to stay even. Playing without most of their regulars the team had just five defensemen dressed, many of them without much NHL experience.
One of the veterans that they were missing is Ben Chiarot, whose name is coming up more and more often as the trade deadline approaches. Chiarot is a pending unrestricted free agent and arguably the Canadiens’ best trade chip this season, though he’s currently in the COVID protocol and unable to help the club against the Panthers.
It’s those same Panthers who could show interest in Chiarot before the deadline, according to Pierre LeBrun on the TSN broadcast:
It just so happens that the team the Habs are playing today, the Florida Panthers, I hear are pretty high on Ben Chiarot. Now they won’t be alone–most Cup contenders, and I believe Florida is a contender, are going to have Chiarot on their trade bait list. They’re going to want to at least try to acquire him.
I think that is going to be the case. I think Florida will reach out to the Canadiens between now and March 21st and see what it takes to pry him out. They won’t be alone, there will be a half dozen contenders looking at Ben Chiarot.
Through 31 games this season, the 30-year-old Chiarot has averaged more than 23 minutes of ice time for the Canadiens. He has five goals and seven points in that time, but is much more known for his punishing, physical defense than his offensive upside. Given that contenders usually have their puck-moving options locked up already, Chiarot seems like a perfect addition for many who want to add some size, length, and experience to the blue line before the deadline.
Still, the amount of chatter that has emerged about Chiarot ever since the Canadiens struggled out of the gate is likely a bit excessive for his actual on-ice impact. This could be a perfect storm for Montreal where a lack of other options could lead to someone overpaying for the rental defenseman.