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Panthers Sign Rasmus Asplund To One-Year Deal

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During parade day for the 2024 Stanley Cup Champions Florida Panthers, the organization got a minor item of work completed. PuckPedia reports that the organization has signed forward Rasmus Asplund to a one-year, two-way agreement that will pay $775K at the NHL level and $400K at the AHL level. The reported deal was later confirmed by David Dwork of The Hockey News.

After being traded from the Buffalo Sabres to the Nashville Predators during the 2022-23 NHL season, Asplund became an unrestricted free agent last offseason after not receiving a qualifying offer from the Predators. A few days after free agency officially opened, Asplund signed an identical contract with the Panthers paying him $775K at the NHL level and $400K in the AHL.

As things would turn out, Asplund would never see a dime of his salary in the NHL as he spent the entire year with the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. As an effective playmaker in the minor leagues, Asplund scored nine goals and 35 assists in 67 games which led the team in the latter category.

It will be interesting to see how high the Panthers play Asplund up the depth chart next season as the team could lose several players up front to unrestricted free agency in the next 24 hours. If Florida can bring back a generous amount of their forward depth from last year, expect Asplund to spend most if not all of his time back in the AHL.

Panthers Optimistic About Re-Signing Sam Reinhart

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The Florida Panthers are optimistic about their ability to re-sign star forward Sam Reinhart, general manager Bill Zito tells Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. Zito adds, though, that the team may not have enough cap space to bring back both Reinhart and top-pair defenseman Brandon Montour. He said, “We’re going to spend to the cap… I’m going to spend it all, so you want [cap space], and I don’t have it, I can’t manufacture it. It’s frustrating, it’s harder, perhaps, but there’s really nothing you can do.”

The Panthers are entering the summer with $19.52MM in projected cap space and a daunting 13 pending free agents. In addition to Reinhart and Montour, Florida will have to negotiate with Vladimir Tarasenko, Anton Lundell, and Anthony Stolarz. Each of those players could demand chunks of Florida’s remaining funds, especially as Zito says the team’s goal is to bring back as much of their first Stanley Cup-winning roster as they can.

To do that successfully, Florida will first need to get by Reinhart’s contract without spending half of their budget. It seems hard to tell how much the 28-year-old winger could demand on a new deal, after posting a dazzling 57 goals and 94 points this season. The performance was the most goals ever posted by a Panther not named Pavel Bure – and proceeded two 30-goal seasons in Reinhart’s first two years with the Panthers. He’s carried his scoring tough into the postseason, with 20 goals and 32 points in 53 playoff games since joining Florida in 2021. Reinhart also carries draft precedent, having gone second overall in 2014. While that latter point may not be much reason to pay him more, it could be reason to not pay him less.

An ideal world could see Reinhart sign a deal similar to the eight-year, $72MM deal former teammate Jeff Skinner just had bought out by the Buffalo Sabres. Skinner doesn’t seem to be in much of a place to vindicate the deal’s second half but it was enough to control him through strong seasons with the Sabres. Reinhart, who has performed at a higher and more consistent level than Skinner, could make a structure like this look much better, likely won’t be as quick to fall off; though Skinner’s buyout could be a good forewarning to the Panthers to avoid long term.

That structure would leave Florida with just over $10MM for the rest of their summer. That certainly won’t be enough to make all of the moves they’d surely like to make, including bringing back Montour after a career-high 73 points last season. Montour brought that scoring back to 33 points this year, though he’s still commanded a prominent role in Florida’s top-four. The Panthers have been rumored to be shopping around star defenseman Aaron Ekblad, which would open the cap space to move forward with Montour and Gustav Forsling as a top pair.

But even that could be a tall order as teams face more cap headaches than anyone wants. Florida is among the most stressed, as they look to build back as best of a lineup as they can while sticking to their budget.

Brandon Montour Expected To Reach Free Agency

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Days after winning the Stanley Cup, it appears Brandon Montour’s time in South Florida is drawing to a close. The defenseman, who checks in at No. 4 on our Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents list, will be available on July 1, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said earlier Friday on the Pat McAfee Show (via The Hockey News’ Max Miller). Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest seconds the belief.

Montour is one of many pending UFAs on the Panthers’ roster, but he and 57-goal winger Sam Reinhart are the big fish. With Montour likely heading to market, there’s a high likelihood of Florida being able to retain Reinhart’s services on a likely eight-year deal, Strickland reports.

The 30-year-old is coming off a more down-to-earth year but was still a top-pairing threat with eight goals and 33 points in 66 games while logging 23:27 per night. His season got off to a late start thanks to offseason shoulder surgery, which he required after playing through an injury en route to Florida’s losing trip to the Cup Final in 2023.

The smooth-skating yet physically involved defender still has a lot of market value stemming from his spectacular 2022-23 campaign. Montour flourished in his first season in top-pairing duties, racking up 57 assists and 73 points in 80 games that helped him place 12th in Norris Trophy voting. He leveraged 242 shots on goal, 107 PIMs, and controlled 54.6% of expected goals when deployed at 5-on-5, per Hockey Reference.

That showed he can flourish as a dual-threat top-pairing talent when healthy. While repeating that point production is highly unlikely elsewhere (his previous career high was 37), he was on pace for 41 this year and will likely continue to challenge the 40-60 point range in another market, especially if given an opportunity on the top power-play unit.

We mocked Montour to Utah as their first big free-agent splash in our Top 50 list, earning a six-year deal at $7.15MM per season. With Florida’s season ending so late, there hasn’t been much credible information about which teams will display serious interest when he becomes available Monday, but he’d certainly make sense there as they reshape their blue line after moving the roster from Phoenix to Salt Lake City.

Panthers Re-Sign Patrick Giles, Matt Kiersted

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The Panthers have re-upped minor-league forward Patrick Giles on a two-year, two-way deal, per a team announcement. It pays him $775K NHL/$100K AHL ($132.5K guaranteed) in 2024-25 with a minor pay bump to $775K NHL/$150K AHL ($180K guaranteed) in 2025-26, PuckPedia reports. He was slated to become an RFA with arbitration rights on July 1. They’ve also extended defenseman Matt Kiersted on a one-year, two-way pact, keeping their lips sealed on cap figures for that one.

Giles, 24, first found his way into the Panthers organization after wrapping up a four-year career at Boston College, inking an amateur tryout with AHL Charlotte to end the 2021-22 campaign. He earned an invite to Panthers training camp the following fall, earning an entry-level contract in the process.

The big-bodied 6’4″ forward can play both center and right-wing and has been a serviceable bottom-six piece in Charlotte the last two years, scoring 16 goals and 21 assists for 37 points in 148 showings for the Checkers. The Maryland native may not have much of an NHL future ahead of him, but he’s a good energy presence to help insulate Florida’s more promising up-and-comers. Assuming he plays fewer than 80 NHL games over the life of his extension, he’ll hit UFA status early via a Group VI exception in 2026.

Like Giles, Kiersted was an undrafted free-agent signing out of college, but he didn’t need to wait until the fall to land his first NHL deal. Florida added him to the roster immediately after he wrapped up his senior season with the University of North Dakota in 2021. Now 26, he was expected to challenge for major-league time after being named to the NCHC’s First All-Star Team in his final season with the Fighting Hawks, but he hasn’t managed to stick around.

Kiersted has spent most of the past three seasons in Charlotte, where he has 56 points in 169 career games with a +23 rating. He’s developed into a top-four fixture there, but 2023-24 was his first season without NHL time since turning pro. Kiersted did play in 37 NHL games between the 2020-21 and 2022-23 campaigns, recording two goals, six assists and a -8 rating while averaging a paltry 11:59 per game. His one-year extension walks him to UFA status next summer.

Offseason Checklist: Florida Panthers

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After this year’s Stanley Cup champion was crowned, the offseason has arrived for everyone. It’s time to examine what teams will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Last up is a look at the Cup champion Panthers.

After reaching the Cup Final last year before bowing out fairly quickly to Vegas, there was only one way Florida could improve on their fortunes.  They did just that, surviving losing three straight to Edmonton to erase a 3-0 series lead to win their first title in franchise history.  Now, GM Bill Zito has a lot to contend with concerning his roster for the summer and not a lot of time to do it.

Try To Keep Key UFAs

The Panthers have a sizable list of pending unrestricted free agents, many of which are core pieces.  How successful their offseason ultimately is will be determined by how many they’re able to keep or how well they’re able to replace them with the roughly $19.5MM in cap room they have, per CapFriendly.

Up front, the biggest name is Sam Reinhart.  After a quieter second season in Florida, the 28-year-old turned things around, putting together a career year that saw him put up 57 goals and 94 points during the regular season while adding 16 points in the playoffs.  A strong defensive player, Reinhart can also play down the middle if called upon which would only boost his value.  After making an average of $6.5MM over the last three years, Reinhart is well-positioned to earn a significant raise and a long-term deal.  He could conceivably cost up to half of Florida’s remaining cap room.

Then there’s Vladimir Tarasenko.  After his market didn’t materialize as planned, he settled for a one-year, $5MM deal with Ottawa, who flipped him to the Panthers at the trade deadline.  Notably, the 32-year-old made it known he’d only waive to go to Florida.  With 23 goals and 32 assists, he should be able to command a similar-sized price tag which could price him out of their range unless he’s willing to take a team-friendly deal.

On the back end, they took care of one key pending free agent when they signed Gustav Forsling to an eight-year, $46MM extension to keep him away from the open market.  But they have the top blueliner from this year’s class in Brandon Montour as well.  The 30-year-old broke out with Florida, living up to the high-end potential many felt he had.  He posted a career-best 73 points in 2022-23 but only managed 33 in 66 games during the regular season which will likely lower his overall price.  Having said that, he could still more than double the $3.5MM AAV he had over the past three years which could make it hard to keep him around.  Oliver Ekman-Larsson also had a nice bounce-back year and is set to hit the open market where he should command more than the $2.275MM he made this season.

Early Extension Talks

If those pending free agents weren’t notable enough, the Panthers have three key pieces that will be entering the final year of their respective contracts on July 1st, making them extension-eligible at that time.  While getting them locked up early isn’t necessary, Zito at least needs to get a sense of what those players are looking for as that will likely impact how many of their current free agents (who should all command multi-year contracts this time around) they’re able to try to re-sign.

One of those players is Carter Verhaeghe.  When he first arrived with Florida, he had yet to establish himself as a full-time NHL player.  Now, just four years later, he has been one of the better bargains in the NHL while his offensive game has taken off.  In 2022-23, he potted 42 goals and 31 assists and followed that up with 34 goals and 38 helpers this season.  Those are top-line numbers that will have him positioned to command a long-term agreement and a significant raise.  For context, Verhaeghe made just $1MM in his first two seasons with the Panthers and currently has a cap charge of $4.167MM.  Next time out, he could potentially double it with an AAV that should check in around the $8MM range.

Meanwhile, Aaron Ekblad will soon be in need of a new deal on the back end.  The agreement that he’s on now was a record-setting deal at the time for a defenseman coming off his entry-level contract as he took an eight-year deal that carried a $7.5MM AAV.  While he never really took off offensively (aside from the 2021-22 campaign), the Panthers have still done rather well with that contract as Ekblad has been a workhorse for most of that time.  However, he dealt with some injury issues this season while his playing time was more limited; his 20:52 per game was a career-low.  It’s possible that Florida will try to get him to take a bit less this time around which makes it more challenging to see a deal get done in the coming weeks.  Those discussions will come with a new agent as PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that he’s now represented by Newport’s Craig Oster.

Then there’s Sam Bennett.  His regular season numbers don’t jump off the page (his career-high in points is 49) but he’s coming off two strong playoff performances that saw him produce at a better rate, something that doesn’t generally happen.  On top of that, he’s a power forward who also plays center.  That’s a combination that will have a lot of teams gearing up to put in offers so it stands to reason that he’s in line for a considerable raise on his current $4.425MM AAV.

Again, they don’t have to get these players signed just yet.  Simply knowing what the asking prices are likely to be should give Zito enough information to formulate his plan for his pending free agents.

Knight Decision

With Spencer Knight spending a good chunk of 2022-23 away from the team while being in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, Zito decided he needed some insurance between the pipes, inking Anthony Stolarz to a one-year, $1.1MM contract, a deal that couldn’t have worked out any better for them.  With Knight being young enough to get to the minors without waivers, he entered the season as Florida’s third-string option.

From a games-played perspective, things worked out relatively well for Knight as he played 45 times, his highest amount of appearances since his draft year.  However, his numbers with AHL Charlotte weren’t dominant by any stretch the way you’d hope someone making $4.5MM would be able to put up.  While he finished eighth among qualifying netminders in GAA (2.41), his SV% (.905) was only good for a tie for 28th place.  He got to play but management was probably hoping he’d have been more effective.

At this point, Stolarz is likely to price himself out of what Florida can afford as he’s slated to be one of the better options in a UFA goaltending class that is relatively weak.  Accordingly, Zito needs to decide if Knight is ready to re-assume the second-string duty behind Sergei Bobrovsky.  If so, then he has his very expensive tandem in place.  If not, then he’ll need to find a replacement.

And if the decision is made that Knight isn’t going to be the backup next season, Florida will need to contemplate a buyout.  He’s young enough that the buyout cost would only be $750K for four years.  If he’s buried in the minors again (he remains waiver-exempt), the cap charge would be $3.325MM.  That $2.575MM difference could be enough for a lower-cost backup on a deal similar to the one Stolarz received a year ago while freeing up funds to up an offer to one of their core free agents.

Knight didn’t play a single second for Florida during the regular season or playoffs but he could still play a big role in what the Panthers can and can’t do in the coming days and weeks.

Add Low-Cost Depth

Last summer, Zito had to make some low-cost acquisitions, bringing in Kevin Stenlund, Steven Lorentz, Dmitry Kulikov, Mike Reilly, Uvis Balinskis, and Stolarz on cheap deals worth $1.1MM or less.  For the most part, they did quite well with those pickups.

Now, Zito will be trying to repeat that level of success on what’s likely to be a mostly new group (only Balinskis is still signed) while also trying to replace some other veteran UFAs including Ryan Lomberg and Nick Cousins.  They could be looking at signing five or six forwards and a couple of defensemen with their remaining cap space while keeping in mind how much some of those top players are likely to command on the open market.

It’s quite possible that the $1.1MM line might be too steep for the Panthers this time around.  Now, they might have to shop for options much closer to the league minimum if not right at the $775K minimum salary to stretch every dollar.  Zito will have to find a way to find veterans who can provide a similar level of performance as his group from last summer while being even more constrained financially, assuming he’s able to keep at least one of his key free agents.  That will be a tough needle to thread for a second straight year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Panthers Win Stanley Cup, Connor McDavid Wins Conn Smythe

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The Florida Panthers are your 2024 Stanley Cup champions, recovering from blowing a 3-0 series lead by taking Game 7 at home by a score of 2-1. The Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP is going to a skater from the losing club for the second time in NHL history, though. Oilers superstar Connor McDavid receives the honor after recording a postseason-leading 34 assists and 42 points in just 24 games, the former of which is an all-time record.

Among the notables for Florida is captain Aleksander Barkov becoming the first Finn to lead his team to a Stanley Cup. Head coach Paul Maurice, who’s second all-time in games coached with 1,848, also wins for the first time.

The Cup-winning goal came off the stick of Sam Reinhart, who beat Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner for the go-ahead goal with 4:51 left in the second period. He has less than a week to negotiate a contract extension with the Panthers to avoid hitting the open market as the top right wing available next Monday.

Reinhart finishes the postseason second on Florida in goals with 10, one behind Carter Verhaeghe’s 11. He netted the game-opening goal after going scoreless in Games 2 through 6.

While he lost out to McDavid for the Conn Smythe, Panthers star netminder Sergei Bobrovsky isn’t complaining about his first Cup win, either. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner is up for the award again this year, and with a championship ring, he’s all but solidified his candidacy for the Hockey Hall of Fame.

With the Cup Final over, attention now turns toward an incredibly busy opening to the offseason. The first buyout window opens Wednesday, the NHL Awards are Thursday night, the 2024 NHL Draft is Friday and Saturday, and the qualifying offer deadline is Sunday. That’s a major calendar event for five days in a row before the opening of free agency and the technical start of the new league year on Monday, July 1.

Panthers' Kyle Okposo Will Re-Enter Lineup For Game 7

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  • Kyle Okposo will draw back into the lineup for the Panthers for tonight’s (literally) winner-take-all Cup Final game against the Oilers, head coach Paul Maurice said (via the team’s Jameson Olive). Okposo was scratched in their Game 6 loss after a tough Game 5 showing, but his replacement, Nick Cousins, didn’t have much of an impact in his first appearance since Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final. Acquired from the Sabres before the trade deadline, the 36-year-old Okposo has two assists in 16 playoff games for the Cats while averaging 8:36 per game. If Florida avoids making history by blowing a 3-0 series lead in the Final tonight, they’ll incur a $500K cap overage penalty next season without the space to accommodate Okposo’s performance bonus for winning the Cup, CapFriendly points out.

Snapshots: Bobrovsky, Ekblad, Nugent-Hopkins, Smith

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Florida Panthers fans are breathing a big sigh of relief this morning, with both star defender Aaron Ekblad and Vezina-finalist goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky good to go after missing the team’s Sunday morning practice, per Colby Guy of Florida Hockey Now (Twitter link). Neither player were limited in the team’s Game 6 loss – with Bobrovsky facing 19 shots and Ekblad playing 21:37 in ice time – suggesting that their absences were merely for maintenance. Still, every update matters as the Panthers look to skid three straight losses in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Edmonton Oilers have outscored Florida 18-t0-5 over that stretch, with Bobrovsky posting a collective 0.793 save percentage. The Panthers will now return home for a winner-takes-all Game 7, seemingly still at full strength.

Other quick notes from around the league:

  • In the name of fairness, the Oilers are facing an injury scare of their own, with former-100 point forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins missing the team’s Sunday practice with illness, per Jim Matheson of NHL.com (Twitter link). Nugent-Hopkins has been one of Edmonton’s top contributors this postseason, recording 22 points in 24 playoff games. That includes two points in Edmonton’s three-game win-streak – so far his only scoring in the Stanley Cup Finals. Nugent-Hopkins would leave a major role vacant should he be unavailable for Game 7, though there’s been no indication that Edmonton is expecting him to sit.
  • Pittsburgh Penguins winger Reilly Smith has changed agencies ahead of the final year of his contract, now represented by CAA Hockey, per PuckPedia (Twitter link). CAA is the choice agency of many NHL stars, including Sidney Crosby, Matthew Beniers, Mathew Barzal, and Cole Caufield. It’s also the agency most akin to changing scenery – representing the recently-traded Pierre-Luc Dubois, rumored trade chip Rutger McGroarty, and hardened trade rumor veteran Jack Eichel. Smith takes on the new representation while looking to vindicate his final year at a $5MM price tag, though his 13 goals and 40 points last season fell short of expecations.

Free Agent Focus: Florida Panthers

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Free agency is now just a bit more than a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Panthers.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Anton Lundell – This summer marks the first chance for Anton Lundell to negotiate a raise, after paving his way into a strong role on the team’s middle-six after making his NHL debut in 2021-22, at the age of 19. Lundell scored 18 goals and 44 points in 65 games in his rookie years, both tallies that remain career-highs, though he’s since combined for 112 points through his first 216 career games and shown plenty of value off of the puck. To boot, Lundell has found an extra scoring touch this postseason, so far posting 16 points in 22 playoff games as the Panthers look to win the first Stanley Cup in club history. That renewed scoring will surely necessitate a bump in Lundell’s looming pay raise, though his impressive two-way ability and role on both special teams already warrant a hefty contract. At 22, a long-term deal would take Lundell through the bulk of his prime years – likely exactly what the Panthers will hope to guarantee this summer.

D Josh Mahura – Florida claimed Mahura off of waivers from the Anaheim Ducks ahead of the 2022-23 season, and quickly awarded him a routine role on the third pairing. Mahura played in all 82 games of Florida’s last season, posting 16 points in what was the first full year of his career. The performance was enough to earn him a one-year, $925K contract extension last summer, though Mahura didn’t get much of a chance for an encore, with a lower-body injury limiting him to just 30 games and nine points this season. He’s been replaced by a rotation of Dmitry Kulikov, Tobias Bjornfot, and Uvis Balinskis – with Kulikov nabbing the day-to-day role. Luckily, Kulikov is also facing free agency, which could give Mahura a chance to reclaim his role on a cheap contract next season.

Other RFAs: F Rasmus Asplund, F Patrick Giles, D Santtu Kinnunen, G Evan Cormier, G Mack Guzda

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Sam Reinhart – Adding to the headache of extending their hopeful second-line center of the future, Florida will also need to find a price for Sam Reinhart after an explosive season. Reinhart scored 57 goals and 94 points this season – the most goals any Panther has managed any Panther since Pavel Bure in the 2000-01 season. The performance will warrant a significant reward this summer, though it’s hard to price Reinhart after a near-30-point jump in scoring between last year and this year. But while he may not always rival 60 goals a season, Reinhart has found goal-scoring consistency over his three seasons with Florida and should garner the price tag of a top-line scorer as a result.

F Vladimir Tarasenko – The Panthers acquired Tarasenko at the Trade Deadline, with Florida sending one conditional pick, either a third or fourth rounder, and a 2025 third round pick back to the Ottawa Senators. And despite some cold streaks, Tarasenko ultimately vindicated the acquisition with 14 points in 19 regular season games and nine aptly timed points in 22 postseason games. He’s been a strong addition to the team’s middle-six, though looking much more slowed than in his prime years. Tarasenko has offered great depth scoring in his veteran years, though he could be a casuality of Florida’s limited cap space, with two much more notable free agents higher on the team’s priority list. He’ll be hotly coveted should he enter the open market, offering 119 career playoff games and Stanley Cup-winning precedent.

D Brandon Montour – Keeping up the important role-players facing the market, Florida will need to find a way to price out their defensive group, with Brandon Montour due for a new deal this summer and Aaron Ekblad entering free agency next summer. The duo have combined with Gustav Forsling to create a defensive corps that’s served as Florida’s unrelenting consistent as the year has gone on. One of the three defenders is able to step up no matter what situation the team is facing, playing a major role in the team’s drive to a second Stanley Cup Finals. Montour even managed a career-year last season, posting 16 goals, 73 points, and 107 penalty minutes in 80 games. He quieted down quite a bit this year, returning to just 33 points in 66 games. Montour’s impactful role will make him hard to let go, though a precedent of high scoring and plenty of outside interest could be enough to price Montour out of Florida’s budget.

D Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Among the stars needing new deals, Florida also has seven depth skaters set to enter unrestricted free agency. The list includes important pieces of Florida’s postseason run, including Nick Cousins, Ryan Lomberg, and Kyle Okposo. But among the punch, it’s Ekman-Larsson who seems to have made the biggest case for a new deal. The veteran defender saw a small return to form this season, recording 32 points in 80 games, the most he’s managed since the 2018-19 season. He looked more confident in the process, better filling a smaller role than what he had in Vancouver. Florida will have to comb through their depth for viable NHL talent with so many depth pieces entering the market, and the existence of Mahura and Balinskis could be enough to push Ekman-Larsson out of a role. But with a strong performance following his move, and likely just a few years left in his career, it’s hard to think Ekman-Larsson would ask a hefty price to stay with a playoff team.

G Anthony Stolarz – Stolarz filled Florida’s backup role all season long, stepping up while Spencer Knight spent time in the AHL and NHL Player’s Assistance Program. Knight is expected to be back at full force next season, though Stolarz has certainly done enough to show his NHL value – posting 16 wins and a .925 save percentage in 27 appearances this season. The Panthers have $4.5MM committed to Knight in each of the next two seasons and will want to reap some kind of return for that price tag soon. But Stolarz’s strong performance behind Sergei Bobrovsky should be enough to warrant attention in a year with plenty of teams looking for goaltending support.

Other UFAs: F Nick Cousins, F Ryan Lomberg, F Steven Lorentz, F Kyle Okposo, F Kevin Stenlund, F Gerald Mayhew, F Alex True, D Dmitry Kulikov, D Lucas Carlsson, D Casey Fitzgerald, D Matt Kiersted, G Magnus Hellberg

Projected Cap Space

The Panthers are set to enter the summer with just $20.02MM in projected cap space. That should be plenty to renew Lundell and one other top-line player, whether it be Reinhart or Montour, though the need to fill so many depth positions will likely quickly run up Florida’s budget. They’ll need one of their top names to take a miracle discount if they want to get through the summer without any major losses – though the heft of pending free agents could provide great opportunity for young players like Mackie Samoskevich, Justin Sourdif, and Balinskis to earn daily roles.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Network. Cap details via CapFriendly.

Panthers Enter ECHL Affiliation Agreement With Savannah Ghost Pirates

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  • The Panthers have entered into a “multi-year” affiliation agreement with the ECHL’s Savannah Ghost Pirates, per a team announcement. They said late last week that they wouldn’t be renewing their ECHL affiliation with the Florida Everblades, who have won three consecutive Kelly Cup titles. With the move, the Panthers land an ECHL affiliation much closer to their primary minor-league club, the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. Considering moves between AHL and ECHL affiliates occur almost daily, it’s a better setup for the club’s fringe minor-leaguers. The Ghost Pirates entered the league in advance of the 2022-23 campaign and have spent the last two seasons as the second-tier affiliate of the Golden Knights. They’ve yet to make the ECHL’s Kelly Cup Playoffs.

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