Florida Panthers Free Agency Outlook, Potential Fits
By Ryan Ritchie
Florida Panthers Free Agency Preview/Outlook, Salary Cap Situation, Restricted Free Agents, Team Needs, and Potential Fits
Florida Panthers enter free agency on July 1st with enough money to make a big splash. They’ve spent a little over $57 million dollars towards the cap, leaving a projected $15-16 million to spend (with pending free agents still to sign).
The team has already been active on the trade market shipping Erik Gudbranson to Vancouver for Jared McCann. They also traded for Keith Yandle (negotiating rights) and managed to sign him, while also shipping 23-year-old Rocco Grimaldi to Colorado for a backup netminder in Reto Berra.
It was a historic season for the Panthers in 2015-16 as they set a franchise single season record at 46-26-9 with 103 points.
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They were Atlantic Division Champions, but unfortunately fell short in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to the New York Islanders.
Many positive notes came out of the season, and it looks as though future Hall-of-Famer Jaromir Jagr will lace the skates up for at least one more season; A great mentor for Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau, Jagr continues to climb all-time charts.
Another bright spot for Florida was 22-year-old Vincent Trocheck who emerged in the Panthers top six and looks poised to be a productive NHLer. Recent rumors suggest the pending RFA could be locked down long-term shortly. This should leave the Florida Panthers with roughly $11-12 million dollars in free agency.
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Florida Panthers Free Agency Outlook/Preview
Salary Cap Committed to 2016-17: $57,441,665
Number of Players Signed: 40
Notable Unrestricted Free Agents: Teddy Purcell, Jiri Hudler, Garrett Wilson, Brian Campbell, Al Montoya, Corban Knight, Cameron Gaunce
Notable Restricted Free Agents: Quinton Howden, Greg McKegg, Vincent Trocheck, Dylan Olsen, Logan Shaw
The recent signing of Yandle suggests Campbell is headed for free agency. The only re-signing of significance against the cap will be Vincent Trocheck, with the others being cheap cap hits.
Looking ahead to the expansion draft, Florida is set at goalie and defense. Up front, the Panthers currently have six forwards a GM would realistically want to protect; this leaves room to acquire one more impact player via trade or FA.
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Florida Panthers Free Agency Team Needs
Top-Six Winger, Bottom-Six Winger, Depth Forwards
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If the Panthers believe one of Lawson Crouse or Jayce Hawryluk is ready to step in this Fall, they could bypass finding another top-six winger now that Jared McCann is in the mix. Otherwise, a short-term upgrade would help spread out the offense.
Florida might also look to sign a bottom six winger to help fill out the 23-man roster. A third line scoring winger would be best.
The Panthers have several prospects in the early stages of development, so they should also look to sign depth forwards who can play in the AHL and be on the short-list for call-ups.
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Potential Florida Panthers Free Agency Targets
Top-Six Winger: Milan Lucic, Andrew Ladd, Loui Eriksson, Mikkel Boedker, Troy Brouwer, Kyle Okposo
Bottom-Six Winger: Nathan Gerbe, Chris Stewart, Dale Weise, Tuomo Ruutu, Jamie McGinn, P.A. Parenteau
Depth Forwards: Matt Frattin, Matt Halischuk, Danny Kristo, Ben Smith, Ryan Hamilton, Mike Blunden, Aaron Palushaj
*Salary/Free Agent information was obtained through www.generalfanager.com