With the draft, Free Agent Frenzy, and Fourth of July all in the rear view, I finally carved out a little window to take a peek at Florida’s moves since lifting Lord Stanley.
Like every championship team, the Panthers lost a lot of guys to free agency this summer. We’ll take a look at those players a bit further along in the blog, but let’s first look at some of the moves they have made.
Extended and New Additions
Resigned
Sam Reinhart: 8 x $8.625M AAV
Dmitry Kulikov: 4 x $1.15M AAV
ANTON Lundell: 6 x $5M AAV
Opinion: These are three guys the Panthers had to get signed and I’m glad they did. A bit nervous about that Reinhart contract, but I’m always leery about big/max contracts.
New Faces
Tomas Nosek (F)
Chris Driedger (G)
Nate Schmidt (D)
Mackenzie Entwistle (F)
Patrick Giles (F)
Matt Kiersted (D)
Jaycob Megna (D)
Opinion: Being right up against the cap, Florida has very little ability to make a splash, or get longer term deals done. These are all depth signings on one-year deals (some two-way). Nice to have Driedger back, although I think he’s coming off a pretty significant injury..? I still like him as the backup over Knight though. Also, I’m down with the Entwistle signing. I liked him in Chicago and think he’ll be a nice third or fourth line guy.
Gone
Here is a list of some of the Cats who went to adoption (free agency) and found new homes. I’ve included some of my thoughts about them.
Brandon Montour > Seattle
Monty had a rocky start with Florida. I remember being frustrated with him frequently because he seemed hell bent on being a forward and not a defenseman. He could often be found below the redline in the offensive zone and struggled to get back to play defense. I think the best thing to happen for Monty was Maurice coming in. It seemed once that happened, Montour understood his defensive responsibilities, and learned when to pick his spots to rush the puck and/or chip in. This all culminated to him becoming a very important piece on the blueline.
Ryan Lomberg > Calgary
It’s tough to see a spark plug leave, but I feel Lomberg’s time in Florida served as an “audition” of sorts. If you remember, his first stint in Calgary had him as a two-way guy. Coming to Florida, he became a regular and showed the importance his engine, tenacity, and ability to score brought to the Cats’ lineup. Calgary saw that and brought him back.
Kevin Stenlund > Seattle
Sad to see this guy go. To me he was a rock centering that fourth line. He didn’t blow the doors off every night, and that was OK. His strength was his consistency. He played hard and responsible every night. Not to mention he was a faceoff wizard.
Oliver Emmanuel-Larson > Toronto
Talk about a comeback story. OEL was headed towards being a Greek tragedy. He was on top of the hockey world in Arizona. Then he was traded to the Canucks, where he would lose his game and suffered a bad injury to his leg (his bread and butter). Vancouver bought out the remaining four years on his contract and his hockey future was dark. Scooped up by Florida on a “prove it” deal, OEL took the opportunity and ran. To me, he lost a step with his speed, but he was older and wiser now. He made up for it in a different way. While he can still carry the puck up, and his passing is great, the new element to his game is in his grit. Maybe it was just me, but he had serious snarl throughout the season - especially in the playoffs. He feared no one, mixed it up often, threw the body, etc…
Anthony Stolarz > Toronto
I’m calling it…the Leafs finally have their goalie. I love Stolie’s game. A big-bodied, athletic goalie that takes away the bottom of the net? Sign me up. This guy was the perfect backup to Bob. He understood his assignment and played great when called upon. He also had a helluva setup.
Vladimir Tarasenko > Detroit
Vlad had a cup of coffee in Florida, won a cup, and bounced. Hard to get a good read on him in a short time, but he did what was required of him: be a hired gun to come in and help Florida lift the Cup. With the Yzerman magic working in Detroit, the Wings are looking like a scary team…
Josh Mahura > Seattle
A steady guy on the blueline is hard to find. Mahura was just that for a Panthers organization that was building into a championship team. Never a maker of mistakes, Mahura was Stenlund on the backend.
Kyle Okoposo > FA
A great teammate and highly respected human both on and off the ice, Okoposo was a positive on the fourth line. Though some nights you weren’t sure if he was out there, that’s just how his game was. He flew under-the-radar doing what he needed to do. But there were nights he was very noticeable. From what I gather from how players across the league speak of him, he seemed like a Ray Bourque figure. Extremely likable and everyone wanted to see him lift the Cup before he retired.
Im sure there will be some more moves as summer inches along.
For now, what do you guys think about how everything has panned out thus far this off-season?
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