Panthers Looking To Sign Alex Petrovic To A Long-Term Extension

The Florida Panthers are looking to lock up defenseman Alex Petrovic on a long-term contract, reports Harvey Fialkov of the Sun-Sentinel.  Fialkov also noted that the team has turned down several trade offers for him this offseason.

Petrovic is coming off of his best NHL season, picking up two goals and 15 assists with 90 penalty minutes in 66 games while playing 16:57 per game.  He also picked up four points in six postseason contests (good for a tie for second in team scoring) while seeing his ice time jump nearly three full minutes to 19:55 per night.

The Panthers have been quite active this offseason under new general manager Tom Rowe.  Since July, the team has inked long-term deals with returning players Aaron Ekblad (eight years, $60MM), Vincent Trocheck (six years, $28.5MM), and Reilly Smith (five years, $25MM).  On top of those, the team also signed UFA additions Keith Yandle, James Reimer, and Jason Demers to long-term contracts of at least five years in length.

[Related: Panthers Depth Chart]

Petrovic is entering the final year of his current contract, one that will pay him $1.2MM while carrying a cap hit of $1.05MM.  He will be eligible for salary arbitration following the 2016-17 season.  As his deal is within one calendar year of expiring, he is eligible to sign an extension at any time.

Also from Fialkov, he adds that Florida is likely to sign a couple of players to tryout contracts for training camp.  The Panthers have three players set to play at the upcoming World Cup of Hockey in Aaron Ekblad, Aleksander Barkov, and Jussi Jokinen so there will be some vacancies in their lineup for the preseason.  You can keep tabs on which players have already inked PTO’s with our Invite Tracker.