The Florida Panthers have signed yet another defenseman, bringing back familiar face Dmitry Kulikov, according to TSN’s Chris Johnston. The deal has been officially announced, with the Panthers specifying that it’s a one-year pact. Per CapFriendly, it’s a $1MM AAV deal.
Florida brought Kulikov into the NHL with the 14th overall pick in 2009, and he went on to play 460 games for them over seven seasons before departing the organization in 2016. He overcame some long-term injuries in the middle of his career to rebound as a rather effective shutdown defender in the past few seasons, but he got stuck on one of the worst defensive teams in recent memory last season with the Anaheim Ducks.
He’ll try and show he’s still got what it takes to be an everyday NHLer this season in Florida, although he’s a candidate to slip out of a lineup spot upon the returns of Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour from injury. Still Kulikov’s defensive upside is worth the gamble at $1MM and can be buried in the minors if need be without penalty.
He’s no Gudas, but he provides some toughness on the back end.
Wasted money. That’s all the Panthers have done today.
They have significantly upgraded their D corps. That was their primary goal this free agency period, and they accomplished that. I would like to see another top six forward added, maybe another top 4 D-man if I’m greedy, but otherwise, I think they had a great day.
They haven’t upgraded anything. They became less physical and smaller. Kulikov and Reilly are the same type of players as Mahura and Forsling. If anything, they made Mahura expendable with the consequence of getting much older. They haven’t addressed a single need, except maybe upgrading third string goalie, and that’s debatable. They’re deeper in the idea of more bodies, but that’s it.
Kulikov and Reilly are the two weakest acquisitions, and they are depth defenders. The two more important pieces are Mikkola and Ekman-Larsson, who are both bottom-four defenders. Kulikov is an upgrade on Staal.
OEL is about as helpful as Max Gildon is. And Mikkola is a third pairing (at best) reserve defenseman. He’s a warm body meant to occupy space. Panthers needed two defensemen with size who could play top four minutes. They were pushed around by Vegas, and did nothing to rectify that issue. Often, it’s better not to spend money than it is to waste it.