The Panthers announced they’ve agreed to terms with pending RFA center Jesper Boqvist on a two-year extension. He’ll remain in South Florida through the 2026-27 season. The contract is worth $3MM with a $1.5MM cap hit, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports.
The Falun, Sweden native parlayed a one-year prove-it deal in Sunrise to the highest payday of his career. It’s the first time in Boqvist’s career that he’ll earn more than a $925K AAV, and it’s nearly double what he’s making in Florida this season.
He was originally selected with the 36th overall pick of the 2017 NHL Draft by the New Jersey Devils. After a few seasons with the SHL’s Brynäs IF, Boqvist transitioned to North American hockey for the 2019-20 season. It wasn’t an easy transition for Boqvist, as he scored four goals in 35 games for the Devils with a -11 rating. Still, his performance was remarkably better in the AHL with the Binghamton Devils, scoring eight goals and 11 points through 19 contests.
After a brief loan to Timrå IK of the HockeyAllsvenskan league, Boqvist returned to North America for the 2020-21 season. He improved mildly from his rookie campaign, scoring four goals and three assists in 28 games for New Jersey, and another two goals and five assists in eight games for the AHL Devils.
The 2021-22 season can effectively be characterized as Boqvist’s breakout season in the NHL. He scored 10 goals on 74 shots through 56 games, making for the fourth-best shooting percentage on the team. Still, it became apparent that Boqvist needed more maturity in the face-off dot, losing 62.7% out of 450 draws.
Since Boqvist hadn’t shown much talent outside of the 2021-22 campaign, the Devils brought him back cheaply on a one-year, $874K contract after his entry-level deal concluded. He produced similarly offensively, scoring 10 goals and 21 points, albeit in 12 more games. He maintained his efficiency shooting the puck, sitting third on the team with a 14.9% shooting percentage.
Unfortunately, New Jersey chose not to tender Boqvist a qualifying offer for the 2023-24 season, leading to a one-year league minimum salary deal with the Boston Bruins. He played much of the year for their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, scoring 10 goals and 23 points in 31 AHL contests.
The defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers had a dearth of bottom-six forwards, thanks to a mass migration of their depth options last summer. Florida quickly signed Boqvist to his second straight league minimum deal on the second day of free agency.
It’s a signing that has worked out well for both parties. Boqvist has returned to a consistent third-line role with the Panthers, scoring 12 goals and 11 assists in 59 games while averaging 13:01 minutes of ice time per game. Meanwhile, his possession metrics have improved thanks to Florida’s system, as he’s averaged a 50.3% CorsiFor% at even strength this season, with an eye-popping 18.8% shooting percentage.
There are no expectations that Boqvist will return to center, given his career 36.9% faceoff percentage in 1,042 faceoffs. Still, he should remain an effective bottom-six winger in the Panthers’ lineup over the life of his new contract.
PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed to this article.
Next years 3C with Lundell 2C, bye Bennett