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Offseason Checklist: Florida Panthers

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The offseason has arrived with the draft now complete and free agency fast approaching.  Accordingly, it’s time to look at what each team needs to accomplish this summer.  We wrap up our series with a look at the Stanley Cup-winning Panthers.

Late in the regular season, things weren’t looking great for Florida.  The team was banged up and underachieving, slipping to third in the Atlantic Division, finishing just one point ahead of Ottawa who occupied the first Wild Card spot in the East.  However, they once again showed that they were a team built for the playoffs, taking care of business to win the Cup for the second straight year.  Now, GM Bill Zito has some work to do in the coming days to keep his team intact as much as possible.

Bridge For Samoskevich

While Florida has several pending unrestricted free agents (that we’ll look at in more detail shortly), they have one restricted free agent of some significance in winger Mackie Samoskevich.  The 22-year-old is coming off his first full NHL season and needs a new contract although he qualifies as a 10.2 (c) player and is therefore not eligible for an offer sheet.  That helps take the pressure off as there won’t be an inflationary offer coming in that could mess up the rest of their plans.

The 22-year-old played in 72 games with the Panthers this season, notching a solid 15 goals and 16 assists despite only averaging 13:19 per game.  However, he was used only sparingly in the playoffs, dressing for just four outings, only one of those coming after the first round.  With just seven other regular season games to his name from 2023-24, this is a profile that screams bridge contract.

If the Panthers want to leave as much flexibility as possible for next season, a one-year deal might only check in around the $1.25MM range.  Alternatively, a two-year pact would likely push the AAV closer to $1.5MM per season.  With no true pressure points, this is a case that could drag on a bit but there’s value in getting something done sooner rather than later so they know how much they have to spend on their core free agents.

Keep Key Free Agents

One of Florida’s ‘big three’ potential unrestricted free agents is off the market with the team announcing on Friday that center and Conn Smythe Trophy winner Sam Bennett had signed an eight-year, $64MM contract to remain with the Panthers.  That leaves them with $11MM in cap space, per PuckPedia, and two key players to try to keep, defenseman Aaron Ekblad and winger Brad Marchand.

Ekblad has been a fixture on the back end for the Panthers since they made him the first overall selection back in 2014.  He has been a full-time NHL player ever since and ranks second to only Aleksander Barkov for games played in franchise history.  Between missing a few games due to injury and a 20-game late-season suspension for a violation of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program, Ekblad is coming off a quieter year by his standards but he still had 33 points in 56 games while logging 23:31 per night of ice time.  He’s still capable of playing on the top pairing and being an all-situations player for several more years.  But with a lot of mileage already, is Florida willing to give him a max-term deal?  Meanwhile, Ekblad appears to be in a position to command something around the $7.5MM he made on his expiring eight-year contract as the top right-shot option on a market largely bereft of impactful players on that side which gives him a lot of leverage in talks.

As for Marchand, this was not a situation that either side would be in.  When he was acquired at the trade deadline, the expectation was that he’d be a good secondary contributor and then probably move on.  But Marchand wound up being an instrumental part of their Cup run, chipping in with 10 goals and 10 assists in 23 games despite primarily playing in Florida’s third line.  Coming off a 51-point regular season, his stock is now quite high as well to the point where a raise on the $6.125MM he made on his set-to-expire contract is now doable, something that seemed very unlikely just a few months ago.

Zito has made it clear he wants to keep both of these players but the math simply doesn’t work.  One is an option but if they want to keep Ekblad and Marchand in the fold, they’re going to have to get creative and also move a player or two out.  Less than 72 hours away from the start of free agency, he’ll have to move fast.

Goalie Work

There’s work to do on a few fronts between the pipes for Florida this summer.  None of them necessarily qualify as significantly pressing but will require action at some point.

The first involves starting extension talks with Sergei Bobrovsky.  When Florida dealt Spencer Knight in the Seth Jones deal (leading some to believe Jones would replace Ekblad on the back end long-term), their in-house replacement for Bobrovsky went away.  Now, instead of potentially handing him the crease in 2026-27, working out a new deal for the 36-year-old seems like the route they’re going to try to take as a short-term solution.  It’s fair to say that the price tag won’t come close to the $10MM he’s making now but a two-year pact around the $6MM or so range would buy Zito a little more time to find a longer-term replacement.  The sooner they get that deal secured, the more confidence they can have about taking on money for 2026-27.  But it’s not necessarily something that has to be done over the next few months.

Florida got ahead of what was the next item on this list when they acquired goaltender Daniil Tarasov from Columbus earlier this week.  It’s expected he’ll take the place of Vitek Vanecek, who was acquired at the deadline to take Knight’s vacated spot, as Bobrovsky’s backup next season.  Now, they need to get him under contract.  He’s owed a qualifying offer of $1.26MM but the offer also carries arbitration rights, something they’d likely prefer to avoid.  With that in mind, it’s likely that they’d like to get something done soon or close enough where they could non-tender him and then sign him after that, a strategy that teams have started to employ more often in recent years.

The other thing they need to do is land a veteran third-stringer.  That was Chris Driedger’s role for most of the year before he was traded for Kaapo Kahkonen who played a big role in AHL Charlotte getting to the Calder Cup Finals.  They have prospect Cooper Black signed for one more year and he did quite well with the Checkers, albeit in limited action.  They’ll likely want to give him more action next season so a veteran who can split starts and also be called up to be the backup in a pinch in the NHL is the type of player they’ll likely want.  There will be several of those available so they’ll just have to ensure that they’re able to get a deal done with one of them.

Add Defensive Depth

At the moment, the Panthers only have five NHL blueliners under contract for next season.  One of those is Uvis Balinskis who was largely a regular during the regular season but was a healthy scratch 18 times in the playoffs.  Ekblad returning would make a big difference and shift the focus toward adding some injury insurance and depth above all else.

Nate Schmidt was one of the players signed last year to serve that depth role and he fared quite well to the point where he’ll either have to take a below-market deal to remain with the Panthers or move on.  At this point, the goal should be to try to find someone who can fill that type of role on the third pairing (16-17 minutes a night) for around that price tag to, again, maximize their spending room on their top players.  An extra one of those players would also be handy in an ideal world.

Internally, Tobias Bjornfot is someone who has been a depth defender but as a pending RFA with arbitration rights and 134 career NHL games, he’s a non-tender candidate to avoid any risk of a higher-than-desired award.  He’s the only reserve list defender with some NHL experience although Mike Benning has shown some promise and could be in the mix for a recall at some point.  With that in mind, a veteran defender who could start with the Checkers and be injury insurance would also be useful.

Photo courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.

Capitals Notes: Alexeyev, Free Agents, Fehervary, Sourdif

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Following the end of the draft today, Capitals GM Chris Patrick met with the media (video link) and provided updates on several players.  While not going out and confirming that the team won’t be tendering Alexander Alexeyev a qualifying offer on Monday, he stated that the team is “going to be as helpful as we can to him to get him the best opportunity to play in the NHL next year.”  Alexeyev was limited to just eight games during the regular season with Washington and with their addition of Declan Chisholm earlier today, it’s harder to see a pathway to playing time if he remains with the Capitals.  Knowing that a qualifying offer would also carry arbitration rights, the likeliest outcome is that he’s cut loose.

More from Patrick’s presser:

  • Patrick indicated that he’s spoken to almost all of Washington’s pending unrestricted free agents, a list that includes forwards Anthony Beauvillier, Andrew Mangiapane, Lars Eller, and Taylor Raddysh. He added that he’s still talking to some of them so it’s not a guarantee that all of them will ultimately hit the open market on Tuesday.  The Caps currently have a little over $9MM in cap space for next season, per PuckPedia.
  • When asked about defenseman Martin Fehervary, Patrick stated that the blueliner is doing great in his recovery from meniscus surgery and is pretty much at the point where he can begin his normal offseason training routine. That would suggest that the 25-year-old will be ready to participate in training camp.  Fehervary played in all but one game during the regular season but wasn’t able to suit up in the playoffs due to the surgery.
  • Newcomer Justin Sourdif signed earlier today, inking a two-year deal. The trade earlier this week to acquire him raised some eyebrows given that the cost was a second-round pick plus a sixth for a player who only had four NHL appearances under his belt in three years.  Patrick noted that there was another suitor for Sourdif’s services that had a second-rounder on the table, one that was slightly better than Washington’s, requiring them to offer up the extra draft choice to make sure they got him.

Snapshots: Pageau, Grubauer, Avalanche, Dobson

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While there has been strong trade interest in Islanders center Jean-Gabriel Pageau, it doesn’t appear as if he’s in play.  Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic report (subscription link) that the Isles have informed teams that they won’t be moving the 32-year-old.  The 32-year-old is coming off one of his better years offensively after tallying 42 points in 79 games while winning nearly 60% of his faceoffs.  A capable checker, Pageau will be entering the final year of his contract next season on a deal that carries a $5MM cap charge.  Given the lack of depth in the center market, New York likely would have been well-positioned to land a return of some value for Pageau’s services but it appears now that they’ll hold onto him and potentially reassess his situation closer to the trade deadline in March.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • Kraken GM Jason Botterill confirmed to reporters including Kate Shefte of The Seattle Times that the team will not be buying out goaltender Philipp Grubauer by Monday’s deadline. The 33-year-old had a rocky performance this season, posting a 3.49 GAA with a .875 SV% in 26 starts, resulting in a stint with AHL Coachella Valley after clearing waivers.  Grubauer has two years left on his contract that carries a $5.9MM cap charge and while Seattle would have been able to open up nearly $4MM in room this summer with a buyout, Botterill instead will keep him around with the belief that he’ll be able to bounce back next season.
  • Avalanche pending unrestricted free agents Jonathan Drouin and Ryan Lindgren are expected to hit the open market next week, relays Peter Baugh of The Athletic (subscription link). Drouin reached free agency last year as well before re-signing a one-year, $2.5MM deal.  The winger put up 37 points in 45 games this season.  Meanwhile, Lindgren was acquired at the trade deadline and put up 22 points in 72 games this year with the blueliner playing on a $4.5MM contract.  After yesterday’s trade of Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to Columbus, the Avs have nearly $9MM in cap space, per PuckPedia, giving GM Chris McFarland more wiggle room to work with in reshaping his roster this summer.
  • Noah Dobson’s new contract with the Canadiens contains just a 14-team no-trade clause beginning in 2026-27, PuckPedia reports (Twitter link). He was not eligible for any trade protection next season since that was an RFA-eligible year and RFA-eligible players can’t have any trade restrictions.  The deal was heavily front-loaded with $33MM in signing bonus money over the first three seasons of the agreement.

Flames Sign Kevin Bahl To Six-Year Contract

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The Flames have locked up one of their pending restricted free agents as they announced that they’ve signed defenseman Kevin Bahl to a six-year contract with an AAV of $5.35MM per season.  PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the breakdown of the agreement is as follows:

2025-26: $2.35MM salary, $3MM signing bonus
2026-27 – 2030-31: $5.35MM salary; no-trade list from 2027-28 to 2030-31

The 25-year-old was a piece of the trade last June that saw New Jersey acquire goaltender Jacob Markstrom from the Flames.  Bahl was added along with a first-round pick that was used on center Cole Reschny last night with the 18th overall selection.

A move to Calgary meant a move to bigger role for Bahl. After four seasons of battling for minutes on New Jersey’s bottom pairing, he immediately took to a top-end role for the Flames. Bahl averaged over 21 minutes of ice time a night through 73 games this season, while serving as the go-to partner for top Flames’ defenseman Rasmus Andersson. That role earned Bahl a career-high 20 points, complemented by a minus-six and 35 penalty minutes. Bahl also ranked third on the Flames blue-line in hits (109), third in blocked shots (116), and fourth in takeaways (24).

Landing a strong spot across the stat categories is great momentum for the young Bahl, who had only appeared in 148 games with the Devils prior to joining the Flames. He totaled 25 points, a minus-one, and 127 penalty minutes in those appearances – marks that he’s already outpaced, or outright broken, with the Flames. He’s an imposing, 6-foot-6 defenseman who’s adjusted well to playing away from the puck and jumping up into play at an NHL level. Those were the traits that many scouts questioned in the 2018 NHL Draft – forcing the large-frame defender down to the Arizona Coyotes’ selection at 55th overall. The Coyotes traded him to the Devils in their 2019 acquisition of Taylor Hall and Blake Speers.

Now, two teams later, Bahl has cemented an NHL contract that will carry him through his age-30 season. Bahl is a lanky, defense-first defender who played opposite a strong puck-mover all year long. That fact, and his physical upside, could set up a long career in tandem with aggressive scoring-defenseman Zayne Parekh.

Blue Jackets Re-Sign Zach Sawchenko To One-Year Deal

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The Blue Jackets have taken care of one of their pending restricted free agents before draft action picks back up.  The team announced that they’ve signed goaltender Zach Sawchenko to a one-year, two-way contract.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The 27-year-old spent this past season with AHL Cleveland, getting into 27 games with the Monsters where he posted a 10-11-5 record with a 3.00 GAA and a .900 SV%.  Sawchenko has played in 106 contests at the AHL level over the past four seasons but NHL playing time has been hard to come by along the way as he has just seven appearances at the top level, all coming back in 2021-22 with San Jose where he had a 3.35 GAA and a .901 SV%.

Sawchenko was the backup to Jet Greaves in Cleveland in 2024-25.  However, with Greaves now in line to move up to Columbus full-time following this week’s trade of Daniil Tarasov to Florida, Sawchenko could become the starter for the Monsters next season with prospect Nolan Lalonde serving as the backup in his first professional year.  Alternatively, Columbus could look to add another netminder in free agency to push Sawchenko for the starting job with the Monsters and allow Lalonde to get more regular minutes in the ECHL.

Senators Expected To Show Interest In Tanner Jeannot

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With the Kings not expected to offer winger Tanner Jeannot a new contract, he’s expected to hit the open market on Tuesday with teams looking for extra grit being likely to show interest.  It appears that the Senators will be one of those as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Ottawa is expected to pursue Jeannot in free agency.

Jeannot was one of the bigger surprises in the NHL back in 2021-22.  In his first full NHL season, he wound up collecting 24 goals and 17 assists along with 130 penalty minutes and 318 hits in 81 games, earning the 28-year-old a seventh-place finish in Calder Trophy voting.  All of a sudden, it looked like Nashville had a key power forward of the future in the mix.

But things didn’t go anywhere near as well the following year as his output dropped to just 14 points in 56 games.  Nonetheless, Tampa Bay still believed in him, sending the Preds draft picks in the first five rounds (including the 23rd pick last night, one that was moved in a trade-up swap) to acquire Jeannot’s services.

The change of scenery didn’t boost his scoring prowess as Jeannot had just four points in 20 games down the stretch in 2023 and then followed that up with just seven goals and seven assists in 55 outings in 2023-24.  While the physicality was still there, the offensive touch certainly wasn’t.  Needing to clear cap space last summer, the Lightning moved Jeannot and his $2.665MM contract at the draft last year for second and fourth-round picks.

Once again, the change of scenery didn’t yield an increase in production as Jeannot posted seven goals and six assists along with 89 penalty minutes and 211 hits in 67 games while logging just 11:01 per night.  As a result, he’s going to be entering the open market with teams now viewing his breakout year as the outlier, not necessarily a sign of things to come.

After that 24-goal rookie year, Jeannot has managed just 20 in the three seasons since combined, making him more of a fourth liner than an impactful middle-six piece.  As a result, he didn’t earn a spot on our Top 50 UFA list.  After playing on a bridge deal the last two seasons, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Jeannot effectively get another one as it would be difficult to see a team making a longer-term commitment to someone whose production has been so limited lately.  But with a lot of teams looking for added grit, Jeannot should nonetheless have a solid group of suitors next week with the Sens appearing to be one of them.

Trade Interest In Lukas Reichel Increasing

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Last summer, Blackhawks forward Lukas Reichel was a speculative trade candidate but he wound up signing a low-cost, two-year bridge deal to remain with Chicago.  But after the first year of that contract didn’t go well, the trade speculation is back.  Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that interest in Reichel has started to pick up in recent days with teams viewing him as more of a secondary target at this point.

The 23-year-old was a first-round pick by Chicago back in 2020, going 17th overall after playing well with Eisbaren Berlin in the German men’s league when he had 24 points in 48 games.  That improved to 27 points in 38 outings the following season before Reichel came to play in North America.

Reichel spent the bulk of the first season of his entry-level deal with AHL Rockford and was quite productive, tallying 21 goals and 36 assists in 56 games while also getting into 11 games with the Blackhawks.  The following year in 2022-23, he was similarly productive with the IceHogs, notching 20 goals and 31 helpers in 55 contests, earning him a longer look with the big club where he got into 23 games, collecting 15 points.  It looked like he was ready for full-time NHL duty.

But the 2023-24 campaign was a tough one for Reichel.  He struggled with Chicago, scoring just five goals along with 11 assists in 65 games while his possession numbers took a tumble as well.  He was more productive with eight points in a ten-game stint in Rockford but at this point, there were questions about his longer-term fit in the organization with the Blackhawks having one of the deepest pipelines in the NHL.

Those questions still remain after this season, one that saw Reichel only slightly improve offensively with eight goals and 14 assists in 70 games while seeing his ice time drop to below 12 minutes a night, a career-low.  With several prospects in the pipeline that could benefit from an extra roster spot to try to compete for, it’s understandable to think that Chicago could make Reichel available this summer.

Of course, with how things have gone the last two seasons, trade offers aren’t going to be anywhere near the level of the first-rounder they used on Reichel in the past.  But with an affordable contract at $1.2MM, he’s the type of buy-low candidate that some rebuilding teams will want to take a chance on to see if a change of scenery can help get him going.  Whether that results in a trade later today in the draft or later on in the summer once the dust settles remains to be seen but it certainly seems like there’s a good chance that Reichel could be on the move this offseason.

Brandon Saad Re-Signs With Golden Knights

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June 27: It is indeed a one-year, $2MM pact for Saad, according to PuckPedia. It’s split 50/50 into base salary and signing bonus and carries a full no-trade clause.

June 26: After joining Vegas midseason, it appears that winger Brandon Saad will be extending his stay.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported late Wednesday (Twitter link) that Saad is expected to re-sign with the Golden Knights.  Daily Faceoff’s Jeff Marek adds (Twitter link) that it will be a one-year deal around the $2MM range.

The start of the season didn’t go well for the 32-year-old.  He had an underwhelming first half, eventually falling down the depth chart in St. Louis, resulting in the Blues ultimately placing him on waivers in late January.  Signed through 2025-26 at a $4.5MM cap charge, Saad ultimately passed through unclaimed with most teams unable or unwilling to take on that type of financial commitment.

However, after clearing waivers, Saad surprised many by requesting a contract termination.  In doing so, he walked away from the remainder of his guaranteed contract to become an unrestricted free agent.  The goal was to get back to the NHL, even if it required leaving some money on the table to do so.

Saad did just that, joining Vegas on a one-year, $1.5MM pro-rated deal just one day after passing through unconditional waivers.  The hope was that he’d be able to provide some affordable secondary scoring and he did just that, collecting six goals and eight assists in 29 regular season games after notching 16 points in 43 games with St. Louis.  In the playoffs, Saad was a little quieter, however, tallying just two assists in eight outings.

A veteran of 935 career NHL regular season games and more than 500 points to his name, Saad is likely to have strong interest in his second track at free agency in less than six months if he actually gets that far.  After re-signing Reilly Smith yesterday, Vegas has $7.6MM in cap room, per PuckPedia, with a few roster spots to fill and Nicolas Hague a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights.

However, Vegas has been speculatively linked to several prominent free agent or trade targets that could change the financial equation.  With that in mind, even if a deal has been agreed on in principle with Saad, it wouldn’t be surprising to see it not announced right away to retain short-term spending flexibility.

Evgeny Kuznetsov Eyeing NHL Comeback

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After signing a four-year contract with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL last summer, it looked like Evgeny Kuznetsov’s days of playing in North America were over.  However, that may not be the case anymore.  His agent, Shumi Babayev, announced (Telegram link) that his client will play in North America next season and that he has been in contact with several teams already.

The 33-year-old played in 39 KHL contests this past season, tallying 37 points.  However, despite the solid performance, the remaining three years of the contract were terminated back in April.  At the time, it seemed like he might simply land with another team in Russia but now, it appears that won’t be the case.

Kuznetsov last played in the NHL in the 2023-24 season.  He started the year with Washington but re-entered the Player Assistance Program in February 2024.  Upon being cleared to return, the Capitals placed him on waivers and after he cleared, he was dealt with 50% retention to Carolina for a third-round pick.  Kuznetsov went on to record seven points in 20 games with the Hurricanes before adding six more in 10 playoff outings.  However, he requested and was granted a termination of the final year of his contract last summer to allow him to go play in Russia which he has now evidently had a change of heart about.

Kuznetsov has 743 career NHL appearances, notching 173 goals and 402 assists over that span.  That immediately makes him one of the higher-scoring UFA centers available on the open market this summer.

But the question is which version of Kuznetsov that teams would be getting.  He’s only a few years removed from a 78-point campaign in Washington but his 2023-24 performance saw him notch just 24 points in 63 contests despite averaging over 17 minutes a night of ice time.  Was that just a down year or a sign that he can’t keep up with NHL-level competition as much as he used to?

That’s a question that teams will undoubtedly be weighing as July 1st approaches.  On the one hand, there could be some upside if he’s able to come in and play in the middle six somewhere.  On the other hand, if Kuznetsov was a step slow two seasons ago, that could be further exacerbated now.  Assuming a deal is reached, it seems reasonable to think that it might just be a one-year agreement, one that allows both sides a chance to walk away if things don’t go well.  But just a few days out from free agency, it appears a new middleman is in play.

Stars Nearing A Decision On Their Next Head Coach

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Earlier today, the Stars took care of keeping one of their team leaders in place when they signed Jamie Benn to a one-year, bonus-laden contract to keep him away from hitting the open market.  Meanwhile, it appears that they’re closing in on finding their next leader behind the bench, as TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that Dallas is close to finalizing their coaching decision with Neil Graham and Glen Gulutzan the perceived favorites for the job.

Graham has not yet worked at the NHL level but has plenty of familiarity with the organization.  After retiring during the 2012-13 season while playing for their ECHL affiliate in Idaho, he immediately became an assistant coach, moving into the head coaching role a few years later while also serving as their Director of Hockey Operations.  Graham was moved up to AHL Texas in 2019 as an assistant but was promoted to the full-time head coaching role later that season, a role he has held since then.  Texas has made the playoffs in each of the last four seasons and made it to the Western Conference Finals this year before losing to Abbotsford who won the Calder Cup earlier this week.  That success understandably has him on the radar.

As for Gulutzan, he certainly has familiarity with the organization as well.  He spent two years as the head coach with Texas and in 2011, he was promoted to serve in that role with Dallas.  The team played to a 64-57-9 record with Gulutzan at the helm but missed the playoffs both times.  As a result, he was fired just two weeks after GM Jim Nill joined Dallas.  Gulutzan was also the bench boss with Calgary in 2016-17 and 2017-18 with one playoff appearance during that time.  He has been an assistant with Edmonton since the 2018-19 season.

Whoever takes over will have high expectations as they’ll be taking the place of Peter DeBoer who was let go despite the Stars making it to the Western Conference Final for three straight years.  Nill has been trying to keep as much of his veteran core in place as possible to try to keep them in contention for a while longer, meaning that expectations will be quite high right away.

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