Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Panthers Rumors

Snapshots: Off-Season, College Free Agents, Bratislava

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Three weeks into free agency, it’s fair to begin analyzing how teams have improved this off-season, even though there are still several notable UFA’s who remain unsigned. The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn did just that, using his predictive model to look at which team has done the most this summer. Topping the list, unsurprisingly, are the New York Rangers, who have added Artemi Panarin, Jacob Trouba, Kaapo Kakko, and Adam Fox among others. Although some have been critical of their contract details, the Florida Panthers come in a close second after adding Sergei Bobrovsky, Anton Stralman, Brett Connolly, and Noel Acciari. The Vancouver Canucks (Tyler Myers, J.T. Miller, Micheal Ferland), Chicago Blackhawks (Robin Lehner, Calvin de Haan, Olli Maatta), and Washington Capitals (Radko Gudas, Richard Panik, Garnet Hathaway) round out the top five off-season performers, per Luszczyszyn. His bottom team, very obviously, is the Columbus Blue Jackets, who faced an almost-impossible task of improving with Panarin, Bobrovsky, Matt Duchene, and Ryan Dzingel all hitting the open market. The addition of Gustav Nyquist is a nice move, but not enough to keep them from being the team that was hurt the most this summer. Even the nearest team, the San Jose Sharks, are not that close in terms of projected wins lost, and they have added no new players of note this summer. Fortunately, for Columbus and several other teams who have failed to improve but have the cap space to do so, there are a number of good players still available in free agency and salary cap crunches and restricted free agent dilemmas across the league will likely force substantial talent onto the trade block before the new season gets underway.

  • Another way that teams may be able to improve this summer is by adding some soon-to-be-available college free agents next month. While it’s not the most talented class and lacks any star standouts like years past, the August NCAA group could provide some minor league depth a potential NHL upside to a number of teams. Expect Quinnipiac offensive blue liner Chase Priskie to be the most sought-after target. The following are the players set to become free agents on August 15th, along with the team that drafted them:

F Brent Gates, University of Minnesota (ANA)
D Steven Ruggiero, Lake Superior State University (ANA)
F Christopher Brown, Boston University (BUF) – signed to AHL deal with WBS
D Ivan Chukarov, University of Massachusetts (BUF)
F Max Willman, Boston University (BUF)
F Beau Starrett, Cornell University (CHI)
G Chase Perry, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (DET)
D Vincent Desharnais, Providence College (EDM) – signed to AHL deal with Bakersfield
F J.D. Dudek, Boston College (EDM)
G Hayden Hawkey, Providence College (EDM)
F Joe Wegwerth, University of Notre Dame (FLA)
D Nick Boka, University of Michigan (MIN) – signed to AHL deal with Iowa
D Jack Sadek, University of Minnesota (MIN) – signed to AHL deal with Iowa
D Nikolas Koberstein, University of Alaska-Fairbanks (MTL)
F Thomas Novak, University of Minnesota (NSH) – signed to AHL deal with Milwaukee
D Miles Gendron, University of Connecticut (OTT) – signed to AHL deal with Belleville
F Brendan Warren, University of Michigan (PHI) – signed to ECHL deal with Indy
F Jacob Jackson, Michigan Tech University (SJS)
G Jake Kupsky, Union College (SJS)
F Marcus Vela, University of New Hampshire (SJS)
D Chase Priskie, Quinnipiac University (WSH)
F Steven Spinner, University of Nebraska-Omaha (WSH)

  • HC Slovan Bratislava is enjoying an active off-season, signing eight players, but it’s still unclear where they’ll be playing next season. Bratislava announced in May that it would be leaving the KHL and re-joining the Slovakina Extraliga. However, Slovakian news source Sport.SK says that it’s not that simple. The club owes a total debt of $3MM to 60 players who were not fully compensated when Bratislava last played for their national league. Until that debt is square, the league could block their re-entry. As of now, Bratislava has offered to pay 30% of the debt up front and then negotiate payment schedules with the former players to cover the rest of the outstanding debt. The league has until August 7th to make a decision about the team’s future, either granting them a license to participate or not, but in the meantime they have officially signed eight players with the expectation of playing this season and Sport.SK reports that at least seven more are waiting to sign on. One such player waiting to see how things play out is former NHL defenseman Andrej Meszaros, who captained the team over the past three years in the KHL. One would expect the most well-known pro team in Slovakia to gain entrance back into the top native league, but unpaid player salaries is a sensitive issue in Europe and there could be more hoops to jump through before anything becomes official.

Panthers Re-Sign Samuel Montembeault And Jayce Hawryluk

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

July 19: The Panthers have officially announced the contract for Montembeault, confirming the details. Hawryluk’s deal was announced on Wednesday.

July 15: The Panthers have re-signed two of their remaining restricted free agents as goaltender Samuel Montembeault has signed a one-year, two-way deal, CapFriendly reports.  The contract is worth his qualifying offer of just over $708K in the NHL and $70K in the AHL.  Meanwhile, CapFriendly also notes that forward Jayce Hawryluk also accepted his qualifier worth a little more than $874K in the NHL and $70K in the minors.

Montembeault went into last season as the backup at the AHL level behind Michael Hutchinson but a decent showing from him allowed Florida to deal him to Toronto.  The 22-year-old then got a look with the Panthers as Roberto Luongo and James Reimer dealt with injury issues and general struggles.  He held his own in his time with Florida, posting a 3.04 GAA with a .894 SV% in 11 appearances.  As things stand, he heads into next season as the frontrunner to be the backup to new starter Sergei Bobrovsky.  However, as he’s still waiver-exempt, it’s quite possible that he will be back in the minors next year with the team bringing in another backup in the weeks to come.

Hawryluk also split last season between Florida and AHL Springfield.  While he was quite productive with the Thunderbirds with 32 points in 31 games, he wasn’t able to come close to that type of success in the NHL.  He suited up in 42 games with the Panthers but recorded only seven goals and five assists although his ice time was rather limited at only 9:26 per night.  He’ll likely get a chance to reprise his role on the fourth line next season and if he fails to make the team, Hawryluk will have to pass it through waivers to make it back to the minors.

Poll: How Many Unresolved Arbitration Cases Will Require An Award?

at CDT | by 3 Comments

In the NHL, the salary arbitration process is more often used as a negotiating tool – an incentive to get a deal done before the uncomfortable setting of a hearing and the unknown of an arbitrator’s decision – than it is for its actual purpose. A vast majority of players who file for arbitration end up settling before their hearing or even at the last moment before an award is handed down. Last year, 44 players filed for arbitration and 40 settled prior to their hearing. The year before, all 30 cases were resolved before an arbitration award could be made.

So what about this year? There were initially 40 cases of player-elected arbitration and one case of team-elected arbitration (the St. Louis Blues and goalie Ville Husso), but that number is now down to 25 open cases. That’s a substantial drop-off, but time is running out for some RFA’s and their teams to come to terms, as the first scheduled hearing is set to take place on Saturday, July 20th. Listed below are all of the remaining cases:

July 20: Brock McGinn, Carolina Hurricanes
July 21: Andrew Copp, Winnipeg Jets
July 22: MacKenzie Weegar, Florida Panthers; Zach Aston-Reese, Pittsburgh Penguins; Ville Husso, St. Louis Blues; Christian Djoos, Washington Capitals
July 23: Evan Rodrigues, Buffalo Sabres
July 24: Oskar Sundqvist, St. Louis Blues; Neal Pionk, Winnipeg Jets
July 25: Jacob Trouba, New York Rangers
July 26: Colton Sissons, Nashville Predators
July 27: Sam Bennett, Calgary Flames
July 28: Mirco Mueller, New Jersey Devils
July 29: David Rittich, Calgary Flames; Pavel Buchnevich, New York Rangers
August 1: Remi Elie, Buffalo Sabres; Chandler Stephenson, Washington Capitals
August 2: Linus Ullmark, Buffalo Sabres; Charles Hudon, Montreal Canadiens; Will Butcher, New Jersey Devils
August 4: Jake McCabe, Buffalo Sabres; Anton Forsberg, Carolina Hurricanes; Sheldon Dries, Colorado Avalanche; Rocco Grimaldi, Nashville Predators; Joel Edmundson, St. Louis Blues

Given the time constraints and the complexity of each of these cases, how many will feel forced to go to hearing? Will Trouba be one of that select group, as he was last year? Will the Sabres struggle to settle four cases before their scheduled hearing dates? Will the Blues see through their team-elected case with Husso? Will other goalies prove to be difficult negotiations? And will polarizing players like Bennett and Buchnevich fail to find common ground with their teams? Or will it be under-the-radar players like Gemel Smith and Brett Kulak last year who go through the full process?

There are many questions left about this group of restricted free agents and time is running out before we know the answers. So the choice is yours: will we see an unprecedented class of arbitration awards or will all or most cases reach a resolution in the coming weeks?

How Many Unresolved Arbitration Cases Will Require An Award?
3-4 36.04% (200 votes)
5-6 25.05% (139 votes)
1-2 17.12% (95 votes)
9+ 10.27% (57 votes)
7-8 7.93% (44 votes)
None 3.60% (20 votes)
Total Votes: 555

[Mobile users click here to vote]

Florida Panthers Agree To Terms With Three Players

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Florida Panthers officially have agreed to terms with Dryden Hunt, Thomas Schemitsch and Jayce Hawryluk on one-year two-way contracts. Hawryluk’s agreement had been previously reported, with CapFriendly noting that he had accepted his qualifying offer worth $874K in the NHL. The other two will earn $715K at the NHL level. All three will still be restricted free agents next summer.

Hunt, 23, is one of the players who has quietly developed into a legitimate NHL option for the Panthers the last few seasons. Undrafted out of the WHL, Hunt ended up exploding in his final year of junior to the tune of 58 goals and 116 points in 72 games for the Moose Jaw Warriors. Jumping to the professional ranks didn’t slow him down, and he has now posted consecutive 23-goal seasons for the AHL Springfield Thunderbirds, despite spending time in both seasons with the Panthers. In 42 NHL games he has 11 points, and he heads into 2019-20 as a player fighting for a role on an improved team. If he can make it, it’s hard to bet against a player that has been overlooked for so long but defied the odds at every opportunity.

Hawryluk is another player who will be battling for a chance to start the year in the NHL, but comes with a much higher draft pedigree. The 32nd overall pick in 2014 made his NHL debut last season, suiting up 42 times for the Panthers and recorded 12 points. Hawryluk has proven he can hang in the bottom-six for the Panthers, but with additions like Brett Connolly and Noal Acciari lengthening out the lineup, there is no guarantee he sees a full season this year.

Schemitsch, 22, is the only one of the three yet to make his debut in the NHL but is not to be overlooked. The third round pick from 2015 had 24 points in 56 games for Springfield while also having the size and reach to handle defensive coverage at the professional level. The 6’4″ defenseman will continue to try and take the necessary developmental steps to make it to the highest level, though things are a little crowded there after the addition of Anton Stralman in free agency.

Florida Panthers Sign Three Players

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Both Anthony Greco and Dominic Toninato decided not to file for arbitration earlier this month, but they won’t have to wait through a long contract negotiation. The pair of minor league forwards have both agreed to one-year, two-way contracts with the Panthers. According to PuckPedia, Jayce Hawryluk has also signed, accepting his two-way qualifying offer worth $874K at the NHL level.

Greco, 25, made his NHL debut last season for the Panthers while also putting up a career season in the minor leagues. The undrafted forward scored 30 goals and 59 points for the Springfield Thunderbirds, leading them in both categories. That kind of offensive production is more than anyone saw coming with Greco, who never cracked 23 points in a single season at Ohio State University where he played for four years.

Toninato is a bit of a different story. Originally selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2012, he also went the NCAA route for four years. After signing with the Colorado Avalanche however, he quickly made it to the NHL and suited up 37 times in 2017-18. Incredibly, Toninato was held to just two assists in those 37 NHL games and has just three points total over 39 contests. After a trade brought him to Florida it seems unlikely that he’ll get a real shot with the Panthers before proving himself in their minor league system.

That may not be the cast for Hawryluk, who will be battling for a roster spot right from the beginning of the season. The 23-year old played 42 games for the Panthers last season and recorded 12 points, establishing himself as a legitimate NHL option. Whenever he was in the minor leagues he dominated the competition, and looks about as ready as he’ll ever be for the big stage. The 32nd overall pick from 2014, Hawryluk has even more competition for the last few spots on the roster thanks to free agent additions like Brett Connolly and Noal Acciari pushing everyone down a peg.

Atlantic Notes: Divisional Upgrades?, McAvoy, Barre-Boulet

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Despite quite a bit of movement this offseason, it doesn’t look like much has changed in the Atlantic Division. With three teams that have dominated the division for the past few seasons, several teams were hoping to vault themselves into contention for the top of the Atlantic. However, The Athletic’s John Vogl (subscription required) analyzes each line of each divisional team and comes to the conclusion that little has changed.

The Boston Bruins are in the top half of the division on almost every line from forwards to defensemen and especially show off their defensive depth to still be ranked at the top. The Toronto Maple Leafs have also improved their team with a number of defensive additions and have quite a bit of forward depth as always, but their third-pairing depth is expected to be at the bottom of the division. Tampa Bay continues to be one of the strongest teams with a number of top lines throughout the division.

While many feel that Florida has taken that next step after the team signed goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and added a pair of depth forwards in Brett Connolly and Noel Acciari, the Panthers find themselves in the middle of the pack for most of their lines. Even Bobrovsky doesnt’ give Florida that big of an advantage considering that he’s now in a division with Frederik Andersen, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tuukka Rask and Carey Price.

  • The Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont writes that after the Boston Bruins inked forward Danton Heinen to a two-year deal at $2.8MM AAV, the Bruins will now focus their attention on their two most challenging restricted free agents in Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo. The negotiations should prove challenging as the team hopes to keep their combined total to under $10MM per season. The team should be able to handle that. However, if they combine for closer to $11-12MM, the team will have to make some roster moves to free up some cap space. McAvoy, who has scored 14 goals and 60 points over two seasons and has proven the ability to be the team’s lead defenseman should get the most of that money, but Carlo’s development seems to have increased his value during the playoffs and he should get quite a raise as well.
  • With some openings at the bottom of their offensive depth chart, NHL.com’s Bryan Burns writes in his recent mailbag piece that there are a number of AHL players that are ready to challenge for these openings, including Alex Barre-Boulet, Carter Verhaeghe at the top of the list. Barre-Boulet, who the team signed out of the QMJHL after he went undrafted, dominated in his first season in the AHL last season, while Verhaeghe finally posted a dominant season with the Syracuse Crunch after toiling in the ECHL for several years. Tampa Bay, which has proven to be proficient in developing their players for NHL duty, also have a number of other prospects close to ready as well, including Alexander Volkov, Mitchell Stephens and Cory Conacher.

Minor Transactions: 07/12/19

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Ryan Dzingel and Jack Hughes may have been the biggest news stories of the day, but more has happened in the hockey world. As always, we’re here to keep track of all the minor moves around the league:

  • The Bridgeport Sound Tigers have signed seven players, inking Steve Bernier, John Stevens, Nick Schilkey, Nic Pierog, Kyle MacLean, Mike Cornell and Ryan MacKinnon to one-year AHL contracts. Bernier is likely the most recognizable name in the group, as the 34-year old was a first-round pick and played 637 NHL games. Bernier has spent the last three seasons with the Sound Tigers, scoring 24 goals and 42 points last year.
  • Juho Lammikko has returned to Finland instead of re-signing with the Florida Panthers. The  23-year old forward played 40 games with Florida last season but failed to score a single goal and recorded just six assists. A third-round pick in 2014, his rights will be retained thanks to the qualifying offer extended from the Panthers last month but Lammikko will play for Karpat this season in Finland’s top league.
  • The Iowa Wild have signed Mitch McLain, Nick Boka, Alex Breton and Jack Sadek to AHL contracts for the 2019-20 season, bringing in some more depth for the organization. McLain returns to the team after spending his first full professional season with Iowa last year, scoring 20 points in 58 games. Boka meanwhile will stay in the Minnesota system after four years at the University of Michigan, despite his exclusive draft rights expiring later this summer.

Kevin Roy Signs With Florida Panthers

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

July 8: The Panthers have confirmed the signing of Roy to a one-year, two-way contract.

July 4: The Florida Panthers have signed free agent forward Kevin Roy to a one-year, two-way contract according to CapFriendly. Roy was a Group VI unrestricted free agent after receiving little NHL opportunity with the Anaheim Ducks. The deal will carry an $850K salary in the NHL, and a $350K guarantee.

Roy, 26, was originally a fourth-round pick of the Ducks in 2012 after absolutely dominating the USHL. His size—5’9″ 170-lbs—was the biggest question mark about Roy, because his 104-point season for the Lincoln Stars certainly spoke for itself. After four successful seasons at Northeastern University he signed with the Ducks but hasn’t been able to climb out of the minor leagues for any length of time. In 28 career NHL contests he has just seven points, though that has been in limited ice time.

In Florida he’ll compete for a spot out of camp, and will have something of a role model to look at on the roster. Frank Vatrano is a former USHL and NCAA player that was overlooked for years because of his size, but broke out last season with 24 goals in his first full NHL season. While that is obviously an unlikely path for Roy to take, it wouldn’t be the first time that a small forward broke out in Florida. More likely is that he’ll help the Springfield Thunderbirds next season and try to bounce back from an injury riddled 2018-19.

AHL Notes: Graham, Archibald, Thunderbirds

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Dallas Stars are making an addition to their AHL coaching staff and doing so by promoting from within. The Texas Stars announced today that Neil Graham has been named as an assistant coach for the team, leaving his previous post as head coach of the organization’s ECHL affiliate, the Idaho Steelheads. During his tenure with Idaho, Graham led the Steelheads to a 166-91-31 record over four seasons, including three consecutive 40+ win seasons and playoff berths. The 34-year-old is climbing through the pro coaching ranks quickly after spending just one year as an assistant at Mercyhurst College before taking the same role with Idaho for three seasons before his promotion to head coach. A standout player at Mercyhurst in the late 2000’s, Graham played three seasons in the minors before turning to coaching. He has an opportunity with Texas, replacing the departed Bob Jones, to learn under the tutelage of Derek Laxdal and continue growing as a coach in what appears to be a promising career in the making.

  • Veteran grinder Darren Archibald has been on and off NHL contracts throughout his pro career, often having to settle for AHL contracts with a chance to earn his way back to the top level. After playing in a dozen games last season split between the Vancouver Canucks and Ottawa Senators, recording just two points, Archibald entered the UFA market again facing the tough task of landing another two-way deal. As a result, it’s not surprising that Archibald has settled for a one-year deal with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, the team announced. As far as AHL opportunities go, the Marlies tend to be one of the more talented, veteran-laden clubs with substantial media attention, giving Archibald as good a chance as anywhere in the league to prove he can still play in the NHL. In the meantime, the big winger will continue to be both a physical threat and net-front scoring force at the minor league level.
  • The Springfield Thunderbirds have announced extensions for end-of-the-year additions Liam Pecararo and Dylan MacPherson. The duo each signed one-year AHL contracts with Springfield back on April 3rd, and have now renewed those same one-way minor league pacts. Pecararo, 23, wrapped up his NCAA career with 30 points in 37 games for Northeastern University last year and recorded a point in his AHL debut. The Massachusetts native stays close to home in Springfield and hopes to be a force up front. MacPherson, 21, has great size for a defenseman and showed over the past two years with the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers that he is capable of consistent offense as well. A right-handed shot who can both move the puck and defend in his own end, MacPherson is a valuable commodity for the Thunderbirds.

Jake Massie Agrees To Terms With Florida Panthers

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Florida Panthers have snatched up another prospect, agreeing to terms with Jake Massie on a two-year entry-level contract. Massie’s exclusive draft rights were held by the Chicago Blackhawks until recently, as he informed the University of Vermont that he intended on turning pro in late May. College players who are four years removed from their draft year are able to become unrestricted free agents 30 days after leaving college regardless of whether they have completed their NCAA eligibility; Massie played one year in the USHL and three at Vermont after being selected in the sixth round of the 2015 draft by the Carolina Hurricanes.

The 22-year old defenseman has never been known for his offensive upside, scoring just 23 points in his three-year college career. Instead, his most obvious attributes come in the defensive zone where he has been a polished talent for several years. It wasn’t clear if that would be enough to earn him an NHL contract, but the Panthers obviously feel as though they can squeeze at least some value out of him.

For the Panthers, plays like this are easy to make. The team currently sits at only 35 contracts out of their allotted 50, meaning there is still quite a bit of work to do to fill out the organizational depth chart. Massie will be just the 11th defenseman under contract, a group that needs to fill out the blue line at both the NHL and AHL level. He’ll likely start in the minor leagues, where he can show that his defensive prowess can be a positive at the professional level.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top