Nothing will change in the day-to-day business operations or the front office of the Checkers per the agreement and the team will still serve as the primary affiliate of the NHL’s Florida Panthers. In regards to the purchase, CEO of Zawyer Sports & Entertainment, Andy Kaufmann said, “The Checkers are a team rich with history and an incredible fan base and we are honored to do our part in making Checkers Nation proud – not just on game days, but all year long in this very special community. We have already made an impact here in the community with Gastonia Baseball, and we are eager to grow our footprint in the region by providing local families with quality entertainment, community outreach and competitive hockey“.
Panthers Rumors
Linus Eriksson Turned Down SHL Offers To Stay In Second-Tier Allsvenskan
- Generally speaking, NHL prospects typically prefer to play at the top level possible overseas. However, that’s not the case for Panthers youngster Linus Eriksson who told Hockey Sverige’s Uffe Bodin that he turned down interest from multiple SHL teams to remain with Djurgarden in the second-tier Allsvenskan. The 18-year-old was the 58th-overall pick by Florida after he put up 11 points in 29 games at that level last season. Eriksson was much more productive at the junior level, collecting 21 points in 25 games with them and added seven points in seven games for Sweden at the World Under-18s.
Florida Panthers Sign Adam Boqvist
10:11 AM: PuckPedia reports Boqvist’s salary will be the league minimum of $775K next season and he will be a restricted free agent at the end of the deal.
8:17 AM: Just over a week after having his contract bought out by the Columbus Blue Jackets, defenseman Adam Boqvist has found a new home. The Florida Panthers announced they have signed the Swedish blue liner to a one-year, one-way contract for the 2024-25 NHL season.
Boqvist came into the league as the eighth overall selection by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2018 NHL Draft. He skated in 15 games for Brynäs IF of the Swedish Hockey League that season while tallying one assist in total. Much of Boqvist’s draft pedigree came from his time on the international stage with Team Sweden where he posted four goals and 11 assists for Sweden’s under-18 team in 16 international contests.
He made his NHL debut during the would-be shortened 2019-20 NHL season. Over two full campaigns with the Blackhawks, Boqvist scored six goals and 29 points over 76 games while averaging 16:35 of ice time per game. The Falun, Sweden native appeared a little immature on the defensive side of the puck during his rookie and sophomore season but showed some promise as a future top-four defenseman.
His time in Chicago was shortlived as the Blackhawks traded Boqvist along with a first-round pick in 2021, a second-round pick in 2021, and a conditional first-round pick in 2022 to the Blue Jackets for the package that would land defenseman Seth Jones in Chicago. As the only player included in the deal — Boqvist had big skates to fill in Columbus.
Boqvist’s offensive output was much better with the Blue Jackets as he scored 16 goals and 46 points in 98 games during his first two years with the Blue Jackets but it became readily apparent there would be injury concerns following the young defenseman. To this day he has not been able to skate in a full regular season and has a yearly-high games played total of 52. This past season was especially bad for Boqvist as he was limited to 35 games played and scored 10 points in total.
There may be some optimism for Boqvist landing in Florida as he has been a quality possession player throughout his time in the NHL and will go to a system that thrives in it. The Panthers had one of the best defensive teams in the league during the 2023-24 NHL season en route to their first Stanley Cup title in team history. Boqvist will have far less responsibility on Florida’s blue line and may even operate as the team’s seventh defenseman to start the season.
Florida Panthers Sign Jaycob Megna
The Florida Panthers announced the team has signed defenseman Jaycob Megna to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2024-25 NHL season. The deal will pay Megna the league minimum of $775K at the NHL level as Megna joins the fourth organization of his career.
Two summers ago, Megna signed on with the San Jose Sharks on a two-year contract paying him $1.525MM over the contract. Megna would not last long in San Jose on this contract as the team moved him to the Seattle Kraken in early February of 2023 in exchange for a conditional fourth-round pick. Serving as depth for the Kraken as they made their way to the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, Megna managed six games down the stretch.
With an injury to start the year and improved defensive depth on the NHL club, the Kraken placed Megna on waivers nearly two weeks after he finished his conditioning stint in AHL Coachella Valley. The Chicago Blackhawks claimed Megna on waivers and gave the defenseman much more opportunity at the NHL level. Megna logged 17:31 of ice time on average in Chicago while suiting up in 44 games for the Original Six franchise. The defenseman only tallied two assists on the year but did block 87 shots and made 60 body checks on opponents.
Over the first few days of free agency, the Panthers have lost considerable depth on their blue line with the departures of Brandon Montour, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Josh Mahura. Despite the loss of talent, Megna should start the season with the team’s AHL affiliate in Charlotte while being able to fill in for injury at any point during the regular season.
AHL’s Charlotte Checkers Sign Aidan McDonough
The AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, the Panthers’ top affiliate, have picked up left winger Aidan McDonough on a one-year deal, a team release states. McDonough will now try and work his way back up the professional ladder after being non-tendered by the Canucks last week.
Just a couple of years ago, McDonough looked to be a seventh-round steal for Vancouver. After selecting him in 2019, McDonough had a spectacular collegiate career at Northeastern that saw him produce 66 goals and 124 points in 124 games across four seasons while assuming the captaincy in his final season. He signed his entry-level deal to close the 2022-23 season and immediately made his NHL debut with the Nucks, scoring a goal and posting a -2 rating in six games while averaging 9:19 per contest.
But this past season was a tough one for the 6’2″, 201-lb winger. He didn’t crack the Canucks’ roster out of camp and was assigned to AHL Abbotsford, where he remained the entire campaign. His offensive numbers on the farm weren’t up to expectations, limited to only 11 goals and 19 points in 58 games. It was enough of a letdown that Vancouver’s front office decided they’d seen enough of the prospect, deciding not to issue him a qualifying offer and let the 24-year-old reach the UFA market early.
Now, it’s up to McDonough to produce well on his minor-league deal. While he’s playing in the Panthers organization, Florida doesn’t acquire his signing rights with this move, and he can still sign with any NHL club.
Panthers Sign Nate Schmidt
July 3: The Panthers confirmed a one-year deal for Schmidt on Wednesday.
July 2: The Florida Panthers are reportedly nearing a contract with defenseman Nate Schmidt, per Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press (Twitter link). The deal was confirmed by Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff, who added that it will be a one-year, $800K contract (Twitter link).
This signing notably comes after Schmidt was bought out of the final season of his contract with the Winnipeg Jets. He was slated to count as $5.95MM against the salary cap – and was due $4.85MM in salary. He’ll take a substantial cut from that to join the reigning Stanley Cup champions.
The 32-year-old struggled badly last season, registering just two goals and 12 assists in 63 games in what was his worst offensive season since a one-year stay in Vancouver during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season. Schmidt spent three seasons with the Jets, with the last two being some of the most difficult seasons of his 11-year NHL career. While his stay in Winnipeg was largely unsuccessful, he will be reunited with former head coach Paul Maurice in Florida which factored heavily in his decision.
While Schmidt’s offensive numbers have fallen off in recent years, his underlying numbers remained strong last year. Schmidt continued to post strong possession numbers with a CF% of 52.9% at even strength and a FF% of 54.1% (as per Hockey Reference). As good as those underlying numbers were, Schmidt struggled badly in the playoffs posting a -5 in just three games.
Panthers Sign Anton Lundell To Six-Year Deal
The Panthers announced the signing of RFA center Anton Lundell to a six-year deal. It’s reportedly a $5MM cap hit for the 2024 Stanley Cup champion, per PuckPedia, who also has the full breakdown of the deal.
Lundell, 22, has been a rock-steady third-line center for the Cats for the past three seasons. He’s yet to recapture the rookie form that placed him sixth in Calder Trophy voting and even earned him Selke Trophy consideration in 2021-22, though. He needed a new contract this summer after giving the Panthers three years of high-end performance on his entry-level contract, carrying a dirt-cheap $925K cap hit.
He wasn’t a major factor offensively in Florida’s 110-point campaign last year, recording 13 goals and 35 points in 78 games. But he’s been a possession monster during his time in the pros, consistently averaging over 15 minutes per game. With Lundell on the ice this season, the Panthers controlled 56.4% of shot attempts and 53.2% of expected goals, the latter being a quite respectable career-low.
Lundell’s playmaking exploded in the playoffs this season, though, tying for second on the team with 14 assists in 24 games. He added three goals for 17 points and had a +8 rating, the highest among Florida forwards, as he played a key depth role in helping the Panthers win their first championship in franchise history.
$5MM annually is a decent chunk of change, though, especially for a player who projects to serve as their third-line center for quite a while. Captain Aleksander Barkov remains signed through 2030, and while Sam Bennett’s deal is up next summer, they’re already making significant progress on an extension. Lundell becomes their fourth highest-paid forward next season, only behind Barkov, Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk.
That center logjam will likely keep his minutes about where they are, limiting his potential for offensive growth. But he’s still among the best third-line pivots in the league and likely still has a bit more room to grow, making him a high-value bet in the 2C spot down the line if Bennett’s deal ends up being a short-term one.
Lundell will be a UFA upon expiry in 2030, along with Barkov and Tkachuk. His $30MM total value makes it the largest RFA contract GM Bill Zito has handed out while at the helm in Florida.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Panthers Announce Multi-Year TV Deal With Scripps Sports
- Add the Panthers to the list of teams departing the Bally Sports family of regional sports networks. Much like the Coyotes and Golden Knights last season, they’ll be partnering with Scripps Sports to facilitate the local broadcast of their games next season and beyond, per a team announcement yesterday.
Minor Free Agent Signings: Atlantic Division
With over 180 deals signed during the first day of free agency yesterday, some smaller names may have gotten lost in the shuffle. Here’s a list of names that have inked two-way deals with Atlantic Division clubs since the market opened yesterday, per CapFriendly. Some of these may have been included in our main coverage yesterday, while others went under the radar. All contracts carry the league-minimum $775K cap hit unless stated otherwise). Those listed here are likely to begin 2024-25 with each team’s AHL affiliate.
Boston Bruins
F Cole Koepke (one year)
D Jordan Oesterle (two years)
D Billy Sweezey (two years)
F Riley Tufte (one year)
F Jeffrey Viel (one year)
Buffalo Sabres
F Joshua Dunne (two years)
F Mason Jobst (one year)
F Brett Murray (one year)
D Jack Rathbone (one year)
G Felix Sandström (one year)
Detroit Red Wings
F Sheldon Dries (two years)
F Joe Snively (one year)
Florida Panthers
F Rasmus Asplund (one year)
Montreal Canadiens
none
Ottawa Senators
D Jeremy Davies (one year)
F Hayden Hodgson (one year)
F Garrett Pilon (two years)
D Filip Roos (one year)
Tampa Bay Lightning
D Derrick Pouliot (one year)
D Steven Santini (one year)
F Jesse Ylönen (one year)
Toronto Maple Leafs
none
Panthers Sign Jesper Boqvist, Chris Driedger
The Panthers have dipped their toes into the unqualified RFA market, inking former Bruins center Jesper Boqvist to a one-year deal, per a team announcement. Financial details weren’t disclosed. They’re also bringing back netminder Chris Driedger to the organization on a one-year deal, providing some competition for the backup role with Spencer Knight.
Boqvist, 25, was let go by Boston after recording six goals and 14 points in 47 games last year with a +12 rating. It’s his second straight year not receiving a qualifying offer. He was non-tendered by the Devils in 2023 as well.
The 2017 second-round pick has proven to be somewhat of a solid tertiary scorer, even if he’s been consistently buried in the lineup and is likely a fourth-line piece at his peak. He’s not a good option at center – he really struggles to win draws (36.1 FOW%), but he is an effective winger with good possession numbers over the past two seasons. That makes him a decent replacement for some of the depth forwards Florida lost on the open market today, such as Ryan Lomberg and Kevin Stenlund.
Driedger, meanwhile, could land his first stable NHL role in a while if he outperforms Knight in training camp. He was the Kraken’s expansion draft selection from Florida in 2021, but the three-year, $10.5MM extension he immediately signed in Seattle didn’t work out. Limited significantly by injuries in his first season, he ended up spending the back half of the deal almost exclusively in the minors on assignment to AHL Coachella Valley, where he’s backstopped the Firebirds to back-to-back Calder Cup Finals. His last extended NHL action with Seattle in 2021-22 wasn’t great, posting a .899 SV% and 2.96 GAA with one shutout in 27 games played.
However, the year prior saw him serve as one of the better backups in the league with Florida, tossing up a .927 SV% in 23 appearances. That’s eerily similar to the type of elite pinch-hitting performance they got from Anthony Stolarz last year, who moved onto the Maple Leafs on a two-year deal today. The Panthers will take a low-risk bet that Driedger can recapture the magic he last had in South Florida.