Bill Zito

The Florida Panthers have signed prospect Evan Nause to his three-year entry-level contract, a year after he was selected 56th overall in the 2021 NHL Draft. General manager Bill Zito released a short statement:

Evan is a talented young defenseman who has flourished in his two seasons in junior hockey. We’re pleased to have him in our system and are looking forward to watching him continue to develop.

Nause, 19, was a huge part of the Quebec Remparts success this season, scoring 46 points in 59 games while using his long reach to control the game from the back end. When Scott Wheeler of The Athletic detailed the Panthers’ prospect pool earlier this year, he put the QMJHL defenseman seventh, noting that the team had been asking a lot of him in his own end.

That development at the defensive end of the rink will be the key for Neuse, as he likely won’t play a huge offensive role if he makes it to the NHL, even if he is performing well in junior at that end. It does beg the question of whether the Panthers would actually prefer him to be in the AHL this season but since he is still just 19, he isn’t eligible for that.

Luckily, this also means that his entry-level deal won’t kick in this season (unless he somehow makes the Panthers roster out of camp), sliding forward and starting in 2023-24.

A few minutes later, the team also announced a contract for minor league forward Gerald Mayhew. The two sides have agreed on a one-year, two-way contract for the 29-year-old.

Mayhew is one of the most consistent goal-scorers in the minor leagues and actually has a history of scoring at the NHL level as well. In 57 career games he has 13 goals, including five in just 15 contests this season with the Anaheim Ducks. While he shouldn’t be considered an impact player at this point, his addition certainly gives the Panthers a bit of extra scoring punch among their depth options.

The Florida Panthers have made a splash in the undrafted free agent market today, signing 21-year-old defenseman Nathan Staios to a three-year entry-level contract.

General manager Bill Zito gave the following statement on Staios’ acquisition:

Nathan is a highly skilled defenseman who possesses an excellent playmaking ability. This past season, he established himself as one of the best defenders in junior hockey and we are excited that he will continue his career within our organization.

Staios, 21, was being pursued by several clubs after his excellent overage season with the Hamilton Bulldogs, where he scored 66 points in 59 games and helped them to the Memorial Cup.

The son of long-time NHLer Steve Staios, this defenseman holds a bit more offensive upside than his dad. He’ll join a Panthers program that will need cheap options in the coming years as their high-end offensive talent continues to increase in cost.

The Florida Panthers have announced a new two-year contract for Eetu Luostarinen, avoiding restricted free agency with the young forward. Puck Pedia reports the deal carries a $1.5MM cap hit, paid in full base salary each season. The team also inked defenseman Lucas Carlsson to a one-year, two-way contract to avoid restricted free agency, which CapFriendlyNo contract details were included. has an $800,000 cap hit and $300,000 minor salary with $400,000 guaranteed.

General manager Bill Zito did release a statement on the two players:

Eetu is a selfless, dependable and cerebral player who plays with consistency each and every night. We are excited to have him back in our lineup for the upcoming campaign.

Lucas is an effective two-way defenseman who possesses a high compete level. We are pleased that he will remain a part of our organization as we head into next season.

Luostarinen may not be a household name yet but he was an important piece for the Panthers this season, offering versatility and size to the bottom six. The 23-year-old center scored nine goals and 26 points in 78 games, averaging just over 13 minutes a night while racking up more than 100 hits. Averaging more short-handed ice time than any forward not named Aleksander Barkov or Anton Lundell, his role is integral to the machine that Zito and the Panthers have built, even if it’s hard to see much more offensive production coming in the future.

Selected 42nd overall by the Carolina Hurricanes, Luostarinen was part of the Vincent Trocheck trade in 2020 and quickly showed that he could handle himself at the NHL level. It’s not to say more offense is impossible from the 6’3″ forward, just that his role in Florida is likely to stay limited to defensive minutes for the time being. The team has so many established offensive players ahead of him that his deployment will likely stay heavily skewed to his own end of the rink, tasked with protecting the lead and taking some of the defensive burdens off of Barkov.

A two-year deal will leave Luostarinen as a restricted free agent in the summer of 2024, though by then he will be eligible for arbitration.

Carlsson worked his way into 40 NHL games this season and is Florida’s likely go-to man for their seventh defenseman spot. In his first “full” NHL campaign, Carlsson averaged just 12:43 per game but managed three goals and six points.

The Florida Panthers have agreed to terms with Justin Sourdif on his three-year, entry-level contract. The young forward was one of the team’s 2020 draft selections and is at training camp with the team currently. The deal will carry a cap hit of $870K in the NHL according to CapFriendly. Panthers GM Bill Zito released a short statement on his newest player:

Justin is a dynamic forward who plays the game with speed and skill. He demonstrated his abilities as a playmaker in the WHL and we look forward to his development within our organization.

Sourdif, 19, was the 87th player selected last October, and spent this season back with his WHL Vancouver Giants. It was something of a breakout campaign for the right-handed forward, who scored 11 goals and 34 points in 22 games. That was the first time Sourdif had even been a point-per-game player at the junior level, signaling just how much of a jump he has made since his draft. He was even one of the players invited to Canada’s World Junior camp this summer, though the forward group for the upcoming tournament is going to be difficult to crack.

It’s not that a breakout was totally unforeseen. Sourdif had obvious talent, but his consistency wavered at times during the early part of his junior career. Despite just 54 points in 57 games during his draft year, he was still ranked 23rd among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting. Some even believed he could be a late first-round selection if a team fell in love with the offensive upside, though he eventually did fall to the third round. If the Panthers can develop that talent correctly, there’s a chance they could have an impact player on their hands. That is still several years down the road though, as Sourdif will return to the WHL this season to build on that shortened 2020-21 campaign.