Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Gustav Forsling

Panthers To Focus On Extending Pending Free Agents

at CDT | by 1 Comment

ESPN’s Kevin Weekes tweeted today that he expects the Florida Panthers to turn their attention to their pending unrestricted free agents after missing out on signing forward Patrick Kane. The Panthers didn’t have much available cap space to sign the three-time Stanley Cup champion for this season and could face a shortage of it next summer when they try to negotiate long-term extensions with some of the top free agents available.

Sam Reinhart, Brandon Montour, and Gustav Forsling are all set to hit the market on July 1st, 2024, and could take a sizeable chunk of the $28.8MM in cap space the Panthers are projected to have available next summer.

Reinhart has scored at least 22 goals in six consecutive seasons and is coming off back-to-back 30-goal campaigns. He is currently on pace for the first 100-point season of his career, although it is early in the season. But if the 28-year-old can keep up a pace close to that he could be looking at a long-term deal in the range of $8MM-9MM annually.

Montour on the other hand is a difficult projection to make. He had 73 points last season in 80 games but has never topped 40 points in any other season during his eight-year NHL career. He missed the Panthers’ first 16 games of the season and has had a slow start offensively with just a single assist in five games thus far. He will most likely see a sharp increase on his next contract from the $3.5MM cap hit that he currently carries, but much of his future earning potential will be decided by the direction the rest of this season takes.

Forsling is the final high-profile free agent the Panthers will need to sign next summer and after a pair of solid seasons in Florida will be looking to cash in. The 27-year-old plays in all situations and has really seen his offensive game improve over the last couple of years. He is currently carrying a cap hit that is a shade over $2.6MM and could command an additional $3MM-$4MM per season given that he has proved he can be a top-pairing defenseman for the Panthers.

Florida will be hard-pressed to sign all three players as they will have other areas of need to consider going forward. Aaron Ekblad will be a free agent in the summer of 2025 as will Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe.

Panthers Notes: Ekblad, Sourdif, Bennett

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

PuckPedia tweeted that the Florida Panthers made a move today to officially place star defenseman Aaron Ekblad on the long-term injured reserve. The transaction has been months in the making, but the Panthers officially completed the paperwork today. Ekblad is expected to miss at least the first month of the season as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery.

The move gives the Panthers some breathing room under the salary cap allowing them to facilitate other moves. Florida will be without Ekblad and fellow defenseman Brandon Montour for quite some time which could lead to expanded roles for Gustav Forsling and newcomer Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

One note on LTIR is that once a player is placed on it, they must miss at least ten games and 24 days, which means the earliest Ekblad could return is the first week of November.

The 2014 first-overall pick saw his numbers dip last season as the Panthers marched to the Stanley Cup finals. And with the root cause of his injury unknown, one might wonder if a fully healthy Ekblad could be ready for a monster bounce-back season.

In other Panthers notes:

  • The Panthers announced that they have recalled forward Justin Sourdif from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. The recall comes mere hours after the team assigned the 21-year-old to the AHL along with veterans Zac Dalpe and Casey Fitzgerald. The Richmond, British Columbia native posted seven goals and 17 assists as a rookie last season in the AHL, dressing in 48 games. The Panthers open the regular season against the Minnesota Wild on October 12th.
  • Panthers forward Sam Bennett may be back in Florida’s lineup sooner than later as David Dwork of The Hockey News is reporting that the team is toying with the idea of bringing Bennett on their upcoming road trip. The 27-year-old has been ruled out of their season opener on Thursday but may travel with the team as they head up to Winnipeg for a game on Saturday and New Jersey next Monday. Bennett was seen in a walking boot on October 7th after being injured in a preseason game on October 5th, however, the injury doesn’t appear as severe as first reported.

Snapshots: Panthers, Nichushkin, Canucks

at CDT | by 5 Comments

While teams will be busy on July 1st trying to add free agents, some will also be trying to lock up their own players to early extensions.  In the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggests that the Panthers will be one trying to do the latter when it comes to defensemen Brandon Montour and Gustav Forsling, believing they’ll take a run at trying to lock both of them up early.  Montour had a breakout campaign this past season, picking up 73 points in 80 games.  His previous career-best in points came in 2021-22 when he had 37.  As for Forsling, he also set new benchmarks offensively across the board, picking up 41 points in 82 games while logging over 23 minutes a night.  The two players will make just under $6.2MM combined next season; it might cost more than twice that much to keep them around after that.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • Colorado winger Valeri Nichushkin will return to the team next season, a team spokesman confirmed to Kyle Frederickson of The Denver Gazette. The 28-year-old left the Avalanche during their first-round series against Colorado for what the team called personal reasons following an incident where a severely intoxicated woman was found in his hotel room.  He did not return during the rest of the series.  Nichushkin is not under police investigation for the incident.  After the season, GM Chris MacFarland indicated that he hoped that Nichushkin would be “a very important part of our team in the future” and with seven years remaining on his contract, they’ll be expecting him to be a core piece moving forward after picking up 99 points in 115 games over the last two seasons.
  • Following their buyout of Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Thomas Drance of The Athletic suggests (subscription link) that the move could impact Vancouver’s upcoming first-round pick. In order for the Canucks to get through the tough years of the buyout (2025-26 and 2026-27), they’re going to need some value contracts on the books.  Vancouver has the 11th-overall pick in the draft later this month and if they’re able to get someone that projects to be NHL-ready within two seasons, that would help ease the burden of the higher buyout cost.  It also might make them disinclined to consider trading down or out for win-now help that won’t be around (or as affordable) two years from now.

Gustav Forsling Added To COVID Protocol

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

One of the less talked about developments that have made the Florida Panthers such a deep, imposing team the last two seasons has been the progression of Gustav Forsling, a fifth-round pick snatched off waivers in early 2021. Forsling has become one of the most trusted defensemen on the Florida roster and is averaging over 21 minutes a night for the Panthers this year.

Unfortunately, they’ll need to find someone else to eat those minutes for the next few days as Forsling has been placed in the COVID protocol. He won’t play tomorrow against the Edmonton Oilers, and likely will be out against the Vancouver Canucks and Seattle Kraken, should he face the regular five-day isolation period.

Now 25, Forsling is in the first season of a three-year deal signed last July that carries a cap hit of just $2.67MM through 2023-24. That’s an incredible bargain for a defenseman that is eating incredibly tough defensive deployment and yet still has 19 points in 34 games. The Panthers have outscored their opponents 43-25 at even-strength this season despite the defenseman starting just 39 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone. Without him, a player like Olli Juolevi will have to step into a bigger role after playing a little over 15 minutes against the Calgary Flames yesterday.

Florida Panthers Re-Sign Gustav Forsling

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Florida Panthers have bought out one defenseman and signed another. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that the Panthers have signed Gustav Forsling to a three-year extension. The contract will carry an average annual value of $2.66MM and carries Forsling into unrestricted free agency. PuckPedia gives the full breakdown:

  • 2021-22: $1.5MM salary + $500K signing bonus
  • 2022-23: $2.5MM salary
  • 2023-24: $3.5MM salary

A move like this signals how the Panthers intend to approach the upcoming expansion draft, as the earlier buyout of Keith Yandle opens up a protection slot for another defenseman. Forsling will surely be that defenseman after passing some of the more veteran options on the depth chart this year. In 43 games, Forsling registered 17 points and averaged 20 minutes a night, more than Anton Stralman, Radko Gudas, Markus Nutivaara, or Yandle. He, Mackenzie Weegar and Aaron Ekblad were the three options that head coach Joel Quenneville leaned on the most, and Forsling is getting nicely rewarded for his strong play.

Throughout his career to this point, Forsling has only ever signed two-way contracts, earning less than $900K in the NHL. This deal is worth nearly three times that much, but does buy out one year of unrestricted free agent status. The question now becomes who will Forsling play with, as Brandon Montour is an unrestricted free agent and one of the other veteran options will likely be snagged in the expansion draft.

The Panthers have several other key free agents to sign, including RFAs Sam Bennett and Anthony Duclair. Things will be busy for GM Bill Zito and his staff, who also have to navigate an expansion draft, an entry draft and unrestricted free agency in the next few weeks.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Trade Rumors: Hall, Flyers, Panthers

at CDT | by 9 Comments

While he stopped short of stating that there is a lot of interest in Buffalo Sabres winger Taylor Hall, TSN’s Darren Dreger noted on “Insider Trading” this evening that the team is receiving different varieties of offers for the former MVP. While some teams see Hall strictly as a rental, Dreger reports that GM Kevyn Adams has also received calls from teams with interest in a trade-and-sign potential. Despite Hall’s struggles this season, it seems that there are clubs who still believe in his long-term value once he escapes Buffalo. Normally, these teams would not necessarily need to inform the opposing GM of their post-trade intentions. However, given Hall’s No-Movement Clause there seems to be more transparency from suitors in hopes that Hall would waive to come to their team. Dreger relays that Adams and Hall’s agent, Darren Ferris, recently met to discuss these offers as well as those from teams who have not yet expressed interest in an extended relationship with Hall.

GM, agent, and player will all need to be on the same page for a deal to get done, but Hall has already stated that he is open to waiving his NMC for the right move, so it seems likely that he will end up traded. Yet, don’t be surprised if the deal doesn’t happen until deadline day. Dreger believes that Adams could hold on to Hall as long as he can, allowing Hall’s pro-rated cap hit to decrease as much as possible, as a tactic to improve or at least maintain his trade value. With so many team’s facing a salary cap crunch, a cheaper Hall is a more valuable Hall. To this point, it seems teams have balked at Buffalo’s first-round price tag for Hall, but their best chance of netting that return will likely be on deadline day.

  • As young Carter Hart continues to struggle this season, it is becoming more and more likely that the Philadelphia Flyers will have to add another goalie if they want to compete for a playoff spot down the stretch. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that they are certainly considering a move, but have not made a decision yet. While the numbers for Hart as well as Brian Elliott are not appealing so far this season, bringing in a third netminder is not a simple decision. The Flyers would need to have the cap flexibility to carry three goalies and would also need to consider the mental status of Hart if they were to essentially bump the season-opening starter to a third-string role. LeBrun believes that Philadelphia will wait as long as possible to make a deal, hoping that their current tandem improves but also in order to take a realistic look at their playoff chances at the deadline and weigh whether a move in worth it. If the Flyers do opt to seek another goalie, LeBrun notes that the name they are being linked to is Detroit Red Wings veteran Jonathan Bernier.
  • It would surprise no one to hear that the Florida Panthers are looking for a defenseman in light of the season-ending injury suffered by stalwart Aaron Ekblad. However, Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards reports that the team was actually scouring the market for a top-four blue liner even before Ekblad’s injury, which only served to up their efforts. The Panthers had enjoyed strong seasons from Ekblad, MacKenzie Weegar, and Keith Yandle and had not hesitated to give considerable play time to Anton Stralman, Gustav Forsling, and Radko Gudas as well. However, the team recently waived Stralman, which just goes to show how much they value his contribution so far this season. And while Yandle and Gudas have played well, the two are somewhat of specialists, only excelling at one end of the ice. With Ekblad gone, the Panthers will have to rely on Weegar and Forsling as their most complete defensemen and neither has the experience needed to lead a contender on a deep playoff run. It is likely this concern that prompted a search even before Ekblad went down.

Central Notes: Cirelli, Cernak, Mrazek, Gudas, Forsling

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Tampa Bay will have one of their top forwards back in the lineup tonight as Anthony Cirelli is expected to play against Dallas, relays Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link).  The 23-year-old has missed the last six games due to an upper-body injury and was off to a big start before it occurred, notching four goals and six assists in his first dozen games.  With the Lightning carrying a minimum-sized roster, they won’t have to make a corresponding roster move to get him activated.

Meanwhile, despite leaving Thursday’s victory over Carolina early with his lower-body injury, the Lightning will also have defenseman Erik Cernak in their lineup.  He’s logging more than 18 minutes per game on their back end so far this season and his availability means that they can hold Luke Schenn down on their taxi squad, extending his waiver exemption in the process.

More from the Central Division:

  • It appears that Carolina’s wait to get their starting goalie back is almost over. GM Don Waddell told Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News and Observer (Twitter link) that the Hurricanes are targeting next Sunday’s game against Florida for Petr Mrazek to make his return from a thumb injury sustained late last month that required surgery.  Carolina has actually done relatively well without Mrazek in the lineup, winning nine of 15 games since he was injured (including the game it occurred) but having their number one back in the fold will give them a nice boost as they look to work their way up the division.
  • Florida will have defenseman Radko Gudas back in their lineup tonight versus Carolina, notes Jameson Olive of the Panthers’ team website (Twitter link). He was a late scratch on Thursday night due to an upper-body injury.  Gudas is fifth on the team in ATOI by a defender, logging just over 17 minutes per game in his first season in Florida.  Meanwhile, they’ll be without Gustav Forsling due to a lower-body issue.  The early-season waiver claim has been held off the scoresheet in eight games so far this season.

Keith Yandle Available For Trade, Will Not Play For Panthers This Season

at CDT | by 28 Comments

The Florida Panthers have made the major decision to move away from one of their veteran leaders. Appearing on TSN’s “Insider Trading”, Frank Seravalli states that the Panthers have told Keith Yandle that he is not in their plans for this season. This appears to be a mere personnel choice for Florida and new GM Bill Zito, as Seravalli reports that he has simply “fallen out of favor”.

However, Yandle’s current contract – a seven-year, $44.5MM pact with three years remaining – contains a full No-Movement Clause. He cannot be placed on waivers without his permission, nor can he be traded without approving the deal. As a result, the only plan for now appears to be making him a healthy scratch. While this will sadly mean the end of Yandle’s NHL-best 866-game “iron man” consecutive games played streak, he will still be a member of the team getting paid in full for his (lack of) services. That clearly cannot last for the Panthers.

Florida has overhauled their blue line this off-season, acquiring Radko Gudas and Markus Nutivaara and more recently claiming Gustav Forsling and Noah Juulsen off of waivers. They appear to content to move forward with this younger, new-look group. That should not however be read as an indictment of Yandle’s ability. The 34-year-old is still a very capable puck-moving defenseman who recorded 45 points in 69 games last season. In terms of per-game scoring, it was right in line with some of Yandle’s best offensive seasons. The veteran is obviously durable, but he is also consistent, good for 40+ points in each of his nine 82-game seasons.  Yandle may be just 24 games away from 1,000 for his career, but he has not lost a step.

A skilled and experienced defenseman who is respected across the league and has shown no signs of slowing down, Yandle should draw trade interest. Even in a season where money is tight and trades are expected to be scarce, the chance to bring in a reliable play-maker like Yandle should intrigue a number of teams. Due to his high salary cap hit and extended term, the Panthers may be required to take back a bad contract or eat a significant portion of Yandle’s salary. However, they have put themselves in this position by publicly moving on from a good player who is still under contract with restrictive terms, hurting their bargaining power. How this situation shakes out will be a major story in the early part of this new season.

Panthers Claim Gustav Forsling Off Waivers

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Panthers have added some depth on the back end as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they have claimed defenseman Gustav Forsling off waivers from Carolina.

The 24-year-old actually cleared waivers last season and spent the entirety of the 2019-20 season in the minors with AHL Charlotte.  Forsling, never known for his offensive prowess, had a decent campaign in terms of point production, putting up eight goals and 18 assists in 56 games with the Checkers before the pandemic shut down the rest of the season.

While he was in the minors all of last year, Forsling does have 122 career games of NHL experience, all with Chicago from 2016-17 through 2018-19 with most of those coming under Joel Quenneville, now the head coach of the Panthers.  He averaged more than 17 minutes per game and it’s quite possible that he’ll be able to hold his own in a third-pairing role with Florida.  Having said that, Forsling likely slots in as the seventh or eighth defender on the depth chart so he may need to wait for some injuries to arise to get his chance with his new team.

Large Group Of Players Placed On Waivers

at CDT | by 8 Comments

With just a few days before the start of the regular season, a huge number of players have been placed on waivers. The full list includes:

Anaheim Ducks: 

Anthony Stolarz
Andy Welinski
Christian Djoos
Andrew Poturalski
Chase De Leo
Vinni Lettieri
Sam Carrick
Andrew Agozzino
David Backes

Carolina Hurricanes:

Antoine Bibeau
Steven Lorentz
Spencer Smallman
Jeremy Bracco
Gustav Forsling
Drew Shore
Max McCormick

Colorado Avalanche:

Jacob MacDonald
Dan Renouf
Kyle Burroughs
Mike Vecchione
T.J. Tynan
Miikka Salomaki
Jayson Megna
Sheldon Dries

Toronto Maple Leafs:

Nic Petan

These massive waiver placements are no different than the normal training camp cuts that would occur in late-September in a normal year. Should they clear, these players will be eligible to report to the taxi squad or AHL. There are a few names that stand out from the crowd though.

Backes, a veteran of 950 NHL games, still carries a $6MM cap hit on the final season of the five-year, $30MM contract he signed with the Boston Bruins in 2016. As Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports, this is not a move by the Ducks to try and rid themselves of Backes, but create some additional flexibility. At any rate, his contract basically makes him waiver-proof as no other team would want to take it on at this point in the season.

Bracco, a former top prospect that scored 79 points in 75 games for the Toronto Marlies of the AHL as recently as 2018-19, has seen his development stall and finds himself on the outside looking in for the Hurricanes once again. Djoos, once an up-and-coming defenseman in the Washington Capitals system, is now 26 and available to the whole league, should they want to take a chance.

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

scroll to top