Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

James Reimer

Panthers Notes: MacKenzie, Reimer, Huberdeau

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Today marked another long-term extension for the Panthers, as the team locked up 25-year old Reilly Smith for another five seasons. It’s the latest in a series of big moves the Panthers have done as they build their team to compete for the short and long term.  In a series of tweets, play-by-play announcer and Fox Sports Florida reporter Steve Goldstein gives us some insight into the rest of their summer:

  • Assistant captain Derek MacKenzie is currently an unrestricted free agent but seems destined to head back to Florida at some point. Goldstein describes it as a formality, and expects him to be around for the next few seasons. MacKenzie is regarded highly in the Panther dressing room, and provides some toughness to their bottom six.
  • Newly signed goaltender James Reimer may play in as many as 35 games this season even without an injury to starter Roberto Luongo.  With Luongo’s advanced age, the team will look to protect him for a long playoff run. Reimer signed for five seasons and is expected to take the reins at some point down the road.
  • GM Tom Rowe expects to get a long-term extension done at some point with forward Jonathan Huberdeau.  The former third overall pick represents the last of the young group Florida has built, and due to some savvy cap management, the team will have money for him going forward.  Huberdeau scored 20 goals and tied for third on the team in points last season with 59.

Panthers Extend Reilly Smith For Five Years

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Clearly the biggest players in free agency this year, the Florida Panthers are close to another move to lock up their young core. Gary Lawless of TSN was first to report that the team was close to an extension with forward Reilly Smith that would pay him $5MM a season for an additional five years.  The team has since confirmed the length of the deal, though not the financial details.

In just the past few weeks, the team has traded for then signed Keith Yandle, dealt away Dmitry Kulikov, given extensions to Aaron Ekblad and Vincent Trocheck, signed free agents Jason Demers and James Reimer, and pretty much owned the hockey world.

Smith, 25, had an excellent season last year with the Panthers, scoring 25 goals and 50 points. The former third round pick has had quite a start to his career, putting up at least 40 points in each of his first three full seasons. The talented young winger came over to Florida in the deal that saw them take on Marc Savard’s cap-hit from the Bruins, one that they recently dealt to New Jersey for some cap relief of their own.

The Panthers have been on quite a clear path lately, trying to push past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 1996, the year they lost in the Cup finals to Colorado. After being knocked out by the New York Islanders last season, the team has made clear upgrades to their defensive group, and should have one of the better top pairings in the league with Ekblad and Yandle signed long-term.

Smith is still under contract for next season at a $3.43MM cap hit, meaning that a five-year extension would take him through the 2021-22 season.  Perhaps not coincidentally, that is also when Trocheck and Aleksander Barkov will hit free agency, giving the team a chance to re-tool if they need to at that point.

If the financials are true, it would mean the Panthers have four young forwards under contract long-term for less than $6MM apiece in Barkov, Trocheck, Smith and Nick Bjugstad. All 25 or under, that quartet scored 93 goals last season. Next on the to-do list would be Jonathan Huberdeau, the former third overall pick who put up 20 goals of his own last season.  He’s due $3.25MM next year before becoming an arbitration-eligible RFA next summer.

James Reimer Signs 5-Year Deal With Florida

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Free agent netminder James Reimer has agreed to a deal with the Florida Panthers that will see him earn $3.4MM per year over the next five seasons, according to General Fanager.

The deal comes as somewhat of a surprise considering the Panthers already have Roberto Luongo under contract for the next six years with a cap hit just over $4.5MM.  This locks up their goalie tandem for the rest of the decade while giving the Panthers a backup goalie capable of playing more than 15-20 games which could useful as Luongo ages.

Last season, Reimer had his best year, split between Toronto and San Jose.  Between the two teams, he posted a 17-14-7 record with a 2.31 GAA and a .922 SV% with three shutouts.

In his career, the 28 year old has played in 215 games, collecting a 91-78-23 record with a 2.78 GAA and a .914 SV%.

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

scroll to top