Busy day as Florida Panthers re-up Rallo and Caruso; add NCAA defender Tony Turgeon; release preseason schedule

The Florida Panthers continued to hand out contracts yesterday, signing college defensemen Tony Turgeon to a minor-league contract while re-signing center Greg Rallo and defender Michael Caruso to one year, two-way deals.

Rallo appeared in 66 games with the San Antonio Rampage last season, finishing with 40 points including a team-leading 23 goals. The 31-year-old veteran suited up for ten games with the Panthers and notched his first NHL goal on April 2nd against Mathieu Garon and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Caruso, who was originally drafted by the Cats back in 2006, appeared in only 35 games with the Rampage last season due to suffering a broken arm. He scored one goal, added three assists and finished with a -2 rating. The 25-year-old, who now has 318 games of AHL experience, also played in his first two NHL games with the Panthers. He suited up for the opening-night 5-2 win over Carolina and again in a 4-1 loss to Montreal on January 22nd.

Undrafted free-agent Tony Turgeon was signed to an AHL contract by the Panthers organization after turning in an impressive performance at the club’s recent development camp. The physical 232 lb defenseman put in three years at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, totaling six assists while racking up 169 PIM in 62 regular season games. Before attending college, Turgeon played a seaon with the USHL’s Waterloo Blackhawks.

Update: Defenseman John Lee, a fifth-round Panthers’ selection in 2007, was re-signed by the Rampage and San Antonio also added defender Dennis Urban, a former member of the San Jose Sharks organization, to the fold.

The Panthers also announced their preseason schedule which will kick off with a double-header against the Nashville Predators on September 16th at the BB&T Center.

2013 PRESEASON SCHEDULE