Leaving Jason Garrison on the market, the Panthers bring back defensemen Filip Kuba. Kuba was drafted 192nd overall (eighth round) in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft by Florida, and played only 18 games with the Panthers. Kuba spent the last four seasons with the Ottawa Senators, where he bounced back from a career low 16 points in 2010-11, to 32 in 2011-12 (thanks to playing with Norris winner Erik Karlsson).
Last season with Ottawa, Kuba averaged the second most ice time, and lead the Senators in shorthanded minutes at 3:23 (Ottawa’s PK% was 81.61, to Florida’s 79.50). Kuba’s cap hit is $4 Million for two seasons, a $300,000 raise from his last contract, and will be 36 in December. According to Goals Versus Salary (GVS), he’ll need to finish both seasons with a GVT of 10.5 (finished with a 10.6 in 08-09) to be worth that cap hit.
Cap comparisons and numbers after the jump
| Season | Team | Age | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | TOI | PPTOI | SHTOI | OGVT | DGVT | SGVT | GVT |
| 2009-10 | OTT | 32 | 53 | 3 | 25 | 28 | -5 | 22:51 | 3:30 | 2:32 | 4.3 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 6.0 |
| 2010-11 | OTT | 33 | 64 | 2 | 14 | 16 | -26 | 20:43 | 2:07 | 2:29 | -0.4 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 1.4 |
| 2011-12 | OTT | 34 | 73 | 6 | 26 | 32 | 26 | 18:14 | 1:58 | 3:23 | 4.1 | 5.1 | 0.0 | 9.2 |
Cap comparisons
- Tom Gilbert, Minnesota: 6 years, $4,000,000
- Tim Gleason, Carolina: 4 years, $4,000,000
- Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay: 5 years, $4,000,000
- Christian Ehrhoff, Buffalo: 10 years, $4,000,000