Welcome to all as we embark on another summer of free agent signings. While Florida Panthers general manager Bill Zito doesn’t have a ton cap space to work, he does have more than last season, so he should be able to bring in some quality players to fill out the club’s roster for the 2023-24 season.
Yesterday the Panthers extended qualifying offers to restricted free agents Grigori Denisenko, Aleski Heponiemi, Logan Hutsko and John Ludvig. That means Colin White, Givani Smith, Serron Noel, Max Gildon and Evan Fitzpatrick will join the growing ranks of unrestricted free agents.
What are the Cats looking for? Defensemen, defensemen, defensemen – only four NHL defenders are currently under contract and Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour are expected to miss the start of the season – this area could also be address by trade, a fourth line center and bottom-six wingers.
If you’ve been with us for any of our past “Free Agent Frenzy” threads you’ll be familiar with the surroundings: post your own thoughts, reactions, any rumors that catch your eye (please source them), favorite breakfast or lunch spot, what have you. Whether it’s about the NHL in general or the Panthers in particular, feel free to share it.
The free agent fireworks begin at 12 p.m. ET, so keep your seeing orbs glued to the interweb so you don’t miss anything.
– Yahoo’s Top 30 Unrestricted Free Agents
– Florida’s salary/roster situation courtesy of CapFriendly
Breaking – The Panthers have signed:
- Niko Mikkola for three years / $2.5 million AAV
- Oliver Ekman-Larsson for one year / $2.25 million
- Anthony Stolarz for one year /$1.1 million
- Kevin Stenlund for one year / $1 million
- Mike Reilly for one year / $1 million
- Dmitry Kulikov for one year / $1 million
- Grigori Denisenko for two years / $775 AAV
- Lucas Carlsson for one year / $775 AAV (two-way deal)
Florida’s current unrestricted free agents:
- Radko Gudas – signed with Anaheim
- Eric Staal
- Marc Staal
- Colin White
- Givani Smith – signed with San Jose
- Alex Lyon – signed with Detroit
- Casey Fitzgerald
- Serron Noel
- Max Gildon
- Evan Fitzpatrick
Usual Twitter Suspects:
- Frank Seravelli (DailyFaceoff)
- Elliotte Friedman (Sportsnet)
- Pierre LeBrun (TSN)
- Jameson Olive (Florida Panthers)
- George Richards (Florida Hockey Now)
- Panthers Official
- NHL Rumors