The Florida Panthers spent some serious coin and added four new players on July 1 and have added more organizational depth for the Springfield Thunderbirds since then.
There are still some questions regarding backup goalie, which for now looks to be prospect Samuel Montembeault, and perhaps adding another defenseman and/or a gritty penalty-killing type forward or two. The Panthers have around $5 million of cap space left (prior to signing its remaining RFAs) if they want to look outside the organization to shore up the bottom of the lineup.
The folks at The Hockey News liked what the Cats did in free agency and think they have a good shot at making the postseason.
Hockey Headlines from the Atlantic Division
Dylan Cozens went seventh overall to the Buffalo Sabres and promptly suffered a thumb injury at development camp. (Die By The Blade)
Will Marc Bergevin’s unsuccessful offer sheet for Sebastien Aho help him gets a couple of own players signed? (Eyes On The Prize)
The Boston Bruins didn’t have much cap space to work with so they had a relatively quiet July 1. (Stanley Cup of Chowder)
Katya Knappe takes a look at the negative aspects of the Nadim Kadri – Tyson Barrie trade. (Pension Plan Puppets)
After picking up Nikita Zaitsev, Connor Brown and Michael Carcone via trade, the Ottawa Senators signed former Maple Leafs Tyler Ennis and Ron Hainsey. (Silver Seven Sens)
The Tampa Bay Lightning surprised people by signing goaltender Curtis McElhinney on Monday. Now, they have added Scott Wedgewood to fold. (Raw Charge)
A look at Steve Yzerman’s first draft as the GM of the Detroit Red Wings. (Winging It In Motown)
The Free Agent Frenzy may have cooled down, but there are still some quality players out there. (Sportsnet)