ESPN went through the NHL’s 31 teams and categorized them based on offseason improvement. The Florida Panthers were placed in the second tier Good, if things break right along with the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Vegas Golden Knights.
Writer Greg Wyshynski had this to say about the Cats:
The Panthers, from the players to the front office, insist that the bizarre cyberbullying scandal that hastened the departure of winger Mike Hoffman (involving his fiancée Monika Caryk and Melinda Karlsson, wife of Erik) will not follow him to South Florida. Assuming everything off the ice is quiet, the Panthers could make some noise after having acquired a player with 77 goals in his last three seasons.
Check out the entire article here on ESPN.
***
Restricted free agent forward Jimmy Vesey has reached agreement on a new two-year contract with the New York Rangers. The 25-year-old will make $2.275 million per season. (Blueshirt Banter)
The Rangers also re-signed defensemen Chris Bigras and John Gilmour to one-year, two-way contracts. (Blueshirt Banter)
The New Jersey Devils were busy yesterday, signing center Yegor Sharangovich to an entry-level contract; left wing Blake Coleman got a new three-year, $5.4 million deal; and right wing Stefan Noesen avoided arbitration by signing a one-year contract worth $1.725 million. (All About The Jersey)
Speaking of busy, the New York Islanders also took care of some business by signing defenseman Ryan Pulock to a new two-year pact worth $4 million. Fellow blueliners Devon Toews and Kyle Burroughs each signed two-year contracts with the club. Burroughs’ is a two-way deal. (Lighthouse Hockey)
The Edmonton Oilers signed defenseman Evan Bouchard to an entry-level contract. Edmonton took Bouchard with the 10th overall pick in 2018 Entry Draft. (The Copper & Blue)
Tomas Nosek inked a new one-year, one-way deal with the Vegas Golden Knights. Nosek scored 7 goals for Vegas after being picked up from Detroit in the expansion draft. (Knights On Ice)
The Dallas Stars signed defenseman Dillon Heatherington to a one-year, two-way contract. Heatherington played six games for the Stars last season. (Dallas News)
Left wing Nicholas Paul signed a one-year, two-way deal to remain with the Ottawa Senators. Paul has played 36 games for the Sens over three seasons. (Silver Seven Sens)
The Anaheim Ducks inked defenseman Andy Welinski to a one-year, two-way contract. Welinski appeared in 7 games with Ducks last season and collected 2 assists. (Sportsnet)