According to Sun Sentinel beat writer Harvey Fialkov, the Florida Panthers have re-upped RFAs Connor Brickley and Sam Brittain, signing the pair to one-year, two-way deals. It has also been reported that club signed defenseman Ian McCoshen to a three-year, entry-level contract.
The team has yet to officially announced the deals. Brickley’s contract is the only one to post to the always helpful generalfanger.com. They are reporting that his NHL salary will be $650K.
Brickley, 24, was drafted by the Florida in the second round (50th overall) of the 2010 Entry Draft. After spending his first two pro seasons in the AHL with the San Antonio Rampage, Brickley split time between the Panthers and Portland Pirates last year. In 23 games with the Cats, Connor scored his first NHL goal and added four assists. He scored 12 goals and 27 points in 45 regular season games with the Pirates. He collected one assist in Portland’s opening-round playoff loss to Hershey.
Brittain, 24, appeared in 25 games last season for the Pirates, posting an 8-10-3 record, 2.79 GAA and .906 save percentage. I would expect he will again fill the back-up role for Portland behind veteran starter Mike McKenna. It will be interesting to see if he gets more starts this season or if he’s simply seen as a stopgap until Samuel Montembeault turns pro.
McCoshen, a second-round selection (31st overall) in 2013, spent the last three years with the NCAA’s Boston College Eagles. Last season, he scored 6 goals and 15 assists in 40 games as the Eagles advanced to the Frozen Four before being eliminated by Quinnipiac. Like fellow BC alum, Michael Matheson, the highly touted McCoshen will probably need a little bit of seasoning in the AHL, but look for him to be in the NHL with the big club in the near future.