The Florida Panthers were ranked fourth, behind the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils and Dallas Stars in Sportsnet’s Who’s improved most (so far)? article, with writer Luke Fox having this to say:
So much time has passed since the Panthers came up short of the playoffs, you may have forgotten they landed one of the greatest free agents of the off-season: future Hall of Famer Joel Quenneville. Dale Tallon missed out on Artemi Panarin, but he saved money through Roberto Luongo’s retirement, solidified his crease (at an overpay, IMHO) with the best goalie available, Sergei Bobrovsky, and complemented his depth and experience with 22-goal man Brett Connolly as well as defender Anton Stralman. The Cats will make the dance.
In some other organizational news, the Springfield Thunderbirds that they will host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the club’s home opener on Saturday, October 5 at 7:05 p.m. at MassMutual Center.
Hockey Headlines
We’ll start with some more T-Birds. The Cats farm team announced they have signed defenseman Will Lochead to a one-year, one-way AHL contract. Lochead recently participated in the Panthers development camp. (Thunderbirds)
The Buffalo Sabres have acquired defenseman Henri Jokiharju from the Chicago Blackhawks for forward Alexander Nylander. (Die By The Blade) (Second City Hockey)
The Boston Bruins and forward Danton Heinen have avoided arbitration with a two-year deal with an Average Annual Value of $2.8 million. Heinen produced 34 points in 77 games last season. (NESN)
Is it time for former NHL coach and Canadian broadcasting icon Don Cherry to call it quits? (Pension Plan Puppets)
The Vegas Golden Knights signed Malcolm Subban to a new one-year contract, avoiding arbitration with the 25-year-old goaltender. (Knights On Ice)
In some sad news, former NHLer Greg Johnson, once captain of the Nashville Predators, passed away at the young age of 48. RIP, Greg. (USA Today)