Panthers have $21M in cap space, big needs to fill
It’s certainly cliche, but calling the Panthers’ free agency picture “a puzzle,” as Bill Zito did Monday, might be the only way to describe it this year.
The Panthers only have 12 players under contract for next season. Two of the top 10 free agents on the market — and probably one more in the top 20 or so — spent last season with Florida. Two of the top five free agents available are star defensemen — the Panthers’ biggest position of need — and all those free agents leaving Florida means the Panthers have more than $21 million in cap space available.
“As many of you have, we’ve anticipated, potentially, many different scenarios,” Zito said, “and literally planned out a couple different scenarios of what-ifs or what could possibly happen with regard to free agency, so we’ve been on top of that, trying to at least plan for different opportunities that may present themselves to us within the context of our roster.”
Zito, who took over as general manager in September, has already been able to put some of his mark on this roster. He traded three players in the past month, brought in right wing Patric Hornqvist via a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins and selected nine players in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft on Tuesday and Wednesday. He even made another trade Thursday, dealing right wing prospect Cliff Pu to the Columbus Blue Jackets for defenseman Markus Nutivaara.
On Wednesday, Zito also made qualifying offers to six restricted free agents — goaltender Sam Montembeault, defenseman MacKenzie Weegar and centers Aleksi Saarela and Henrik Borgstrom. He did not make qualifying offers, however, to Lucas Wallmark, Dominic Toninato or Dryden Hunt, leaving the three forwards to become unrestricted free agents.
Even if all six restricted free agents return, Florida has more than enough flexibility to remake the roster to Zito’s liking after the Panthers once again missed the traditional 16team Stanley Cup playoffs
last season.
THE PANTHERS’ KEY FREE AGENTS
While Florida stumbled through a qualifying-round loss to the New York Islanders in the NHL’s expanded 2020 postseason, the Panthers had pretty much one reliable offensive set. On the power play, Florida would shuffle the puck to the right faceoff circle, where Mike Hoffman was perched for a tough-angle slap shot. The winger, who was third on the Panthers in points in the regular season, wound up leading Florida in the playoffs with three goals and five points in four games.
He emerged as a reliable complementary piece next to center Aleksander Barkov and All-Star left wing Jonathan Huberdeau, and it makes him one of the most intriguing free agents on the market this offseason.
Sports Illustrated’s The Hockey News ranks him as the No. 4 free agent available and fellow winger Evgenii Dadonov, the Panthers’ fourth-leading scorer, as No. 6. Both are among the most prolific goal-scorers at their positions, and frequently got opportunities on Florida’s top line next to Barkov and Huberdeau.
Forward Erik Haula, who joined the Panthers in a February trade with the Carolina Hurricanes and slotted in as their secondline center, is also a free agent.
After missing the Cup playoffs for the fourth consecutive season and seventh time in eight years, the group of forwards surrounding Barkov and Huberdeau could be vastly different in 2021, and Zito has already shown he’s willing to use the trade market to reshape the roster.
PANTHERS’ POTENTIAL FREE AGENT TARGETS
Florida was not shy about spending big last offseason to fill a glaring need. The Panthers handed Sergei Bobrovsky a seven-year, $70-million deal, hoping a premier goaltender would fix their leaky defense. It did not go well.
Whether this will deter owner Vincent Viola from spending big again in 2020 remains to be seen.
Florida’s offense wasn’t the issue last season, ranking sixth in the league at 3.30 goals per game. The defense, though, was tied for third-worst at 3.25 goals allowed per game.
Two of the three most high-profile free agents available are on defense. Alex Pietrangelo, 30, was an All-Star last season with the St. Louis Blues and helped lead them to a Stanley Cup in 2019. He might not go anywhere.
Torey Krug, 29, is a pretty good consolation prize. He seems likely to leave the Boston Bruins after they made an underwhelming offer.
Other potential top defensemen on the market include Tyson Barrie of the Maple Leafs, Sami Vatanen of the Hurricanes, Kevin Shattenkirk of the Tampa Bay Lightning and TJ Brodie and Erik Gustafsson of the Calgary Flames.
Outside of defensemen, the market also includes a former Hart Memorial Trophy winner in Arizona Coyotes wing Taylor Hall and a few star goaltenders, including Jacob Markstrom of the Vancouver Canucks and Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals.