Panthers target defense in quest to back Barkov
Bill Zito is careful not to frame his current maneuvering as a series of “win-now” moves for the Panthers.
He says it’s maybe more apt to say “win every day.” It’s probably most accurate to say they’re trying to win with Aleksander Barkov.
The star center, his upcoming free agency and everything he did to help Florida put together a breakthrough 2020-21 NHL season loom over everything the Panthers will try to do once free agency begins at noon Wednesday. The most important free agent for Florida to worry about is Barkov — even though he won’t be a free agent until next year.
“It’ll be something that’s paramount for me,” Zito said last month, “and we’ll address in short order.”
It will be right at the top of the Panthers’ list of priorities this summer, and the Panthers have spent the past few weeks clearing space to make an extension possible — and appealing — to the 25year-old forward.
THE PANTHERS’ ‘WIN-NOW’ WINDOW
Last year, Barkov was one of the most valuable players in the NHL. Not only was he one of the best players in the league, but he put together his Frank J. Selke Awardwinning season while getting paid just $5.9 million, giving him the second-best true value statistic in the league, according to Spotrac.com.
Barkov will once again make $5.9 million in the 2021-22 NHL season, which makes this an appealing window to make a real push for a Stanley Cup. Whatever contract Barkov gets beyond next season could double his salary to put him in the same class as star forwards like Auston Matthews, Mitchell Marner and Patrick Kane, all of whom make more than $10 million per year. The difference between Barkov’s current salary and the one he’s likely to get is at least one really good player. For the Panthers, this new piece would almost certainly be a defenseman.
At goaltender, Florida is set — Sergei Bobrovsky is the highest-paid goaltender in the league and rookie Spencer Knight is the team’s goaltender of the future. At forward, the Panthers have improved by trading for Sam Reinhart on Saturday and handing out a series of extensions.
On defense, Florida has cleared out a couple bad contracts by buying out defenseman Keith Yandle and trading defenseman Anton Stralman. Now it needs to find some second- and third-pairing players to supplement defensemen MacKenzie Weegar, Aaron Ekblad, Gustav Forsling and Radko Gudas.
Defenseman Ryan Suter, who spent the past nine seasons withe Minnesota Wild, is probably the best defenseman in
the Panthers’ price range, and The Athletic reported that Florida is a contender to the land 36-year-old.
Alex Goligoski, a former Dallas Star, also fits as a veteran defenseman the Panthers could potentially add on a short-term deal, while fellow defenseman Mike Reilly and Ryan Murray are younger potential second-pairing players on the market. Brandon Montour, whom Florida added via trade in April, is also an unrestricted free agent.
‘PRETTY COMFORTABLE WITH THE GROUP’
The Panthers head into free agency with more than $11 million in cap space, according to CapFriendly.com. Some will be reserved for a Barkov extension. Some will be used to add. Most will be used to keep the rest of Barkov’s supporting cast.
On Monday, Florida signed , who was about to be a restricted free agent, to a three-year, $17.7 million deal. One of the Panthers’ biggest priorities this week will be to lock up Reinhart to a similar sort of deal after Florida traded a firstround pick and prospect for him Saturday.