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The Florida Panthers are coming off a second-straight Stanley Cup victory. Now the Panthers look to make it a three-peat. In order to do that, the Panthers need to make moves. They have multiple pending free agents and salary cap restraints. Still, there are moves the Panthers can make in order to bring back their core and make another run at a third straight Cup.
Florida does not have a lot of draft capital, going without a first-round pick for the next three seasons, while also not having a second or third-round pick this year. They also have limited salary cap space, with just $19 million available this offseason. The Panthers also have nine pending free agents, with just one of them being restricted. Sam Bennett, fresh off winning the Conn Smythe, is a free agent and has indicated he would like to stay with the franchise. Still, he is going to command a big pay day, and the Panthers have other free agents, plus limited cap space.
Meanwhile, Brad Marchand is also a free agent, as is Aaron Ekblad. All three of these players were major pieces to the Panthers winning a second straight Cup. In order to keep them all, the Panthers will need to make major offseason moves. Still, there are options for Florida, and their recent history shows they will choose some of the best available options for their future.
The Panthers trade away a forward
Keeping Bennett may be a top priority for the Panthers this offseason. His playoff run was amazing. In the playoffs, he scored 15 goals while adding seven assists, good for 22 total points. Further, he had final goals in the Stanley Cup Final. He is also coming off the best season of his career. His 26 assists and 51 total points were both career highs, while his 25 goals were the second most of his career.
The Panthers have options on how to retain Bennett. With $19 million in cap space, they have the room to re-sign him, but that would be at the cost of other signings. They could create space while also recouping draft capital. One option is Anton Lundell. He has the largest contract on the Panthers that is not bound by a no-movement or no-trade clause. Still, Lundell is turning just 24 years old at the start of the next season.
Furthermore, he has been highly consistent at the NHL level. In all four seasons, he has over 20 assists and over 30 points. Trading Lundell at such a young age would likely get back heavy draft compensation, but at the risk of harming the future.
Another option is to move Eetu Luostarinen. While moving Lundell would save $5 million per year, moving on from Luostarinen would still save $3 million annually. Luostarinen is under contract for just two more seasons, while Lundell is under contract for five more. Furthermore, the Finnish-born forward will be 27 this year and has scored over 40 points just once in their career. This season, he scored just nine goals, the fewest since the 2020-21 season when he played just 44 games.
Could Evan Rodrigues be moved?
Evan Rodrigues has been a vital part of the last two playoff runs for the Panthers. In the 2023-24 run, he scored seven goals while adding eight assists. This past run, he scored twice and added 13 assists. Still, his overall production did take a small drop this past season, as he found himself playing on the third line more often throughout the year. He did have 15 goals this year, but he had ten fewer assists and seven fewer total points. Still, the big drop was on the defensive end of the ice. He went from a plus-minus rating of +26 in the 2023-24 campaign to a minus four this past season.
Further, his advanced stats also declined on the defensive end. He blocked fewer shots while also having fewer takeaways. Further, Rodrigues took more hits and gave away the puck in the defensive and neutral zones at a higher rate this past season. While Evan Rodrigues is a solid forward, it may be time for Florida to part with him for the right price.
Rodrigues is due $3 million per year over the next two seasons. Further, he will be turning 32 this season, making him older than every other forward currently under contract. Trading away Rodrigues would create much of the space needed to bring back Marchand, who could provide slightly higher production.
Florida moves a blueliner
The blue line is the other major area of concern for the Panthers this offseason. Ekblad is a free agent and is expected to cost over $7.5 million per year in his next contract. Ekblad has said he would like to return to the Panthers next year. He was also highly productive this year, with three goals and 30 assists in just 56 games. Still, with Seth Jones and Gustav Forsling both under large contracts for the next five-plus seasons, and both having no-movement clauses, Ekblad will either take up much of the budget for the Panthers, or be moving on.
Even if the Panthers are able to re-sign Ekblad, they would also like to bring back Nate Schmidt. Schmidt was great in his first season with the Panthers, playing in 80 games and scoring five goals with 14 assists. He also had 12 pints in the playoffs and a +9 plus-minus rating. The soon-to-be 34-year-old will also cost just under $3 million. To recoup some of that cost, the Panthers can move a different blue liner.
Dmitry Kulikov still has three years left on his deal and will be turning 35 this year. He played in 70 games this season, with four goals and nine assists. He does not have the same powerplay production as Schmidt, and also had fewer takeaways in the regular season. Further, Kulikov had just five points in the playoff run this year.
While bringing back Schmidt, Ekblad, Bennett, and Marchand would be desirable for the Panthers, they will need to move on from other players to do so. Moving players like Luostarinen and Rodrigues would give enough space to bring back Bennett and Marchand, while moving Kulikov would allow the Panthers to bring back Schmidt. They will need to be creative to bring back all four players, but it seems they are primed to do so.
