“I have taken a circuitous route, but my goal since last season was to be in training camp. It’s the next step,” Grumet-Morris said. “I do have a passion for the game. I started playing when I was 3, and here I am 27 years later. I still wake up every day ready to go to the rink. I’m not saying there aren’t difficult days. But my passion is to get better. I strive for excellence in everything I do.”

The Panthers currently have four goalies who will likely see time in Florida this season in Jose Theodore, Clemmensen, Grumet-Morris and Jacob Markstrom. Grumet-Morris got a lot of playing time in San Antonio last season when Markstrom came up to the big club because of injuries, and at one point started 19 consecutive games.

Goalie coach Robb Tallas said the Panthers have plenty of confidence in Grumet-Morris because he isn’t much of an unknown. Aside from working with Santos and Tallas in the past, he also played for Panthers coach Kevin Dineen in Portland, Maine, five seasons ago.

“He’s a highly educated guy who is very smart and loves the game of hockey. He just wants to play,” Tallas said. “His goal is to make the NHL, and he hasn’t given up on that. He works very hard and puts more work into it than anyone. He’s the first guy on the ice every single day. He spends all his time working on his game.

“Our organization has given guys chances, and here’s a guy who is mature, hasn’t had it easy and is putting up the numbers. There’s a trust there. If we need someone to come up, he can do it. We wouldn’t worry about that.”

• The Panthers sent a fifth-round draft pick in 2014 to the New York Rangers on Friday for center Casey Wellman. The 24-year-old from California has played in 41 NHL games (all with the Minnesota Wild) and ended last season in the minors after being traded to the Rangers on Feb. 3.