NHL free agency live updates: Florida Panthers add defensive help, Stanley Cup champion
NHL free agency begins Friday and the Florida Panthers have plenty of flexibility going into the day, with only 13 players under contract and about $21 million in cap space.
Follow along throughout the opening day of free agency as Bill Zito and the Panthers reshape the roster, and try to get Florida back to the Stanley Cup playoffs:
4:55 p.m.: The Panthers have officially announced all of their signings from Friday so far.
Florida confirmed it signed Alexander Wennberg to a one-year deal. The Panthers also confirmed the signings of defenseman Radko Gudas, and forwards Carter Verhaeghe and Ryan Lomberg.
4:05 p.m.: The Panthers are bringing in more depth to its forwards group.
Florida has signed left wing Ryan Lomberg to a two-year deal, the team announced. The 25-year-old did not play in the NHL last season, but he appeared in 11 the previous two years for the Calgary Flames.
The Panthers also confirmed the signings of defenseman Radko Gudas and forward Carter Verhaeghe.
3:15 p.m.: One of the top defenseman on the market has found a home.
Kevin Shattenkirk, who won a Stanley Cup last season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, is headed to the Anaheim Ducks.
The top two defensemen, however, remain available, as stars Alex Pietrangelo and Torey Krug have yet to sign anywhere.
2:15 p.m.: Zito keeps bringing in familiar face to his Panthers.
Florida has signed forward Alexander Wennberg to a one-year, $2.5-million deal, The Sports Network reported. Wennberg, 26, has played his entire career with the Columbus Blue Jackets and scored five goals with 17 assists last season. The former first-round pick also scored three goals with two assists in 10 Stanley Cup playoff games.
Wennberg, a center and left wing, is the second former Blue Jacket to join the Panthers this week. Florida also traded for defenseman Markus Nutivaara on Thursday. Zito had previously been the assistant general manager in Columbus before taking over as the Panthers’ GM in September.
1:40 p.m.: Some high-profile names have started to find homes, although mostly at a position the Panthers aren’t in the market for.
Star goaltenders Braden Holtby and Jacob Markstrom have both signed with new teams, as has veteran goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.
Holty, a former Vezina Trophy winner for the Washington Capitals, to the Vancouver Canucks to replace Markstrom, who was an All-Star last season and is now headed to the Calgary Flames. Lundqvist, another former Vezina winner, is joining the Capitals to help replace Holtby.
The most high-profile forward to move so far Friday is probably Wayne Simmonds. The veteran right wing, who finished last year with the Buffalo Sabres, is headed to his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs on a one-year deal.
12:42 p.m.: The Panthers are bringing a young Stanley Cup champion across the state.
Carter Verhaeghe, who won a Cup last month as a rookie with the Tampa Bay Lightning, is joining Florida as a free agent on a two-year, $2-million deal, The Sports Network reported.
The 25-year-old, who can play both center and left wing, played in 52 games in the regular season and eight in the Stanley Cup playoffs. He scored nine goals in the regular season and logged two points in the postseason, and led the American Hockey League in scoring in the 2018-19 season.
12:29 p.m.: The Panthers are adding more defensive help to kick off free agency.
Florida has agreed to a three-year, $7.5-million deal with defenseman Radko Gudas, Sportsnet reported. He joins Markus Nutivaara, whom the Panthers landed in a trade Thursday, as defensemen to join Florida this week.
Gudas spent last season with the Washington Capitals after playing the previous four years with the Philadelphia Flyers. He scored two goals with 13 assists in 63 regular-season games for the Capitals and added two assists in five Stanley Cup playoff games.
Noon: Free agency is officially underway.
The Panthers have already made a few transactions this offseason, making three trades to ship out winger Colton Sceviour, and defensemen Mike Matheson and Josh Brown, and bring in right wing Patric Hornqvist and defenseman Markus Nutivaara.
There’s still a lot of work to do and it starts now.
11 a.m.: Free agency opens up at noon and it should kick off a busy period for the Panthers.
Florida has only 13 players under contract for next season and about $21 million in cap space available. It means there’s room to overhaul the roster, but it also means some of the Panthers’ most important players are hitting the open market.
Florida Panthers’ key free agents
▪ Mike Hoffman: The hard-shooting winger is one of the top forwards on the market this year. He led Florida with 29 goals last season and his 59 points were third most on the team behind center Aleksander Barkov and All-Star left wing Jonathan Huberdeau. He also led the Panthers with three postseason goals and five playoff points.
▪ Evgenii Dadonov: The winger spent most of the season on Florida’s top line next to Barkov and Huberdeau, and he finished fourth on the team with 47 points. His 25 goals were second most on the team behind Hoffman.
▪ Erik Haula: The forward joined the Panthers in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes in February. He was mostly Florida’s second-line center and he can also play left wing, but he only scored two points in seven-regular season games with the Panthers.
▪ The rest: G Philippe Desrosiers, D/RW Mark Pysyk, C Lucas Wallmark, C/LW Brian Boyle, C/LW Dominic Toninato, LW Danick Martel.
▪ Restricted free agents: G Sam Montembeault, D MacKenzie Weegar, D Emil Djuse, C Aleksi Saarela, C Henrik Borgstrom, LW Mason Marchment.
Notable available NHL free agents
▪ Jacob Markstrom: Once the top goaltender prospect in hockey, Markstrom was a journeyman before last season, when he put together a breakout, All-Star season for the Vancouver Canucks. The goalie posted a .918 save percentage with 2.75 goals against per game.
▪ Braden Holtby: The goaltender is a Stanley Cup champion and a former Vezina Trophy winner, but his save percentage dipped below .900 and his goals against climbed past 3.00 last season for the Washington Capitals.
▪ Alex Pietrangelo: The All-Star defenseman might be the top player on the market and he would fill a major need for Florida. Even in the shortened season, Pietrangelo set a career mark with 16 goals last year for the St. Louis Blues after helping them win the Cup in 2019.
▪ Torey Krug: The defenseman will be a worthwhile consolation prize for a team missing out on Pietrangelo. He’s one of the top power-play weapons in the NHL and the top defenseman for the Boston Bruins.
▪ Taylor Hall: The star left wing won the Hart Memorial Trophy in 2018 and is still among the best offensive players. He finished last season with the Arizona Coyotes.
This story was originally published October 9, 2020 at 11:00 AM.
