Panthers buy out maligned defenseman Keith Yandle with NHL Expansion Draft in mind
Keith Yandle’s five years with the Florida Panthers saw him hit career milestones, earn All-Star recognition, put up unprecedented scoring numbers for a Panthers defenseman and help Florida to a rare trip to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
But the past year was filled with controversy, as rumors swirled about the Panthers’ desire to move on from the 34-year-old despite his chase of the NHL’s all-time consecutive games played record.
On Thursday, Florida found a solution and bought out the three-time All-Star ahead of the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft.
“We would like to extend a sincere thank you to Keith for all that he’s contributed to the Florida Panthers organization and to the South Florida community over the past five seasons,” general manager Bill Zito said in a statement. “While a decision of this kind is never an easy one to make, we believe that this shift is necessary as we look towards the 2021-22 season and our club’s future.”
Yandle was under contract for two more seasons and the buyout, completed in accordance with the league’s collective-bargaining agreement, will pay out about $8 million across the next four years.
The move frees up the Panthers to protect defenseman Gustav Forsling in the NHL Expansion Draft. Previously, Florida was required to protect Yandle from the Seattle Kraken because he had a no-movement clause.
In the aftermath of the buyout, the Panthers also announced a pair of three-year extensions for Forsling and winger Anthony Duclair. Forsling’s extension is worth $2.66 million per year, while Duclair’s is for $3 million annually.
Both Forsling and Duclair were set to be restricted free agents.
Yandle buyout salary camp implications
Yandle had been under contract through 2023, due to make $5.25 million next season and $2.2 million the year after, and Florida also still owed him $3 million of signing-bonus money. The buyout will save the Panthers about $4 million in cap space for the 2021-22 NHL season, according to CapFriendly, and about $1 million for the following season. Yandle’s cap hit will be about $1.24 million for each of the following seasons.
With Yandle off the books and two new extensions in place, the Panthers have more than $11 million in projected cap space. It will help them make a serious run at the Stanley Cup next season, but it was only a part of the decision.
After plucking Forsling off the waiver wire in January and turning him into a first-pairing defenseman in the second half of the season, Florida was set to potentially lose the 25-year-old Swede for nothing as part of the Expansion Draft. Now Florida can protect Forsling, MacKenzie Weegar and Aaron Ekblad — the three defensemen coach Joel Quenneville trusted most throughout last season.
“After joining the Panthers in January, Gustav had a career season setting personal records and establishing his defensive game to bolster our blue line,” Zito said in a statement. “We are looking forward to watching him continue to develop his game with our club.”
While Yandle’s five years with the Panthers made him one of the most productive defensemen in franchise history, the veteran spent most of 2021 on the outs with the organization. The organization toyed with the idea of making him a healthy scratch at the start of the year, The Sports Network reported in January, and explored trade possibilities before keeping him on the active roster throughout the regular season. Yandle played in all 56 games, extending his consecutive games streak to 922 — the longest active streak in the NHL and just 42 shy of the all-time record.
In the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs, Quenneville twice made Yandle a healthy scratch, though. Yandle struggled in the first two games of a first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning and benching him was a loophole solution to Florida’s issue: Postseason games don’t count toward the NHL record, so the Panthers could scratch Yandle without ending his streak.
The decision provided a clear picture of the dilemma Florida dealt with all year. The Panthers often dressed seven defensemen and played Yandle sparingly, but Quenneville was never willing to bench Yandle and end his streak, even when it may have benefited Florida to do so.
Yandle spent most of the season playing on the Panthers’ third defensive pairing, scoring three goals and handing out 27 assists. He finishes his time in Florida ranked second in Panther history in assists per game and second all-time among Florida defensemen with 201 assists. He also had perhaps the best season of his career while with the Panthers, scoring a career-high 62 points in the 2018-19 NHL season to earn All-Star recognition for the third time.
With Florida still hoping to improve its defense next season, the Panthers can now try to upgrade Yandle’s spot without ending one of the most impressive streaks in NHL history. Some other team will now be able to bring in Yandle and likely celebrate an NHL record next season.
Panthers’ Expansion Draft protection prediction
The Yandle buyout, and Forsling and Duclair extensions effectively locks in Florida’s decisions for the Expansion Draft on Wednesday. The Panthers can protect 11 players — one goaltender, three defensemen and seven forwards — and the decisions are now straightforward.
▪ Goaltender: Sergei Bobrovsky, who has a no-movement clause.
▪ Defensemen: Weegar, Ekblad and Forsling.
▪ Forwards: Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Patric Hornqvist, Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Bennett, Frank Vatrano and Duclair.
While Bennett is set to be a restricted free agent, Zito said he envisions the versatile forward as a long-term piece. Vatrano is the closest thing to a debate now, with wingers Noel Acciari, Mason Marchment and Alex Wennberg also candidates to be protected. Wennberg, however, is an unrestricted free agent, which means there’s no guarantee he’d be back in Florida next season if he was protected.
First- and second-year players are exempt from the Expansion Draft, which means the Panthers don’t need to worry about goaltender Spencer Knight or left wing Owen Tippett.
Protections are due to the league by Saturday.
This story was originally published July 15, 2021 at 11:16 AM.
