Panthers free agency tracker: Florida loses Claude Giroux to Senators, Marchment to Stars
NHL free agency officially opens up at noon on Wednesday and the Florida Panthers are going to have to get creative in order to upgrade their roster for the 2022-23 NHL season.
Stay tuned for updates throughout the day on what Bill Zito and Co. get up to:
4 p.m.: The Panthers signed defenseman Anthony Bitetto to a one-year, two-way deal, adding a bit more defensive depth as they seem to be opting for a by-committee approach to replace defenseman Ben Chiarot.
The 31-year-old American was last part of the San Jose Sharks organization and played in 14 NHL games last year with the New York Rangers before they traded him to the Sharks in March.
3:30 p.m.: The Panthers have a new No. 3 goaltender after losing Jonas Johansson to the Colorado Avalanche in free agency.
Alex Lyon, who was part of the Carolina Hurricanes’ organization last year and won the Calder Cup as the goalie for AHL Chicago, is coming to Florida on a two-year deal, The Sports Network reported. The 29-year-old American will likely spend most of the year with AHL Charlotte, and provide insurance behind star goaltenders Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight.
3 p.m.: The Staal brothers are coming to Sunrise.
Well, at least 2 of 3 are, The Sports Network reported.
The Panthers are signing defenseman Marc Staal to a one-year, $750,000 deal and are bringing in center Eric Staal for a professional tryout.
The defenseman is 35 and spent the last two years with the Detroit Red Wings, and the center is a 37-year-old six-time All-Star, who played in the NHL All-Star Game as recently as 2020 and last played in 2021 with the Montreal Canadiens.
2:45 p.m.: Ben Chiarot’s move to the Detroit Red Wings is a done deal, Sportsnet reported, and the defenseman is signing a four-year, $19 million deal.
This was well outside the price range for the Panthers to keep the 31-year-old defenseman, even after they traded away a first-round pick to get him in March.
2:25 p.m.: The Panthers are making their second forward addition of the day, trying to bolster their depth after losing wingers Mason Marchment, Claude Giroux and Noel Acciari.
Florida is signing center Nick Cousins to a two-year, $2.2 million deal, DailyFaceoff.com reported. The 29-year-old Canadian should be able to slide into a reliable bottom-six role as a defensive-minded forward with some transition ability. He recorded 22 points in 68 games last year for the Nashville Predators.
2:20 p.m.: The Panthers are losing another depth forward after Noel Acciari signed with the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old American was limited to only 20 games in the regular season last year because of injuries, but was a bottom-six fixture in Florida’s lineup during the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs.
The forward signed a one-year deal for $1.2 million.
2:10 p.m.: Mason Marchment is indeed leaving the Panthers, but not for the Carolina Hurricanes.
The forward is going to the Dallas Stars on a four-year, $18 million deal, Sportsnet reported. Florida would have liked to bring back the 27-year-old Canadian, but his $4.5 million annual salary wound up being a bit out of the Panthers’ price range, even if they put fellow winger Anthony Duclair on long-term injured reserve.
It’s another big loss for Florida, which also lost versatile All-Star forward Claude Giroux to the Ottawa Senators earlier Wednesday. The Panthers might also need to replace forwards Joe Thornton and Noel Acciari, who are unrestricted free agents, too.
1:15 p.m.: A top defenseman is off the market: Brett Kulak is going back to the Edmonton Oilers, Sportsnet reported. The 28-year-old Canadian made sense as a potential replacement for fellow defenseman Ben Chiarot, if the Panthers were able to clear out any cap space.
Chiarot, meanwhile, is on the verge of heading to the Detroit Red Wings.
Florida also seems likely to lose Mason Marchment, which isn’t unexpected, either. The winger is nearing a deal with the Carolina Hurricanes, The Sports Network reported.
12:50 p.m.: Zito has been very adept at making low-risk, high-reward moves for former first-round picks during his two years with the Panthers and the general manager hopes he has found another one Wednesday.
Florida is signing Colin White to a one-year, $1.2 million deal, TVA Sports reported, and hoping the 25-year-old center can live up to some of the potential the Ottawa Sentaors saw when they took him No. 21 in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. His best year came during the 2018-19 NHL season, when he scored 41 points in 71 games, but he played in just 24 games last season in the final season of a six-year, $28.5 million deal.
The American forward is a worthwhile gamble as a bottom-six forward as Florida searches for replacements for wingers Mason Marchment, Joe Thornton, Claude Giroux and Noel Acciari.
12:20 p.m.: With Claude Giroux gone to the Ottawa Sentaors and the Panthers stuck with less than $800,000 in cap space, Florida is going to have to search the bargain bin for potential hidden gems this offseason and the Panthers took their first swing on one Wednesday, signing defenseman Nathan Staios to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Staios, 21, played last year with the Hamilton Bulldogs and went undrafted despite leading all defensemen in Canada’s Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with 66 points. The 5-foot-8, 170-pound American was the CHL Defenceman of the Year and won the Ted Kaminsky Trophy as the OHL’s top defenseman.
“Nathan is a highly skilled defenseman who possesses an excellent playmaking ability,” Zito said. “This past season, he established himself as one of the best defenders in junior hockey and we are excited that he will continue his career within our organization.”
12:01 p.m.: It took just one minute of free agency for Claude Giroux to find a new home.
The versatile All-Star forward will not be returning to the Panthers after Florida gave up a first-round pick to land him ahead of the trade deadline in March.
Giroux is signing a three-year deal with the Ottawa Senators, worth $6.5 million per year, The Sports Network reported. The 34-year-old Canadian grew up in Hearst, Ontario, so this is a long-rumored reunion with his hometown team.
It was always going to be tricky for the Panthers to keep Giroux in South Florida. The Panthers entered the day with less than $800,000 in cap space available -- although it was really more like $3.8 million because they can put winger Anthony Duclair on long-term injured reserve for the start of the season -- and opted not to buy out right wing Patric Hornqvist, which would’ve cleared about $3.5 million more in space. Although both Giroux and the Panthers wanted a reunion, Florida wasn’t willing to give up a good player for nothing, even if he might not be worth his $5.3 million salary anymore.
Ultimately, a potential return to the Panthers would’ve required patience from Giroux, which would’ve carried a risk of teams using up cap space and leaving him without the sort of contract he deserves. At various points in the last year, Florida has discussed potential trades involving star goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and star defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, yet neither of those is exactly imminent, even though they would’ve helped create some more room to bring back Giroux.
Noon: Free agency is officially open, but several of the top free agents re-signed with their old teams in the last few days, including forwards Evgeni Malkin and Richard Rakell with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Versatile All-Star forward Claude Giroux, however, is officially out on the open market after the Panthers were unable — or unwilling — to clear cap space to re-sign him in the last few weeks.
11:40 a.m.: Here’s a little appetizer for free agency: Andrew Brunette is leaving the Panthers for the New Jersey Devils, ESPN reported.
Brunette took over as Florida’s interim coach in the first month of the season last year after former coach Joel Quenneville resigned, and led the Panthers to the Presidents’ Trophy and became a finalist for the Jack Adams Award. Zito, however, opted for more experience and hired Paul Maurice as Florida’s new coach last month, leaving Brunette open to look for new opportunities. Rather than staying in Sunrise as an assistant coach or part of the front office, Brunette is headed to the Devils to become an associate coach.
11 a.m.: With less than an hour to go until free agency begins, the Panthers have basically no cap space, which means they’re in real danger of losing versatile All-Star forward Claude Giroux.
▪ The cap situation: Florida has less than $800,000 in cap space available, according to CapFriendly. This is essentially just enough to sign a player to a minimum salary. The Panthers can, however, open up an additional $3 million in short-term room by putting Anthony Duclair on long-term injured reserve—Florida expects the winger to be out until about midseason because of offseason surgery on his Achilles tendon and he won’t count against the cap until he’s taken off long-term IR. Effectively, this means the Panthers have close to $3.8 million to spend.
▪ The pending free agents: Giroux, 34, is the headliner, but Florida is also in danger of losing defensemen Ben Chiarot, Robert Hagg and Markus Nutivaara, and wingers Mason Marchment, Joe Thornton, Noel Acciari and Maxim Mamin. Aside from Giroux, Marchment is the player the Panthers would most like to bring back and there’s a chance he could fit into the $3.8 million hole Florida has. Chiarot seems likely to leave, even after Florida gave up a first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft to add him as a half-season rental in March. As for the rest: Hagg, Nutivaara and Acciari will all likely be low-cost additions for someone; Thornton is still weighing retirement; and Mamin already signed with HC CSKA Moscow of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League last month.
▪ The potential targets: Giroux and Marchment are the top two priorities. The top defenseman on the market in Florida’s price range is probably Brett Kulak, who’s leaving the Edmonton Oilers to test the open market.
▪ The trades to watch: Three names keep popping up in trade rumors as the Panthers try to maneuver their cap situation: star goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, star defenseman MacKenzie Weegar and right wing Patric Hornqvist. The Edmonton Oilers badly want Weegar, who’s entering the last year of his deal, and he’d fetch a hefty return, although he has a very team-friendly contract at less than $3.3 million. Bobrovsky finally has some value after he led the NHL in wins last season, but his $10 million annual salary with four years left means Florida would probably have to retain up to half of his salary. Hornqvist is the most natural piece to dump because he’s making $5.3 million in the final year of his deal and the Panthers shouldn’t need to throw in much else.
This story was originally published July 13, 2022 at 11:00 AM.
