With so many defensemen under contract, Florida may be in an advantageous position to improve ahead of the playoffs
With so many defensemen under contract, Florida may be in an advantageous position to improve ahead of the playoffs
The Florida Panthers could end up having one of the deepest defensive corps in the league.
Knowing that one or both of Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour could miss time early next season recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, Panthers General Manager Bill Zito went out and signed several players to ensure the team would be properly outfitted for Opening Night and beyond.
Florida currently has nine defensemen under contract for next season, and that doesn’t include Lucas Carlsson, Matt Kiersted, or any of the ascending young blueliners who could potentially jump up and steal a spot with a great showing at training camp.
The nine are Ekblad, Montour, Gus Forsling, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Niko Mikkola, Dmitry Kulikov, Mike Reilly, Josh Mahura and Casey Fitzgerald.
That is a solid stable of defensemen.
Eventually, when Ekblad and Montour are healthy, it will be incredibly deep.
Almost too deep.
It could make things interesting for Florida when considering who to keep on the roster and who may need to get waived and perhaps sent to AHL Charlotte.
Salary cap-wise, there shouldn't be an issue.
At the moment, without either Ekblad or Montour placed on LTIR, Florida sits right at the cap.
Depending how things fall during the season, because there will always be injuries and unexpected obstacles that pop up, the Panthers could be in a good spot come Trade Deadline time.
If Florida is in a position where they can afford to move some of those defensemen, assuming the depth is still there, it could put them in an advantageous situation when dealing with other teams.
It also helps that all of the defensemen except Ekblad and Mikkola are on reasonably priced, expiring contracts (Mahura is an RFA).