Panthers sign defenseman Adam Boqvist to a 1-year deal
A former first-round pick, Boqvist was bought out by the Columbus Blue Jackets earlier this summer
The Florida Panthers added another strong piece to their back line on Tuesday as the team builds up a roster they hope is worthy of a Stanley Cup title defense.
Florida has signed defenseman Adam Boqvist to a one-year contract.
The deal is reportedly worth $775,000, according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.
The 23-year-old Swede is a former first round pick, eighth overall, of the Chicago Blackhawks back in 2018.
He played the past three seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets and was bought out of the final year of his contract earlier this month that came with an average annual value (AAV) of $2.6 million.
Injuries plagued Boqvist’s time in Columbus, never playing more than 52 games in an NHL season.
Last year he played just 35 games, logging just one goal and 10 points.
Known for his offensive upside, solid skating and shot blocking ability, the right-shooting Boqvist could be a solid depth addition to the Panthers blueline that currently consists of Aaron Ekblad, Gus Forsling, Niko Mikkola, Dmitry Kulikov, Nate Schmidt, Uvis Balinskis and Toby Bjornfot.
There is also still quite a bit of upside on the young Boqvist.
Perhaps skating with Florida and working with Paul Maurice, Sylvain Lefebvre and the Cats coaching staff will help bring the best out of Boqvist.
It doesn’t hurt that Florida already signed his older brother, Jesper Boqvist, back on July 1.
Now the Panthers have added a pair of defensemen, Boqvist and Nate Schmidt, on very team-friendly deals following each being bought out by their previous clubs.
Having both of those guys signed for next season at a combined cap hit of $1.55 million seems like a reasonable investment by Panthers General Manager Bill Zito and his staff.
Both are looking for bounce-back seasons to earn bigger deals next summer.
It worked out pretty well for Oliver Ekman-Larsson last season.
For Boqvist, he'll be a restricted free agent when this contract expires, so Florida will potentially have some options there.
We’ll see how it all pays out, but once again, Zito is making savvy moves that Panthers fans should be pleased with.
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