Florida signed Ritchie to a PTO ahead of training camp
Florida signed Ritchie to a PTO ahead of training camp
The Florida Panthers have one of the deepest forward groups in the NHL.
When training camp started last month, there were dozens of players completing for just a handful of NHL jobs, with role and opportunity having as much to do with potential decisions as general talent level.
Brett Ritchie knew that would be the case when he choose to sign a PTO with the Panthers.
He also knew that the way he played the game would suit Florida Head Coach Paul Maurice and what he asked of his forwards.
“When I looked at how they played last year, the style of game that they play, that was a big part of it,” Ritchie told THN on the first day of Cats camp. “It's the system that I like.”
As training camp merged into the preseason, Ritchie looked comfortable while wearing a Panthers sweater, playing a physical, high-energy style and throwing around his 6-foot-4, 215-pound frame while still creating scoring chances.
It appeared he was playing his way to an NHL contract, but an injury suffered late in camp kept Ritchie off the ice during the final week of the preseason.
That, combined with rookie Mackie Samoskevich earning a spot on Florida's Opening Night roster, may have been enough to keep Ritchie just on the outside looking in.
Does that mean there isn't a potential spot for Ritchie with the organization? Apparently not.
"He's got some options ahead of him," Maurice said Tuesday. "One of them is take a path with us and we'd like him to."
The ball is now in Ritchie's court.
The 30-year-old veteran of 391 NHL games will now get with his agent and his family and decide what the next step will be.
Signing with Florida would likely mean spending at least some time in the AHL with the Charlotte Checkers and possibly starting the season there.
"(We had a) conversation about how that would work," Maurice said.
Florida's initial roster consists of 22 players. The NHL allows a maximum of 23.
There is some flexibility there for the Panthers and Maurice alluded to that getting sorted out in the coming days.
Does that involve Ritchie? We'll have to wait and see.
"We've laid out a path for him to stay with us and stay with the organization," Maurice said. "He has to find out what's best for him and his family."
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