The Florida Panthers have re-signed defenceman MacKenzie Weegar to a one-year contract worth $1.6 million, avoiding arbitration.
Florida #Panthers have settled with MacKenzie Weegar ahead of his arbitration hearing this morning on a 1 year contract that carries an AAV of $1.6M.
Weegar was scheduled to go befor an arbitrator this morning. pic.twitter.com/Ssvfg5BDhH
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) July 22, 2019
MacKenzie Weegar Staying in Florida
Weegar has spent his entire three-year NHL career with the Panthers after they selected him in the seventh round, 206th overall in the 2013 NHL Draft. He has put up six goals and 17 assists for 23 career points in 127 career games.
Last season he scored four goals and 11 assists for 15 points. He also added 64 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 51.8 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of +3.0.
What This Means for the Future
Weegar comes into this off-season after going to arbitration last year and getting a one-year, $900,000 deal from the Panthers. Re-signing the 25-year-old defenceman gives the Panthers some depth on the blue-line for next season. He spent last year on the second line alongside Keith Yandle. Moving forward Weegar should see time on the Panthers second or third pairing next season.
The Ottawa native struggled with injuries last year with limited him to 64 games during the season. Weegar’s numbers offensively doubled this season after he only put up two goals and six assists for eight points in 60 games during the 2017-18 season.
The Panthers have a very young blue-line which is currently led by 23-year-old Aaron Ekblad. Ekblad won the Calder back in the 2015 and has 66 goals and 105 assists for 171 points in 391 career games. Yandle, newly signed Anton Stralman and Mark Pysyk are the veterans on the blueline as the rest of the Panthers defence are 25 years old or younger. This could show some promise on the Panthers blue-line seeing that they are looking to make some big moves this off-season.
Main Photo: CHICAGO, IL – DECEMBER 23: Florida Panthers defenseman MacKenzie Weegar (52) warms up prior to a game between the Florida Panthers and the Chicago Blackhawks on December 23, 2018, at the United Center in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Patrick Gorski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
