It’s time for another edition of NHL rumours. Round one of the NHL Draft has come and gone, but the excitement has only just gotten started. Free agency begins on Monday and that means tough choices for some clubs. A team can’t usually sign all of their free agents, so some painful decisions are on the horizon. The Florida Panthers may have just hoisted the Stanley Cup. However, they’ll have to go through some pain, too. This edition of NHL Rumours looks at likely changes to the Panthers defence.
All NHL Rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
Florida Panthers Defensive Changes
Rumour: We’ve got multiple rumours and players to talk about in this edition. Elliotte Friedman appeared on the Pat McAfee Show on ESPN and stated Brandon Montour will hit the open market. Meanwhile, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period added that Panthers are shopping Aaron Ekblad.
Per @FriedgeHNIC on the Pat McAfee Show the Florida Panthers and Brandon Montour appear that they’re NOT going to have the flexibility to get a deal done and he can hit the market with lots of teams looking at him. #TimeToHunt pic.twitter.com/DgwZJrOWxH
— David R (@David954FLA) June 28, 2024
Analysis: There are a lot of moving parts to this one. Florida has players like Sam Reinhart that need a deal because they’ll be an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Montour is also slated to be a UFA on Monday, but it seems that the cap numbers aren’t going to work.
General Manger Bill Zito probably knew he wasn’t going to be able to sign everyone. However, losing Montour is going to be a tough pill to swallow. The veteran defenceman revived his career in South Florida and is going to cash in really soon.
Ekblad will be a UFA in 2025, but will have his full no-trade clause drop down to 12-teams. Pagnotta said Florida are taking calls, but a contract extension may not be out of the question.
Changing of the Guard
The news with Montour is a little bit fresher with Friedman’s interview coming Friday. Both Montour’s camp and Zito met, but it seems like a deal isn’t going to happen.
Montour is going to get some big offers and there are plenty of teams that need defensive help. A previous edition of NHL rumours had the Utah Hockey Club wanting to make a big move on the blueline. Could the veteran blueliner be the big splash that owner Ryan Smith wants to make on July 1? The Nashville Predators also seem to be in on a number of defenders.
Florida’s defence will have a different look to it. However, will both Montour and Ekblad be gone when training camp rolls around?
Knock-on Effect
The recent news about Montour could give hope to Ekblad staying put in the Sunshine State. Pagnotta stated that the former 2014 first-overall pick could take a “hometown discount.” Ekblad has a preference to stay with the team and might be flexible in making a new contract work.
One other factor is Ekblad has a $3 million signing bonus due. He’s also shifted agents to Craig Oster at Newport Sports. However, not having to worry about a Montour deal could give Florida some more room to get Ekblad to stay.
However, Zito has other deals to sign for this year and next year. Florida has double-digit UFAs and there’s also the fate of Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett in the balance. Both players are deserving of good-sized contract extensions. Verhaeghe makes just over $4.1 million, but will fetch something north of $8 million according to Pagnotta.
There are going to be some new faces in Sunrise. However, one wonders how drastic the changes are going to be with the Panthers for the 2024-25 campaign.
Main photo by: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports
