{"id":34793,"date":"2018-08-27T16:27:08","date_gmt":"2018-08-27T20:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=34793"},"modified":"2018-08-27T16:27:08","modified_gmt":"2018-08-27T20:27:08","slug":"troy-brouwer-signs-with-florida-panthers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2018\/08\/27\/troy-brouwer-signs-with-florida-panthers\/","title":{"rendered":"Troy Brouwer Signs with Florida Panthers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unrestricted free agent forward Troy Brouwer<\/a><\/strong> inked a new, one-year deal with the Florida Panthers<\/a>. Brouwer, 33, just wrapped up his second season with the Calgary Flames<\/a>. Although he initially signed a four-year deal with the Flames, Calgary bought out the remaining two seasons of that contract earlier this summer<\/a>. While Calgary’s contract was paying him $4.5 million per season, the one-year agreement in Florida will only run $850,000.<\/p>\n

Troy Brouwer Heading to Florida<\/h1>\n

In 76 games, Brouwer posted six goals and 16 assists for 22 points in 2017-18. This represented the worst season statistically of his career, matched by the career-low 13:56 average time-on-ice he received. His relative Corsi-for percentage also struggled, at -4.3% (although he’s typically on the negative side of this statistic through his career).<\/p>\n

Fitting in with the Panthers<\/h2>\n

A talented team ramping up for a playoff push in 2018-19, the Florida Panthers add a veteran presence in Brouwer to their young forward group. As a natural right winger, he sticks out on a roster featuring a small number of guys in that position. Nick Bjugstad<\/a><\/strong> plays on the right despite being a natural centerman, and\u00a0Colton Sceviour<\/a><\/strong> and\u00a0Evgeni Dadonov<\/a><\/strong> play the right on most nights too. However, the team has a ton of players fighting for ice time at all forward positions. This puts Brouwer smack-dab in that battle heading into training camp.<\/p>\n

Florida entered the summer expecting to address their weakness on the wings, and after adding Mike Hoffman<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>to boost the top six winger group, Brouwer does the same for the bottom six. He has thrice eclipsed the 20-goal plateau, and usually contributes between 30 and 45 points over a full season. Whether those days are entirely behind him remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

Offensive Competition Brewing for Florida Panthers<\/h3>\n

With 15 forwards currently on their roster and others like\u00a0Owen Tippett<\/a><\/strong> fighting for an upset to make the team out of training camp, the Florida Panthers just made things that much more competitive. Troy Brouwer possesses experience and brings a veteran presence that most of the team’s forwards simply don’t have.<\/p>\n

Last summer the Panthers signed winger\u00a0Radim Vrbata<\/a><\/strong> in a similar fashion; that is, an ageing winger to provide depth scoring. Vrbata flopped, and at nearly $3 million, it was an expensive mistake. Brouwer is essentially the same experiment, but five years younger and at less than 1\/3 the price. If he can get back to the level of play he displayed two or three seasons ago, Florida will be ecstatic (and at a major bargain of just $850,000). If not, it was a low-risk try and at the least adds some more competition for ice time.<\/p>\n

Main Photo:<\/p>\n

\n
Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n