Florida Panthers: Michael Grabner, Right Wing
With $14 million in cap space, the Florida Panthers can’t go out of their minds in free agency. They also don’t have a lot of holes to fill as far free agents. Four are unrestricted but aren’t likely to bust them financially, and they already have goaltending locked up in terms of contract length. That will eventually hurt them, though. Roberto Luongo had a nice year in 35 games, but he’s also 39 and on the Panthers’ payroll at $4.5 million a season for the next four years. Ouch.
Florida was middle of the pack in just about everything except for its power play and shots allowed per game. The latter of which was the worst in the NHL. Still, it amassed 96 points after a rough start to the season and missed the playoffs by a single point. The Panthers didn’t make the playoffs last season either, but did win the Atlantic Division in 2016, so they aren’t far off from contending.
We like Michael Grabner to the Panthers in the same vein as him going to the Blue Jackets. His salary won’t be too high, he can give you 20 or more goals, and he kills penalties. Those last two areas need improving if Florida has eyes on making a move beyond a first-round exit every year. If Grabner comes at the right price, it could also look to add someone like Ian Cole on the back end. He would help a penalty kill unit that ranked only 16th best at 80.2 percent. Small bargain moves such as these could be the difference for a club that narrowly missed the dance this past season.