The Florida Panthers are going to have much more cap space freed up after the season after some buyout hits come off the board and some bad contracts come to an end. This will allow them not to be in a cap crunch all season and come back much stronger next season. It will also allow them to make changes to their team and upgrade over some of the players on league-minimum contracts they had filled their roster with this season. Here’s a look at three Panthers who won’t be back next season.
Patric Hornqvist
One of the bad contracts that will be coming off the books is that of Patric Hornqvist. He was dealt to the Panthers in the offseason of 2020 and of the three years he has been in Florida, only the first one was worth the money he was being paid. With age and diminishing health, he has fallen off and been nothing more than a fourth liner for the Panthers this season when healthy.
From his first to second season in Florida, he dropped an average of four minutes of ice time per game. Now in his third and last season with the Panthers, he is playing just over nine minutes a game and has one goal and three points in 22 games. His physicality has also declined and the 36-year-old may even be playing his final season of his career. The Panthers will be relieved to have an extra $5.3 million off the books.
Marc Staal
Marc Staal is another veteran whose time with the Panthers will very likely be coming to an end. The team is looking to revamp their defence in the offseason and come back stronger. As they will have some money available, this will start by moving on from a 36-year-old blue liner who is being paid league minimum.
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Staal was only signed out of convenience considering the Panthers couldn’t even run with a full roster in order to stay cap compliant. He hasn’t been horrible for the Panthers by any means, but he is a third pairing defenceman at best and is one of the easiest members of the back-end to change up as he is a UFA after the season.
Radko Gudas
I spoke of the Panthers altering their back-end to get a new look. Even though Radko Gudas has done exactly what is expected of him and more, he is also someone the Panthers may move on from based on his contract. He is a UFA at the end of the season and it could also be his decision to take his talent elsewhere.
The veteran is a very consistent and physical defenceman that slots in on the third pairing. The Panthers do have four right-shot defenders on their roster, so Casey Fitzgerald could have the opportunity to step up or Florida tests the market. There were rumours that Gudas might be dealt at the trade deadline, so that may be an indication of the team’s intentions for the offseason. If I were to pick one of these three players to re-sign, it would be Gudas.
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