With the Stanley Cup Finals nearly finished and free agency looming, every NHL team is looking to make big roster cuts to prepare for the new season. The current defending champions and finalists, the Florida Panthers, are in the same boat.
While the Panthers might be one game away from winning their second consecutive season, that doesn’t mean they won’t be looking to boost their squad come 2025-26. But for that to be possible, multiple names on the current team must be removed.
One of the bigger names that might find himself not being retained is left winger Brad Marchand. While Marchand has been a tremendous addition to the club, one NHL analyst believes he might soon find himself off the Panthers.
Brad Marchand’s Florida Panthers Tenure in Doubt
The Panthers have one of the lowest available cap spaces in the NHL, at just $19 million. Discussing the topic, NHL Analyst Frankie Corrado joined TSN Hockey SC host Jay Onrait to discuss where the free agents stand this offseason.
The discussion moves to the big three free agents at Florida being in the top five, with Sam Bennett at no. 2 and Aaron Ekblad at no. 5.
Onrait asked Corrado about the possibility of the trio returning to the Panthers next year, and which of the three is most likely to leave.
“I can’t envision a world where all three of those guys are back for a number of reasons,” Corrado responded. “First of all, Brad Marchand is kind of pricing himself out of the Florida Panthers right now with the way he’s played in the playoffs.”
Before the playoffs, many predicted that he would receive a contract worth around $5.5 million to $6 million per year. But after a rejuvenated performance in the postseason, his projected value has increased to the $6.5 million per year range.
Corrado blames Florida’s cap situation as the main reason why these tough decisions have to be made. He mentions that, sure, they can sign all three, but that would significantly less the resources spent on roster depth.
With such a strict cap space and the relatively high cap hit of all three UFAs, it will be hard for the Panthers to retain all three of them. He mentions that last year, as well, they were in the same situation when choosing between Sam Reinhardt and Brandon Montour, where they decided to keep Reinhardt.
It ended up being a pretty sweet deal for them, considering they might win a second Stanley Cup with Reinhardt being a key player. Corrado mentions that if history is to follow, then they will probably focus on keeping the forwards and let the defensemen go.
That is, unless Ekblad decides to take a pretty sweetheart deal himself. Free agency will commence on July 1.
