The Florida Panthers surprised many last season when they made it to the Stanley Cup final after barely squeaking into the playoffs. Now the question remains, will they be able to maintain their success?
NHL insider Kevin Weeks reported this afternoon that the Panthers are currently negotiating contract extensions for Brandon Montour and Gustav Forsling, two defenseman that played big roles in their Stanley Cup finals run last season.
Brandon Montour has yet to play a game this season due to injury, but he stands to play a big role once again as soon as he returns. Forsling's role has been a bit more under-the-radar, but he has quietly put up great results in a top-four role with the team. Both players are set to become UFAs at the end of the season.
Both players are due significant raises with Forsling currently holding a cap hit of just under 2.7 million and Montour coming in at a 3.5 million dollar cap hit. For a team that has typically not spent to the cap ceiling, the Panthers now find themselves in a predicament in regards to these players. The team currently is projected to have about 28 million in cap space next season with just 8 players signed. That means they will have to add 15 players, averaging less than 2 million dollars per player. This could make re-signing Forsling and Montour difficult.
Further complicating things is the fact that the team only has two defenseman signed for next season, Aaron Ekblad, who is currently hurt, and Nikko Mikkola. The team currently has 29.5 million dollars tied up with Barkov, Tkachuk, and Bobrovsky, limiting their ability to add quality depth pieces.
