The Florida Panthers are expected to turn their attention to their pending unrestricted free agents after missing out on signing forward Patrick Kane, according to ESPN’s Kevin Weekes. The Panthers didn’t have much available cap space to sign the three-time Stanley Cup champion for this season and could face a shortage of it next summer when they try to negotiate long-term extensions with some of the top free agents available.
Sam Reinhart, Brandon Montour and Gustav Forsling are all set to hit the market in July 2024, and they could take a sizeable chunk of the $28.8M in cap space the Panthers are projected to have available next summer.
Reinhart has scored at least 22 goals in six consecutive seasons and is coming off back-to-back 30-goal campaigns. He is currently on pace for the first 100-point season of his career, but it is early in the season. But if the 28-year-old can keep up a pace close to that he could be looking at a long-term deal in the range of $8M-$9M annually.
Montour, on the other hand, is a difficult projection to make. He had 73 points last season in 80 games but has never topped 40 points in any other season during his eight-year NHL career. He missed the Panthers’ first 16 games of the season and has had a slow start offensively with just a single assist in five games. He will most likely see a sharp increase on his next contract from the $3.5M cap hit that he carries, but much of his future earning potential will be decided by the direction the rest of this season takes.
Forsling is the final high-profile free agent the Panthers will need to sign next summer, and after a pair of solid seasons in Florida, he will be looking to cash in. The 27-year-old plays in all situations and has really seen his offensive game improve over the last couple of years. He is carrying a cap hit that is a shade over $2.6M and could command an additional $3M-$4M per season given that he has proved he can be a top-pairing defenseman for the Panthers.
The Panthers will be hard-pressed to sign all three players as they will have other areas of need to consider going forward. Aaron Ekblad will be a free agent in the summer of 2025, as will Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe.
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