Panthers load up on defensive depth (and stay away from long-term deals) in free agency

The Florida Panthers didn’t even wait for free agency to officially begin to find their first target of the offseason.

The Panthers locked in on Oliver Ekman-Larsson for a one-year deal about an hour before free agency actually opened Saturday, according to multiple reports, and it turned out to set the tone for everything Florida wanted to get done on Day 1 of free agency.

Defensive depth was abundant. Long-term deals were virtually nonexistent. The Panthers didn’t do anything exactly flashy on their first real day of the offseason, trying to make marginal upgrades for next season after reaching the 2023 Stanley Cup Final and maintain as much flexibility as possible for an even more consequential offseason next year.

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Ekman-Larsson is coming to Florida on a one-year, $2.25 million deal. Fellow defenseman Niko Mikkola is joining the Panthers on a three-year, $7.5 million deal. Those are the only two players to get contracts worth more than $1.1 million annually from Florida on Saturday and Mikkola is one of only two players to get a multiyear deal from the Panthers.

The rest of Florida’s moves were low-cost, depth additions. Defensemen Dmitry Kulikov and Kevin Reilly, and center Kevin Stenlund are all joining the team for one year and $1 million. Left wing Grigori Denisenko is back on a two-year, $1.55 million deal after the Panthers didn’t extend him a qualifying offer Friday and defenseman Lucas Carlsson is also coming back on a one-year, two-way deal. Goaltender Anthony Stolarz was Florida’s only other addition of the day, joining the team on a one-year, $1.1 million deal.

The Panthers went into July with about $10 million in cap space, and could have tried to use it to make a big addition and then round out the rest of the roster with minimum contracts, but they instead tried to flesh out their defensive depth — star defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour will both miss the start of next year with injuries — and maintain flexibility for next offseason.

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Its eight moves Saturday leave Florida with less than $1 million in cap space right now, but those short-term deals mean the Panthers still will have about $32.9 million in cap space for next offseason when about half a dozen key players — including Montour, fellow defenseman Gustav Forsling, and centers Sam Reinhart, Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen — will become free agents.

Those cap concerns are why the Panthers opted not to bring back Radko Gudas, who signed for three years and $12 million with the Ducks, or go after fellow defenseman Dimitry Orlov.

Although Gudas was a fan favorite and highly valued by Florida, the Panthers didn’t want to give that type of contract to a 33-year-old, third-pairing defenseman and will try to replace him through some combination of Mikkola, Kulikov, Ekman-Larsson and Reilly. Orlov, who was the top defenseman on the market, left the Bruins for the Hurricanes on a two-year, $15 million deal, which was also too big for Florida.

The Panthers also lost left wing Givani Smith to the Sharks on a two-year deal — Florida did not extend him a qualifying offer Friday — and goaltender Alex Lyon to the Red Wings on a two-year deal. Defensemen Casey Fitzgerald and Marc Staal, and centers Colin White and Eric Staal — the four other Panthers to appear in a postseason game and become free agents Saturday — all remain unsigned.

It all means Florida will look very similar next year to how it did last, only with a few changes on the margins.

On offense, the Panthers will have all of their top nine forwards back, plus fourth-line left wing Ryan Lomberg. Stenlund should slot into a bottom-six role, leaving one forward spot open with Denisenko, and centers Zac Dalpe and Mackie Samoskevich as some potential options to fill it.

On defense, Florida will eventually have its top three defensemen all back, plus third-pairing defenseman Josh Mahura. Now, there are tons of options to fill those other second- and third-pairing roles — and some bigger ones while Ekblad and Montour are out.

Even though the Panthers don’t have enough cap space to sign even a minimum contract, it doesn’t mean they’re done. Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin remains on the trade block and Florida is one of several teams interested. The Panthers’ best course of action to acquire a top defenseman was always going to be via trade and general manager Bill Zito has made a big one in every one of his offseasons in South Florida.