Florida Panthers sign goalie Jean-Francois Berube to one-year $750,000 contract

The Florida Panthers have signed goaltender Jean-Francois Berube to a one-year two-way contract worth $750,000.

As CapFriendly shows, Berube will make the league minimum while in the NHL and $100,000 while in the American Hockey League.

This season, the 31-year-old has posted a 4-2-1 record to go along with a .901 save percentage and 2.84 goals against average. He signed a player tryout contract (PTO) with the Panthers at the beginning of the 2022-23 season. He has shared the crease alongside Checkers’ goalies Mack Guzda and Alex Lyon for much of the season.

Originally drafted in the 2009 NHL Draft by the Los Angeles Kings, Berube made his pro debut during the 2012-13 AHL campaign with the Manchester Monarchs. During the 2014-15 season, Berube would help lead the Monarchs to the Calder Cup Championship, posting an insane 37-9-4 record through 52 regular season games and a .913 save percentage and 2.18 goals against average. During the playoffs, he went 13-3-0 through 17 games. That same season, Berube led all goalies in the AHL in the wins column with 37 and was named to his first AHL All-Star Game. 

Berube is another guy who has had trouble finding a permanent home over the past few years. Since his Calder Cup championship, he has made stops with the New York Islanders, Chicago Blackhawks, and Columbus Blue Jackets. He was taken 14th overall in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft by the Vegas Golden Knights but didn’t play a game for them.

The Repentigny, Quebec product has also made stops with the Rockford Ice Hogs, Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Hartford Wolf Pack, Ontario Reign, and Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. 

Berube will have to clear waivers to be eligible to play.