Panthers sign Jeff Petry to one-year contract
The Florida Panthers have signed defenseman Jeff Petry to a one-year, $775,000 contract.
#FlaPanthers adding Jeff Petry: 1 year x $775k plus performance bonuses.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 1, 2025Petry was an unrestricted free agent after the conclusion of his four-year contract with a $6.25 million cap hit. It’s a significant drop in his salary, although that shouldn’t be a surprise at 37-years-old. He’ll likely fill in the role of a cheap, bottom-pair, puck-moving defenseman held by Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Nate Schmidt for the past two seasons, while Petry will hope to hop on the ride as the Panthers attempt a Stanley Cup threepeat.
Petry’s contract does come with performance bonuses, although the conditions for those bonuses has yet to be reported. There’s also no report on if it comes with a no-move/no-trade clause.
Petry has seen his game take significant steps back over the past four years, going from a 40-point player at his peak to getting just one goal and seven assists for eight points in 44 games in 2024-25 with the Detroit Red Wings. While Ekman-Larsson and Schmidt saw their games improve with the Panthers, neither were at as low of a point in their career as Petry is.
Jack Studnicka signs a one-year, two-way deal with #FlaPanthers: $775,000/$450,000
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) July 1, 2025The Panthers have also signed center Jack Studnicka to a one-year contract with a league-minimum salary of $775,000. Studnicka was an unrestricted free agent after the Los Angeles Kings opted to not qualify him.
Studnicka’s contract is a two-way deal, with him set to get a $450,000 salary in the AHL.
Studnicka spent the entirety of his season in the AHL with the Kings’ minor league affiliate, the Ontario Reign, where he had 16 goals and 29 assists for 45 points in 72 games, which was his best season since 2019-20 in the AHL. He also went pointless in two games in the playoffs, as the Reign were swept in the first round of the AHL playoffs by the San Jose Barracuda.
We’ve agreed to terms with goaltender Kirill Gerasimyuk on a two-year, entry level contract.
📝 » https://t.co/E37i22FX3D pic.twitter.com/Ggr7X348MF
The Panthers also signed goaltender Kirill Gerasimyuk to a two-year, entry-level contract. The cap hit of his contract is currently unknown.
Gerasimyuk was a fifth-round pick for the Panthers in 2021. He spent the 2024-25 season in the VHL with Neva SKA and Khanty-Mansiysk Yugra, where he had a 12-9-8 record, a .930 save percentage, and three shutouts.