Goalie Start
Bobrovsky will start the Panthers season opener on Thursday.
Florida Panthers News
Bennett (COVID-19 protocol) returned to practice on Monday.
Bennett was forced to miss Saturday's preseason game due to COVID-19 protocol but was back on the ice for Monday's practice session. This is a good sign for his availability for the Panthers' season opener vs. the Penguins on Thursday.
The Panthers have signed Aleksander Barkov to an eight-year, $80 million contract extension.
Barkov is entering the final year of a six-year, $35.4M deal and is now signed through the 2030 NHL season. The $10.0M AAV cap-hit for Barkov represents a $4.1M AAV raise for the 26-year-old. Barkov is coming off of a season in which he scored 26 goals with 32 assists (58 points) in 50 games.
The Sharks have claimed Jonah Gadjovich off waivers from the Canucks.
Gadjovich was a second-round pick of the Canucks in 2017 but has played just one NHL game since. The 22-year-old winger has spent all of his time in the AHL, where he had 15 goals and three assists (18 points) in 19 games a season ago.
The Blue Jackets have signed J.F. Berube to a one-year, two-way contract.
The Flyers have re-signed Connor Bunnaman to a two-year contract.
The Blackhawks have re-signed MacKenzie Entwistle to a two-year contract.
The Panthers have re-signed Sam Reinhart to a three-year, $19.5 million contract.
The Devils have re-signed A.J. Greer to a one-year, two-way contract.
The WIld have signed Dmitry Kulikov to a two-year, $4.5 million contract.
The Blackhawks have signed Seth Jones to an eight-year, $76 million contract extension.
The Panthers have signed Carter Verhaeghe to a three-year contract extension worth $12.50 million ($4.167M AAV).
The Bruins have signed Tomas Nosek to a two-year contract worth $3.5 million ($1.75M AAV).
The Penguins have signed Evan Rodrigues to a one-year deal worth $1.0 million.
The Panthers have signed Sam Bennett to a four-year, $17.6 million contract extension.
Bennett's career with the Flames did not go as planned but he paid immediate dividends once arriving in Florida. The 25-year-old had 15 points (6G / 9A) in 10 regular seasons games and five points (1G / 4A) in five playoff games. Bennett seems to have solidified the Panthers' 2C role behind Aleksander Barkov and signed for a very affordable $4.4M AAV. Pairing up with Jonathan Huberdeau on the second line should help Bennett have his best season to date in 2021-22.
The Panthers have acquired Sam Reinhart from the Sabres for Devon Levi and a '22 1st round pick.
Reinhart is an RFA, so he'll need a new deal with the Panthers but is a huge addition to their top-6 for 2021-22. Reinhart has scored 20-plus goals in four straight seasons, averaging 27 goals and 32 assists (59 points) per 82 games over that span. Whether it's with Aleksander Barkov or Sam Bennett, Reinhart should receive a big fantasy boost by moving from Buffalo to Florida.
The Blackhawks have acquired Seth Jones, the No.32 overall pick and a 2022 sixth-round pick from the Blue Jackets for Adam Boqvist, the No.12 overall pick, a 2021 second-round pick and a 2022 first-round pick.
Jones has one year left on his deal that carries a $5.4M cap-hit but was due for a raise and made it clear he wasn't interested in returning to Columbus. Jones had a modified no-trade clause so he was interested in joining the Blackhawks and received a massive eight-year extension immediately following the trade. Jones' offensive numbers have been trending towards in the last two seasons and he has many detractors, especially in the analytics community, so this will definitely be a deal worth monitoring for the future.
The Panthers have signed Gustav Forsling to a three-year contract extension.
The Panthers claimed Forsling off of waivers from the Hurricanes in early January and posted career-highs in goals (5) and assists (12) in just 43 games in 2021. Forsling figures to be part of the regular blueline rotation for Florida in 2021-22.
Petry (hand) will return to the Canadiens lineup for Game 2 in Vegas.
Petry (hand) is on the ice for warmups; could return to the Montreal lineup in Game 2.