It’s the offseason of the one-year deals it seems for teams around the NHL, and for the Florida Panthers, things are no different.
After giving out what feels like a plethora of one-year deals, there is one new Cat in particular who stands out: Evan Rodrigues.
Why?
He was given a four-year, $12M contract — making him the biggest signing this off-season (so far). Only he and defenseman Nikko Mikkola have been signed to multi-year deals worth more than $1M, with Mikkola signing a three-year, $7.5M contract.
If I had to classify the Rodrigues deal, I would say it looks to be a vintage Zito move. Err, at least what we have come to know Zito for since taking over as GM, and that’s finding guys that other teams pass over in hopes they’ll work out.
I’m not sure Rodrigues necessarily falls into that exact category, but you know what I mean.
Admittedly, I don’t know a whole lot about him outside of the fact that he had a stint on the Penguins, but some posters on here have pointed out this is a great signing.
In anticipation, I started doing some research on his playing style and career…
As the
“Already, Rodrigues is the Panther with the third most time left on his contract, behind only All-Star forwards Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk. Florida so heavily valued Rodrigues, it dumped Duclair, a true fan favorite and former All-Star, for a late-round pick and fringe NHL forward to clear the space to sign him. The Panthers believe in the Canadian forward not just to help them once again contend for a Stanley Cup next year, but also to be a foundational piece of their long-term vision to contend every single year.
Even though Rodrigues has never scored more than 43 points in a single season, Florida believes he fits in perfectly to the team’s systems and the holes it has in its roster.
Rodrigues, who scored 16 goals and had 23 assists in 63 games last season for the Avalanche, fits with the Panthers because of his speed and willingness to be aggressive on the forecheck — two hallmarks of Florida’s run through the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs. He’s also versatile enough to play any of the three forward spots, meaning he’ll help round out Florida’s top nine, and his 11 power-play points last year would’ve ranked seventh on the Panthers — after it went 0 of 14 on the power play in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, Florida needs help on special teams.“
I like the part about his speed and “willingness to be aggressive on the forecheck… because that’s the style Maurice is trying to instill, but I just can’t help but wonder. I mean, wouldn’t any team/coach want a guy with those skills?
A huge weakness that was exposed during the playoffs was Florida’s overall team depth. While it seems Zito has worked to deepen the blueline through multiple one-year deals to defensemen — most notably OEL — it feels like he went more all-in on Rodrigues as the key piece to his offensive unit (and depth) this offseason.
This is where I’m struggling a bit as I review his career.
An undrafted forward, Rodrigues agreed to a two-way entry-level deal with the Sabres in 2015. He played his first NHL game in 2016. Buffalo re-signed him in 2017 to a two-year, $1.3M deal and he became an NHL regular during the 2018-19 season.
The Sabres re-signed him in the summer of 2019 to a one-year, $2M extension, eventually trading him to the Penguins at the deadline.
He was then traded by Pittsburgh to Toronto in the 2020 offseason. He did not receive an offer from the Leafs and ended up signing back with Pittsburgh as a free agent on a one-year, $700K deal. The Penguins would again resign him, this time to a one-year, $1M deal.
He then signed a one-year, $2M deal with the Avalanche in 2022, where he had a solid season - putting up 39 points (16G, 23A) in 69 games.
His best seasons were certainly this past one with the Avalanche and 2021-22 with Pittsburgh, where he had 43 points (19G, 24A) in 82 games.
The above mentioned seasons seem to suggest general improvement in his game and I’m guessing his time with the Avs caught the eye of some GMs around the league. I’m also guessing that they looked at his resume and and may have been a little “iffy… on offering anything more than a one-year deal — what he’s pretty much been offered his whole career and this year’s trend before the cap increase next year.
What seems odd to me is that a career averagish player (at least looking at the numbers) could be holding all the cards after a couple good seasons, that a GM would give him the biggest contract for his team this offseason so far.
Is it possible Zito has overvalued, and ultimately, overpaid for him?
Well, sure. But it’s also possible that the evaluation is right on the money and Rodrigues has found his game and is what the Panthers need. We won’t know until we see what he can do out there for the Cats.
Personally…this just feels very Bill Zito’ish. It could be a home run, or it could be a swing and a miss. Only time will tell.
I’m excited to see what he brings.
Would also love to hear from any Pittsburgh or Colorado fans who watched him regularly.
Spencer Knight
In the good/interesting news department, George Richards points out that Spencer Knight will be returning to the ice this upcoming week:
“Because he missed the final months of Florida’s season due to leaving the team to join the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program, he has been granted a special provision and will be allowed to join the development camp to get some on-ice work in.
Knight is expected to join the Panthers for regular training camp in September and compete for the backup spot with newly-signed Anthony Stolarz for the No. 2 job behind Sergei Bobrovsky.…
Curious to see how he does getting back into the swing of things. ___________________
That’s all for now!