The young, potential-laden blue line of the Florida Panthers continues to get solidified as Erik Gudbranson and Dylan Olsen signed two year deals over the last few days.
There were grumblings during the draft that Gudbranson could be on the move via trade, but GM Dale Tallon was unwavering in keeping his assets in house.
While Gudbranson's development may be considered slow in some hockey circles, he brings all the toughness you could want out of a defenseman. His offensive game is still developing and in time could be "C" type material for this club.
Gudbranson's deal will pay him $2.5 million per season, which is great value for the Panthers if he continues to blossom into the well-rounded player most think he can be.
Dylan Olsen was acquired with Jimmy Hayes from Chicago for Kris Versteeg last season, and he showed flashes of having what it takes to be a key piece on the blue line for years to come. He had a five-game point streak in December before getting hit with the injury bug which kept him out of action for most of January and some of February.
He finished the season with three goals and nine assists in 44 games and was a minus-3. At the time of this writing financials were not disclosed, nor is it known of this is a one or two-way deal.
After drafting Aaron Ekblad, signing these two players is another step towards solidifying the defense in front of Roberto Luongo. Surely getting Dmitry Kulikov under contract is next on Tallon's to-do list. If that happens the next few years look promising if all the kids mature as expected.
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