While the Florida Panthers have a lot of youth at forward, they’ve locked up another of their young defensemen.
The Panthers announced they’ve re-signed restricted free agent blue liner Dylan Olsen to a two-year contract.
Last season, he played in 44 games for Florida and had three goals and 12 points. After playing in 28 games for the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2011-12 season, he made the most of his time this season trying to establish himself as an offensively productive defender.
Much like his fellow young defenseman Erik Gudbranson, who also signed a two-year deal recently, he’ll have a chance to make himself more of a force in a defensive corps that could use the help.
With vets like Brian Campbell and Willie Mitchell around, the Panthers defense is a bit green with Gudbranson, Alex Petrovic, Dmitry Kulikov, and Colby Robak. If Olsen can improve his game from last season, he can help make Florida’s top-six a bit sturdier.
Related: The Panthers also re-signed forwards Ryan Martindale and Garrett Wilson. They’ll likely pick up where they left off in AHL San Antonio.