The Florida Panthers have been active since their off-season began, clearing cap space with the trades of Erik Gudbranson and Marc Savard’s contract to New Jersey on Friday.
As a result, there could be some big deals in the works.
That includes closing in on a long-term contract for pending restricted free agent forward Vincent Trocheck, who enjoyed a breakout 2015-16 season, as per George Richards of the Miami Herald.
#FlaPanthers have been clearing cap room with Gudbranson/Savard deals. Close to long term w/ Trocheck, talking w/ Campbell
— George Richards (@GeorgeRichards) June 10, 2016
The 22-year-old Trocheck scored 25 goals and 53 points in 76 regular season games, with 2.89 goals-for per 60 minutes and 1.83 goals-against per 60 minutes at even strength. His possession numbers -- 51.3 per cent Corsi For at five-on-five, as per stats.hockeyanalysis.com -- were solid, too.
His production should lead to a substantial raise from the $2.775 million total value for his three-year entry-level contract.
His play throughout the season also left quite an impression on his teammates, including Jaromir Jagr, who knows a thing or two about leaving a strong impression on the ice.
“He was our best player for a long time,” said Jagr at the end of March, when Trocheck went down with an apparent foot injury that forced him to miss the remainder of the regular season and reduced his time in the playoffs to just two games of the opening round.
That says something for a young player on a team that includes more seasoned stars like Jagr and Roberto Luongo, and youthful talents like Aaron Ekblad, Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov.