What do Jakub Kindl, Brian Campbell, Erik Gudbranson, Willie Mitchell, Dylan Olsen and Dmitry Kulikov all have in common?
They all played defense for the Florida Panthers last year.
That’s where the similarities end, however -- on Wednesday, Kindl joined the ranks of the (potentially) departed as the Panthers placed him on waivers, per Sportsnet.
Kindl, picked 19th overall by Detroit in 2005, was acquired by Florida at last year’s deadline, but failed to make much of an impact. He had just two points in 19 regular season games -- averaging 13:59 per night -- and was largely a spectator in the playoffs, appearing in just a single contest during an opening-round loss to the Islanders.
But while Kindl’s time in Florida with brief, he still spent time there. And now he’s gone.
And that was the Panthers’ big narrative this offseason. The defense had a major overhaul: Campbell was allowed to walk in free agency, Gudbransona and Kulikov were traded, Mitchell’s concussion problems effectively ended his career and Olsen is still without a contract for this season.
To fill the holes, Florida went out and acquired the likes of Keith Yandle, Jason Demers and Mark Pysyk. It’s also expected prospects Mike Matheson and Ian McCoshen will push for minutes.
To be fair, there is a financial component to this transaction as well. Kindl makes quite a bit of money for what he projected to give the Panthers -- $2.4 million AAV, and $3 million in salary this season -- so dispatching him to the American League, or having a taker on waivers, would free up some cash.