Adam Pardy’s quest to crack the Panthers’ new-look defense is over.
Pardy, signed to a training camp PTO back in early September, was released on Thursday morning, the club announced.
Pardy, 32, split last season between Winnipeg and Edmonton after the Oilers picked him up off waivers in late February.
At 6-foot-4 and 227 pounds, Pardy’s always been a robust physical player that plays with an edge (something the Panthers lost in trading away Erik Gudbranson this summer).
His skating and offensive ability have been called into question, though -- he’s never scored more than 10 points in a single season -- and there are concerns about his ability to keep up.
Could be why he failed to crack the opening-night roster. Pardy’s release, along with yesterday’s waiving of Jakub Kindl, leaves nine defensemen left in the mix: Aaron Ekblad, Keith Yandle, Jason Demers, Alex Petrovic, Mark Pysyk, Mike Matheson, Ian McCoshen, Steve Kampfer and OHL Owen Sound product Thomas Schemitsch.