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Panthers add Troy Brouwer on one-year contract

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DEREK LEUNG

After having the final two years of his contract with the Calgary Flames bought out earlier this month, veteran forward Troy Brouwer has a new home in the NHL.

The Florida Panthers announced on Monday that they have signed the 33-year-old Brouwer to a one-year deal.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed by the team but it will reportedly pay him $850,000 according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston.

“Troy is a skilled veteran forward with championship experience,” said Panthers general manager Dale Tallon in a team statement. “He adds depth to our forward group and his leadership will help our developing young core take the next step this season.”

Brouwer had signed a four-year, $18 million contract with the Flames prior to the 2016-17 season, a deal that quickly became an albatross on the team’s salary cap structure as his production fell off a cliff over the past two years, tallying just 19 goals and 47 points in his first 150 games with the Flames. Calgary is taking a $1.5 million salary cap hit in each of the next four years to be rid of him.

The big draw here is obviously the fact that Tallon has a history with Brouwer dating back to their days in Chicago where Brouwer spent the first five years of his career, helping the team win a Stanley Cup during the 2009-10 season. The Blackhawks had to trade Brouwer following the 2010-11 season as part of one of their many salary cap purges over the years, sending him to Washington for a first-round draft pick. The Capitals later traded him to St. Louis in a deal for T.J. Oshie that has pretty clearly worked out in their favor.

How much Brouwer has left in the tank remains to be seen, and his presence probably reduces the likelihood of one of the Panthers’ prospects opening the year with the team (Owen Tippett?). In other words: The Panthers are really banking on that veteran presence he provides making an impact.

After a tough start to the 2017-18 season the Panthers finished the year strong and missed the second wild card spot by just a single point. They have a good young core in place led by Aleksander Barkov, Vincent Trocheck, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Aaron Ekblad, and have added Mike Hoffman along with Brouwer this offseason.

Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.