Welcome back to our latest NHL Rumours, here at Last Word On Hockey. Free agency has been very active across the NHL, and the Stanley Cup champs are no exceptions. General manager Bill Zito was decisive in some major contracts. So, how will that bring lead to more rumours you may ask?Let’s find out.
NHL Rumours: The Panthers Need to Trade Some Salary
James Mirtle: Florida’s going to lose somebody; they’re over the cap, they’re going to have to trade someone; people seem to think it’s going to be Evan Rodrigues – Leaf Report Podcast
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) July 4, 2025
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Rumour: The rumour orignates in that the Florida Panthers are over the cap, and they need to let someone go. The most likely route, will be to do it with a trade. James Mirtle, of the The Leaf Report Podcast, thinks it’ll be Evan Rodrigues that the Cats consider trading.
Analysis: You knew from all the big names, on big money deals, despite the salary cap increase for 2025-26, the Panthers were going to be above it. Now that they are, we are now free to discuss how they can remedy it.
Let’s just consider the uptake in contracts the Panthers have experienced, going back to the trade deadline. Since that time, they now have four new contracts to pay for, and they are each star players.
Seth Jones and Brad Marchand came over at the deadline. As well, Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad both just recently agreed to new deals. So, if you compare before and after, they previously had two contracts. Together, Bennett and Ekblad were making $4.43M and $7.5M, totaling a little under $12M. Now, with the addition of Jones, and the three others’ recent contract extensions, that amount is much higher. It’s up around $26.35M. That works out to a difference of over $14M. Therefore, even accounting for the salary cap increase, the Panthers find themselves in a non-cap compliant situation currently. PuckPedia currently lists them at $2.95M over the cap ceiling. That means something needs to be done. We will add, however, GM Zito has done well at filling out the roster. They do have 22 of 23 roster spots filled, so they are close. In contrast, being nearly $3M over, is an issue.
What To Do About Their Situation
Now that we’ve provided a bit of background and established the problem, it’s time to get to brainstorming solutions. Time to put yourself in the Panthers hockey operations meeting, and come up with the best solution.
Mirtle’s suggestion of Rodrigues makes a ton of sense. First of all, he’s not one of the star-level players that the Panthers have lots of their roster. They wouldn’t want to giveaway a big piece of what makes them as successful as they are, just to become cap compliant. A move that could conceivably impact the bottom line of being cup contenders. Secondly, why Rodrigues makes sense is that he earns enough that you’d only have to move him. His salary is at $3M, which is enough to do the trick of getting them compliant. A couple other potential forwards that would fit that criteria include Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen. However, they are both younger, and plus, they were products of the Panthers development system. For these reasons, a Rodrigues trade really seems like the Panthers optimal option.
Now the challenge for GM Zito and staff, would be finding a trade partner. Rodrigues would be a nice pickup for certain teams. Moreover, that would include teams that are playoff contenders, with a couple bucks to spend under the cap. The Utah Mammoth might be an example of a team looking to add a depth centre with Stanley Cup pedigree. Another team that comes to mind is the Winnipeg Jets, after losing Nikolaj Ehlers to free agency.
The other point is that the Panthers are noy looking to add assets through the deal. What that translates to is that they should be able to find a partner.
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
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