*Photo from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette*
A warm weather place like Florida could be a good place to play. The Florida Panthers and C/LW Evan Rodrigues have agreed to a 4 year, $12 million contract, according to David Pagnotta of NHL Network. The Panthers have confirmed the signing.
After previously signing 4 straight one year contracts, Rodrigues now gets a multi year agreement from the Panthers in free agency. Rodrigues has a $3 million AAV on his deal, but the majority of his annual salary is a $2.225 million signing bonus in all 4 years of the deal.
Rodrigues said of signing with the Panthers that "You always like to join a contender and a team that's pushing to win a Stanley Cup. Obviously got really close last year and I'm just trying to come in and help the team kind of get over that hump and hopefully try to win a Stanley Cup with them. All four lines compete and work hard and I think that's why they're successful. They wear teams down, they play a fast high-offense game and it's something I'm definitely excited to be a part of."
Last season, Rodrigues played for the Colorado Avalanche after 2 1/2 years in Pittsburgh. Rodrigues potted 16 goals and added 23 assists, posting a +7 rating while averaging 17:51 of ice time in 69 games. He added one goal and 4 assists in 7 playoff games.
Originally signed by the Buffalo Sabres as an undrafted free agent, Rodrigues debuted in 2015-2016 with a two game cup of coffee. He had never surpassed the 30 point mark in a season until 2021-2022 with the Pittsburgh Penguins, breaking out with 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points in 82 games.
Rodrigues has played for the Sabres, Penguins, and Avalanche since debuting in 2015-2016. In that time, he has racked up 69 goals and 99 assists, totaling 168 points. He's averaged 15:01 of ice time with a -23 rating in 385 regular season games. Rodrigues also has 4 goals and 7 assists to go with a +3 rating in 16 career playoff games.
Florida GM Bill Zito said of the addition that "Rodrigues brings skill and the ability to compete in three zones of the ice. A culture fit and someone who adds versatility to our lineup, we can't wait to welcome Evan to the Panthers."
With the addition of Rodrigues, the Panthers now have under $500,000 in remaining cap space, with approximately $362,000 left.
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