The Florida Panthers’ mini makeover continues.
George Richards of the Miami Herald reports the Panthers have traded for the rights to veteran defenseman Keith Yandle from the New York Rangers.
.@FlaPanthers getting the negotiating rights to UFA defenseman Keith Yandle for a draft pick as well as a conditional if he signs.
— George Richards (@GeorgeRichards) June 20, 2016
The deal is for a sixth-round pick and a conditional fourth-round pick if Yandle signs with the club, according to Darren Dreger of TSN.ca.
It’s a nice pick-up for the Panthers, as Yandle is an excellent point-producer and offensive defenseman. He’s scored five goals and 47 points in 2015-16 and hit the 50+ point mark in his previous two seasons. He’s a top-pairing defenseman who excels at generating shot attempts.
Yandle’s not an amazing defensive player, but he’s not a negative in that regard either. He’s exactly the type of defenseman you’d expect the Panthers’ analytical-minded front office would go after. Florida’s got plenty of cap space to work with.
The Panthers are clearly reworking their team’s defense, as earlier this offseason they traded Erik Gudbranson and a 2016 fifth-round pick to the Vancouver Canucks in a coup for Jared McCann, a second-round pick and a fourth-round pick in the 2016 draft. Both Willie Mitchell and Brian Campbell are unrestricted free agents this offseason, so the Panthers are rebuilding the d-core around Aaron Ekblad and Michael Matheson.
At the end of the day, a sixth-round pick isn’t costly to effectively get an extra week-plus to negotiate with Yandle. If the Panthers can seal the deal and sign the talented rearguard to a contract, it’s going to be a heck of a signing for Florida.
