Florida Panthers Sign RFA Goaltender

The Florida Panthers have announced they have come to terms with restricted free agent goaltender Samuel Montembeault on a one-year contract worth the league minimum, $700,000.

#Panthers signed goalie Samuel Montembeault to a 1 year / 2-way contract earlier today.

NHL: $700,000
Minor: $85,000

Montembeault played 14 games with the Panthers last season, and is the first goalie they've signed since creating their Goaltending Excellence Department. https://t.co/LYFbOx3GPy
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) December 23, 2020

As our friends at Cap Friendly indicated, this is the first goalie signed since the team named Roberto Luongo their head of the new Goaltending Excellence Department. Shortly after the team announced the innovative idea, the Calgary Flames followed suit.

As for Montembeault, the 24-year-old is hoping to stick as the everyday backup with the Panthers and considering Sergei Bobrovsky hasn't produced the results the team hoped, there's a chance he could see more action in a condensed scheduled season.

The Quebec City, Quebec native appeared in 14 games with the Panthers last season and posted a 3.34 goals against average, which he'll need to improve on to land a long-term deal.

The @FlaPanthers have re-signed goaltender Samuel Montembeault to a one-year, two-way contract.

Get to know the former AHL All-Star netminder ➡️ https://t.co/YmfMGwguTR pic.twitter.com/cWuxgz99At
— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) December 22, 2020