3 Moves The Florida Panthers Should Make This Off-Season

The Florida Panthers have been extremely busy this summer. They already bought out Keith Yandle, extended Anthony Duclair and traded for Sam Reinhart.

We have acquired forward Sam Reinhart from the @buffalosabres in exchange for our first-round selection in the 2022 #NHLDraft and goaltender Devon Levi.

📝 » https://t.co/7wE6ylvt6s pic.twitter.com/ACm8br5Cle
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) July 24, 2021

They also are coming off of a very solid regular season that saw them end with a 37-14-5 record. Although they would lose in the first round to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the postseason, it is fair to state that they are heading in the right direction. They should make a few more moves this off-season, though.

Here are three of them now.

Extend RFA Sam Reinhart: Now that they have traded for Reinhart, they need to give him an extension because he is a restricted free agent. It would be ideal to lock him up for multiple seasons, as he is eligible for unrestricted free agency starting next summer. Given the fact that they traded their first-round pick and promising goaltender prospect Devon Levi to acquire him, re-signing him is a real necessity. Thankfully, they do have the cap space to get a deal done rather easily.

Trade Anton Stralman: There have been rumors that the Panthers are looking to trade Stralman, but his $5.5 million cap is not very appealing. However, they could do what other teams have been doing with bad contracts and trade multiple pieces with him to get a deal done. Perhaps Arizona would be willing to do a trade like this yet again, as they are embracing the rebuild. However, no matter where they try to trade Stralman, he has to accept a deal. He has a 16-team no-trade list.

Extend Aleksander Barkov: Captain Aleksander Barkov has one year left on his current deal and can leave via free agency next off-season. Given his importance to the team, the Panthers should work extremely hard to sign him to an extension now. The 25-year-old is their top center because of not only his strong offensive totals, but also his elite defensive play. He is the reigning Selke Trophy winner for a reason.