Florida Panthers: Best Addition And Worst Subtraction Of The Summer

Now that the off-season seems to be slowing down, we have a pretty good idea of every team's roster heading into this upcoming year. In this segment, we will be going over the best addition and worst subtraction for each of them. Something important to note is that players who were re-signed or given extensions will not be eligible for the "best addition" section. The same applies for picks from this year's NHL Entry Draft.

The Florida Panthers will be the team of discussion in this piece. After a great year, they are hoping to carry over their success over to this upcoming season. They managed to re-sign a few key players and also made some nice additions. In my honest opinion, they look better on paper now, even if they also lost a few notable players.

Best Addition: Sam Reinhart C/RW

Although they added a future Hockey Hall of Famer in Joe Thornton, it is clear that Sam Reinhart is their best addition. Reinhart just had a career year with the Buffalo Sabres this past season. In 54 games, he scored an impressive 25 goals and had 40 total points. He gives the Panthers another strong top-six options moving into the season. With a strong group of players around him, it will be interesting to see how much he produces this upcoming season.

Worst Subtraction: Keith Yandle D

Due to the Reinhart addition, the Alex Wennberg departure is not as significant as it could have been. Thus, Keith Yandle may end up being the worst subtraction for the team. Although his contract was big and he was healthy scratched during the playoffs, he still is a solid offensive defenseman in this league. In 56 games this past season, he scored three goals and had 27 points. The Flyers signing him for just $900,000 is a steal, even if he makes mistakes defensively. The Panthers will miss the offense he brought from the backend.

The loss of Chris Driedger also is a hard one. However, they have Spencer Knight who is ready to play in the NHL regularly, so it makes his departure sting a bit less.

Check out our last piece on the New York Rangers here. In our next one, we will be looking at the New York Islanders.