Cap Rules Everything Around Me
The Florida Panthers have an interesting predicament on their hands at the end of this season as they have four forwards that are pending Unrestricted Free Agents. All four of these players (Bergenheim, Fleischmann, Kopecky, and Upshall) were signed in the summer of 2011 when Florida went on a huge offseason shopping spree. With young prospects knocking on the door, Florida will have to make a decision on which players to re-sign.
In order to compare each player fairly, I will solely be looking at their production from 2011 to 2014 (First 3 years of their contract with Florida). Also, I will only be discussing each players production at 5-on-5 as some players benefited from additional time on the power play. In order to compensate for TOI/Injuries, I will also be listing each player’s rate per 60 minutes for each stat. Finally, I will rank each player’s production in comparison to the production of their UFA peers. Now, let’s go the UFAs.
Stats obtained from Hockey Analysis
Sean Bergenheim – LW
Age 30 (31 at UFA)
Current Contract – 4 Years @ 2.75m (11M Total) – 4th amongst UFAs
(5-on-5 Production – 2011-2012 season to 2013-2014 season)
| Games Played | Total TOI | Goals | Assists | Points | SOG |
| 124 | 1624:53 | 22 | 17 | 39 | 304 |
| Rank | Rank | Rank | Rank | Rank | Rank |
| 4th | 3rd | 2nd | 4th | 3rd | 2nd |
(Rate per 60 minutes for each stat)
| Goals/60 | Assists/60 | Points/60 | SOG/60 |
| .81 | .63 | 1.44 | 11.23 |
| Rank | Rank | Rank | Rank |
| 1st | 4th | 2nd | 1st |
A member of the “Killer B’s” line, Bergenheim unfortunately missed the entire 12-13 season due to a groin injury that required surgery. This massive injury severely hurt his total games played for the Panthers and as a result of this, the majority of his 5-on-5 stats suffered. However, if we look at his rate per 60 for each stat, we can see that Bergenheim leads all pending UFAs in Goals and SOG. Florida is currently starved for offense and scoring so I hope Bergenheim’s reunion with Barkov and Boyes will help him have a strong season. Bergenheim will definitely be a player to watch this year and I hope to see him have a full, healthy season.
Tomas Fleischmann – LW
Age 30 (31 at UFA)
Current Contract – 4 Years @ 4.5m (18M Total) – 1st among UFAs
Note: Fleischmann has a NMC/Modified NTC in his contract
(5-on-5 Production – 2011-2012 season to 2013-2014 season)
| Games Played | Total TOI | Goals | Assists | Points | SOG |
| 210 | 2941:24 | 33 | 39 | 72 | 369 |
| Rank | Rank | Rank | Rank | Rank | Rank |
| 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st |
(Rate per 60 minutes for each stat)
| Goals/60 | Assists/60 | Points/60 | SOG/60 |
| .67 | .80 | 1.47 | 7.53 |
| Rank | Rank | Rank | Rank |
| 2nd | 1st | 1st | 2nd |
So far, Fleischmann has only missed 2 games in his 4-year contract with Florida (One game due to the flu, one game due to being a healthy scratch). Looking at his 5-on-5 numbers, Fleischmann has been Florida’s most productive player among his UFA peers. Fleischmann’s productivity is also apparent when you view his rate stats as he is either first or second in each category. An interesting factor about Fleischmann is his contract includes a “No Move Clause”/Modified “No Trade Clause”. If Florida were to decide to shop him at the trade deadline as a rental, Fleischmann would have near complete control of his fate.
Tomas Kopecky – LW/RW
Age 32 (33 at UFA)
Current Contract – 4 Years @ 3.0m AAV (12M Total) – 3rd among UFAs
Note: Kopecky’s rights were obtained by Florida when they gave Chicago a 7th-round pick for him. With their exclusive negotiating rights, they signed him prior to Free Agency opening.
(5-on-5 Production – 2011-2012 season to 2013-2014 season)
| Games Played | Total TOI | Goals | Assists | Points | SOG |
| 176 | 2205:27 | 16 | 26 | 42 | 251 |
| Rank | Rank | Rank | Rank | Rank | Rank |
| 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd |
(Rate per 60 minutes for each stat)
| Goals/60 | Assists/60 | Points/60 | SOG/60 |
| .44 | .80 | 1.14 | 6.83 |
| Rank | Rank | Rank | Rank |
| 4th | 3rd | 4th | 4th |
Kopecky will be the oldest Panther among his UFA peers when his contract expires. Despite being fairly healthy in his first two seasons, Kopecky had a myriad of injuries in 13-14, including a concussion that kept him on the sidelines for almost half of the season. Although his 5-on-5 stats look pretty decent, this is mostly due to him being 2nd in Total Games Played among pending Panthers UFAs. Unfortunately, Kopecky’s rate stats are pretty poor. Out of all the pending UFAs, Kopecky is last in every possible stat with the exception of Assists/60 where he is ranked 3rd. Combining these stats with his age and injuries from last season, it’s hard to be optimistic for Kopecky.
Scottie Upshall – LW/RW
Age 31
Current Contract – 4 Years @ 3.5m (12M Total) – 2nd among UFAs
Note: Upshall has a NMC/Modified NTC in his contract
(5-on-5 Production – 2011-2012 season to 2013-2014 season)
| Games Played | Total TOI | Goals | Assists | Points | SOG |
| 129 | 1535:31 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 212 |
| Rank | Rank | Rank | Rank | Rank | Rank |
| 3rd | 4th | 4th | 3rd | 4th | 4th |
(Rate per 60 minutes for each stat )
| Goals/60 | Assists/60 | Points/60 | SOG/60 |
| .55 | .74 | 1.29 | 8.28 |
| Rank | Rank | Rank | Rank |
| 3rd | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd |
Upshall is another pending Panthers UFA that has had his fair share of injuries, missing the vast majority of games in the 2o11-2012 and 2012-2013 seasons. Upshall sits in the middle of the pack among his peers when you look at his stats per 60 and will more than likely benefit this season from some time on the second line with Bjugstad and Huberdeau. Like Fleischmann, Upshall also has a “No Move Clause”/Modified “No Trade Clause” in his contract and will more than likely control his own destiny if the Panthers wish to move him at the trade deadline.
In closing, the Panthers will have a tough decision on their hands. Personally, I feel that the Panthers should try to move at least one or two of these players at the trade deadline if they are out of playoff picture by then. That way, the team would at least receive an asset back instead of letting a player walk for nothing (*cough* Stephen Weiss).
The trickiest thing about all of this is the “No Move Clause”/Modified “No Trade Clause” that Fleischmann and Upshall carry on their contract. Fleischmann’s salary and NMC/Modified NTC would make him rather difficult to move at the trade deadline even though he is arguably the best player out of the Panthers’ UFAs from a production standpoint. Although I hate to say it, Bergenheim might be the most tempting player to move. He has the lowest cap hit among the pending UFAs the Panthers have and his production will likely inflate this season due to his top line role with Barkov and Boyes. This would make him a very tempting player to move at the trade deadline. Regardless of the outcome, the Panthers have a lot of great prospects knocking on the door at the junior and minor league level and I’m very interested to see what will happen.
If it were up to you, who would you re-sign?
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Kris M. can be reached for contact on Twitter or via email at thesunshineskate@gmail.com.
