"Troy is a skilled veteran forward with championship experience," Panthers president of hockey operations and general manager Dale Tallon said in a statement. "He adds depth to our forward group and his leadership will help our developing young core take the next step this season."
The 33-year-old spent the last two seasons with the Calgary Flames and became an unrestricted free agent in early August after the team bought out the final two years of his contract.
Brouwer tallied six goals and 16 assists in 76 appearances with the Flames during the 2017-18 season.
Darnell Nurse believes his uncertain contractual status will soon be a thing of the past.
The Edmonton Oilers defenseman is coming off his entry-level deal and remains a restricted free agent, but is optimistic about signing a new pact as training camp looms.
Darnell Nurse says he has "faith" he'll be in camp with the #oilers. The RFA seems optimistic about his contract talks.
Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli shares Nurse's optimism, or at least he did in early August. "He is a player we want to get signed and we will sign," he told 630 CHED, according to Paul Gazzola of the team's website. "... There are just different leverage points and it's no accident that there is a long list of restricted free agents (in the NHL). It happens every year and Darnell is in that group."
Nurse had a breakout season in 2017-18, posting career highs of six goals and 20 assists. The 23-year-old finished second on Edmonton in ice time, seeing more than 22 minutes a night, and projects to be relied upon even more heavily this year following the devastating injury to fellow blue-liner Andrej Sekera.
"We keep a consistent dialogue but there's a little bit of a lull," Chiarelli added. "Generally, they're important players if you look at the list and the teams keep working away at it. It's not really in the limelight and you don't hear about it because it's a bit of a slower process."
One way to find effective fantasy contributors is to look at a player's advanced stats. These numbers can be prime indicators that a player is ready to either bounce back from a down year or translate under-the-radar contributions into solid fantasy production. Will what bubbled under the surface last year rise to the top in 2018-19?
Here are seven players - four forwards, two defensemen, and one goalie - whose statistical profiles project either a breakout or bounce-back season:
Vinnie Hinostroza, Coyotes: Hinostroza, who at 24 has dressed for 106 NHL games, is a sneaky-good passer looking primed for success in the desert. The former Blackhawk flashed some serious playmaking potential last season by producing 0.99 primary assists per 60 minutes of five-on-five action. For context, Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Couturier, and Jakub Voracek racked up first assists at a similar rate. The question is, can Hinostroza deliver in a bigger role?
Sonny Milano, Blue Jackets: Hidden gem?Of the 576 NHLers who skated for at least 500 even-strength minutes last season, only Auston Matthews was a more efficient five-on-five goal scorer than Milano. The 22-year-old scored 1.45 goals per 60 minutes while mainly playing alongside Nick Foligno and Oliver Bjorkstrand in a minor role. A bump in ice time could do wonders to Milano's counting stats.
Jaden Schwartz, Blues: Schwartz passes the eye test with flying colors, and his underlying numbers don't disappoint either. The Blues - who revamped their forward group this summer - were a 57 percent puck possession team that dominated scoring-chance (58.6%) and goal (61.8%) differentials when Schwartz was on the ice at five-on-five in 2017-18. Though he already hovers around 60 points a year, Schwartz’s true coming-out party might be upon us.
Jeff Skinner, Sabres: How poor/unlucky were the Hurricanes when three-time 30-goal scorer Skinner was on the ice last year during five-on-five play? Simply put, they couldn’t score (5.25 shooting percentage) or stop the other team from scoring (.901 save percentage). A change of scenery and a chance to play with an elite center (either Jack Eichel or Casey Mittelstadt) should help reverse Skinner's fortunes.
Defensemen
Duncan Keith, Blackhawks: Even the most cynical analysts are sympathetic towards Keith. The two-time Norris Trophy winner is coming off a season in which he flat-out couldn't beat NHL goaltenders, scoring two goals on 187 shots for a ridiculous shooting rate of 1.1 percent. The 35-year-old may be past his prime, but he remains effective as a minutes-munching defenseman, finishing 2017-18 with a 52.4 percent Corsi rating and 30 assists.
Darnell Nurse, Oilers: Nurse, one of the brightest young defenseman in the game, was between the boards for 310 high danger shot attempts during five-on-five play last season. That number tied him with Brady Skjei for sixth among regular NHL blueliners. Connor McDavid can make anybody look effective, but Nurse (six goals, 20 assists in 82 games) should see his goal/assist totals soar. Realistically, the Oilers should cash in on more goalmouth chances than they did last year.
Goalie
Carter Hutton, Sabres: Despite seeing limited action, Hutton was a reliable option for the 2017-18 Blues. He ranked first among NHL goalies (minimum 30 appearances) in quality starts percentage by boasting a save percentage on par or greater than the league average in 19 of 32 appearances. If Buffalo can provide decent support, Hutton should produce middle-of-the-road win, goals-against average, and save percentage numbers.
Auston Matthews is under contract for only one more year, and that could still be the case when the Toronto Maple Leafs open the regular season on Oct. 3.
The superstar forward was eligible to sign a new deal as of July 1, and while he's indicated that negotiations have begun, he's mostly remained in the background of those discussions.
"I don't know if I'll sign a new contract before the season or not," Matthews told NHL.com's Dave Hogg. "I'm not really involved with the talks. That's something being dealt with by my agents and team management. They've told me that it will get done when it gets done, and that's fine."
What that new contract could look like remains unknown. However, Matthews and his camp have a few comparables at their disposal, including Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel ($10 million), Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid ($12.5 million), and Maple Leafs summer addition John Tavares ($11 million).
While there is no doubt that a Matthews extension is a priority for Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas, the team also has a more pressing matter at hand: the contract status of fellow young forward William Nylander, who remains a restricted free-agent.
Responding to a report Sunday that the Senators were looking to deal Anderson early in the summer, the veteran netminder reiterated that he's happy in the nation's capital, barring anymore drama.
"I love Ottawa, I love playing in Ottawa," the 37-year-old told reporters. "I'm too old for drama. I don't want anything to do with drama. Hopefully we've resolved all of that. I got no interest in going anywhere else as long as we can clean up what was going on this summer."
Anderson is likely referring to the situation this offseason where it was revealed that Erik Karlsson's wife, Melinda, applied for a peace bond against Mike Hoffman's girlfriend, Monika Caryk, over an alleged harassment campaign.
Melinda Karlsson accused Caryk of "over 1,000" negative and derogatory comments, including wishing her unborn child dead, wishing her dead, and saying that someone should take out Erik Karlsson's legs and end his career.
"I've been there for eight years now and that's my home," Anderson said. "I've got no interest in going anywhere else as long as we can clean up what was going on this summer."
The situation appears to mostly have been wiped clean after Hoffman was dealt to San Jose, then flipped by the Sharks to the Florida Panthers, in June.
However, that was far from the only drama the Senators experienced this offseason. The team's assistant general manager Randy Lee was charged for harassment in June before eventually resigning a week ago, general manager Pierre Dorion admitted the dressing room was "broken" last season, a much-needed arena deal is far from imminent, owner Eugene Melnyk has been heavily criticized, and to top it off, the inevitable departure of Karlsson is still looming over the team's head.
Anderson stayed out of all of the off-ice drama, but his play between the pipes last year wasn't satisfactory. He posted an .898 save percentage and a 3.32 goals-against average in what was by far his worst season as an NHL starting netminder.
Winning is one way to make everyone forget about the drama, and Anderson's play in goal is certainly vital to Ottawa's success.
Brodeur, whose playing career ended in the Gateway City, has served as the Blues' assistant general manager for the last three years, but his contract expired in June and he has apparently decided to move on.
His name surfaced as a candidate for GM jobs earlier this summer, but when asked about it, he said he wasn't looking for a time-consuming, demanding job.
"It’s always nice to hear your name, but it’s something I’m not really looking forward to move on to take bigger roles," Brodeur said in June. "Just being on the sidelines is good for me for now. I’ve got an 8-year-old (Max) at home, so I’ve got to spend a little time with him."
Broduer told The Athletic that he planned to be back, and GM Doug Armstrong confirmed the same, but it appears he had a change of heart - perhaps for a reunion with his old team.
Rutherford added that it's been heavily speculated that Brodeur would be interested in taking on a role with the New Jersey Devils once his tenure in St. Louis ended.
It doesn't seem likely that Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg will be "ready to play," and he would likely miss the entire season in that case, head coach Jeff Blashill said, according to MLive's Ansar Khan.
The veteran center hasn't trained much this summer because of his back issues, and Blashill said it would be all but impossible for Zetterberg to play this season without proper offseason preperations, according to The Athletic's Craig Custance.
Zetterberg hasn't missed a game since 2014-15, but he labored through much of last season and was unable to practice for half of the year, Blashill said earlier this month. He still managed to produce 56 points despite his back problems.
Blashill is already preparing for the worst. If Zetterberg can't play, speedster Andreas Athanasiou will shift to the middle and slot in as the team's third-line center behind Dylan Larkin and Frans Nielsen, he told Khan.
Zetterberg still has three years remaining on his contract with an average annual value of $6.083 million.
It's still possible the 37-year-old makes a comeback, but if not, he can walk away knowing he won just about everything he could. He's a member of the elusive Triple Gold Club, winning Olympic and World Championship gold medals in 2006 and leading the Wings to a Stanley Cup title in 2008, in which he was awarded the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP.
