Panthers’ Evan Rodrigues’ Name Resurfaces in Rumor Mill

The Florida Panthers find themselves in an unfamiliar position. Sitting eight points back of a Wild Card berth, the team has only a 15.5% chance of making the playoffs, per MoneyPuck.

Instead of buying a top-four defenseman and an iconic two-way forward and leader (Seth Jones and Brad Marchand) to help for a playoff push as they did last year, it sounds like the team will be willing to sell off a couple of pieces at this year's deadline, come March 6th.

On the weekend, we heard about physical forward and pending UFA AJ Greer being a potential trade piece. Another name being thrown out there is one we heard making the rounds last summer, in third-line forward Evan Rodrigues.

The 32-year-old still has another year remaining on his four-year deal with a $3 million AAV. But with their salary cap situation, it's doubtful the Cats will be in a position to offer him any kind of extension when that contract is up. Getting something for him now, giving a team two playoff runs with the versatile, two-way, hard-working forward, might be the wise path to take.

The Panthers are going to have some tough choices to make, Jason Gregor said on DFO Rundown.

I look at them on their backend, and they've got everybody signed for multiple years. Evan Rodrigues is another guy that I think they would consider moving, to be honest.

Rodrigues was held up last summer as a player that teams around the NHL were zeroing in on in trade talks. After signing all three of their big-name free agents at the time (Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Marchand), it appeared that losing Rodriguez "might be the price Florida has to pay."

They didn't pay it last summer, but at next month's trade deadline, they certainly might.

Rodrigues is having his usual nice season as a secondary scorer for the Panthers in the bottom six, with 10 goals and 25 points through 56 games. At 17:15 minutes per game, he's logging the highest average ice time of his career.

He arrived in Florida for the 2023-24 season, and immediately had an impact, helping the team to two straight Stanley Cup triumphs. He put up solid production throughout the playoffs both years, posting 30 points and a +9 plus/minus rating over those two postseason runs.