Florida Panthers Facing Cap Crunch, Maple Leafs Urged to Jump on the Opportunity

After the Florida Panthers essentially created a new dynasty with the re-signings of Brad Marchand, Aaron Ekblad and Sam Bennett this summer, it gave the Atlantic Division a whole bunch of anxiety knowing that they have to contend with such a talented team for the next decade.

But with that dynasty and hopes of glory comes a huge price tag, and with the trio of players signing expensive albeit reasonable contracts, the Panthers don't have a lot of room and have to get cap compliant before the season opens up.

That means they need to trade one of their smaller contracts, and among the names, Evan Rodrigues stands out. Recently named on The Fourth Period's 2025 Summer Trade Watch Board, they explained that Rodrigues is a potential casualty given his reasonable contract and length; though expendable:

While he's not a bad player whatsoever, but with a $3-million price tag, he would give the Panthers a mere $50,000 to play with in cap; a paltry number but still gets them under that threshold.

The team could also opt to move on from Eetu Luostarinen or Jesper Boqvist, though with them being only 26, and Rodrigues being 31; they can get more long-term out of the former two.

Rodrigues had 32 points in 82 games for the Panthers, and solidified himself in their top-six but has the flexibility to move up and down the lineup.

Though he's a smaller center, he still plays highly physical and throws a lot of hits, will block a few shots, and is a very good defender.

He's also an underrated goal scorer, having 62 goals over his last four seasons while being a force on the power play, and being more than adequate in the face-off dot.

For his career, Rodrigues has 239 points in 537 games (96G, 143A) split with Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Colorado and Florida; he was sign as an undrafted free agent.

If they wanted to, Toronto could put him on the top line alongside Matthew Knies and Auston Matthews, or he can swap with John Tavares between the wing and center, giving Craig Berube a lot of flexibility depending on the situation.

But it's his playoff acumen that Toronto really needs to focus on. For being such a quiet name, he's put up 30 points over the last two postseasons, and is a back-to-back Stanley Cup winner, and has that passion the team has boasted about so much.

Florida would love to keep him, but he's too expensive given what they accomplished recently. If Bill Zito is looking to move on, then Brad Treliving should not only be knocking on his door; but rushing headfirst into bringing Rodrigues aboard.