Should the Florida Panthers Pursue UFA Chase Priskie?

With the deadline for college graduates to sign for NHL teams expiring, former Washington Capital and Quinnipiac star defenseman Chase Priskie is now an unrestricted free agent for all thirty-one teams in the NHL.

Priskie was drafted back in the sixth round of the 2016 NHL Draft, told the Washington Capitals he wouldn’t sign for them when they made the selection. Four full years passed, and Priskie stayed true to his word and refused to sign for Washington on August 16th.

Now, Chase Priskie stands as one of the most enticing UFAs still on the open market, arguably above Jake Gardiner, but depending on the price that both are valued at. Without any doubt, Priskie is the second-best unrestricted defenseman on the market and could be a potential target for the Florida Panthers.

So, who is Chase Priskie? When he was drafted, Washington took someone who was a total boom-or-bust pick, with 26 points (4 goals, 22 assists) in 43 games for Quinnipiac University. Priskie also boasted just two penalty minutes across all 43 games and a +16 plus/minus rating. What he emerged into after the fact is what is making him so enticing.

Priskie’s last season with the Bobcats, their captain delivered one of the best seasons from a defenseman in recent memory. He posted career highs in goals (17), points (39), and plus/minus (18), giving their team a real leader on and off the ice as their captain.

Now, Priskie stands unsigned and unrestricted, is being highly touted by media as a legitimate prospect. ESPN’s Chris Peters hailed Priskie as the only NHL-caliber prospect available amongst the twenty-five collegiate free agents.

He’s being linked to multiple teams across the East Coast, with the Carolina Hurricanes supposedly leading the charge. Tampa Bay, New Jersey, and Boston are all reportedly in pursuit of the 23-year-old. Here’s why the Panthers could look at him.

Priskie is a leader, with some of his Quinnipiac teammates labeling him as a true leader. The Panthers really lack this kind of face on their defense, especially further down the pecking order. While guys like MacKenzie Weegar, Josh Brown, and Ian McCoshen all show talent, none of them have shown the true passion of a leader on the ice.

Priskie is also a potentially fun target because of his Floridian roots. Priskie was born roughly a half an hour south of Sunrise, hailing from Pembroke Pines. The Panthers signing him could make for a really good success story for the state of hockey in Florida, with other Floridians like Jack Hughes and Shayne Gostisbehere emerging at the NHL level.

The only worry about a “success story” is that not all perfect scripts pan out properly. For a prime example of this, rewind back to 2016, where another “success story” seemed to dawn in The Big Apple.

In what may be one of the more forgettable extreme sweepstakes for a free agent of his quality, the New York Rangers beat out roughly eight other teams to sign USA gold medalist, Hobey Baker winner, and Harvard University forward Jimmy Vesey.

Vesey was selected in the third round of the 2012 NHL Draft by Nashville but had his rights traded to the Buffalo Sabres, where he refused to sign.

After all of the hype given to Vesey from Rangers fans, to say the least, he didn’t live up to the expectations placed on him. 90 points in 240 games for the Rangers saw him traded this past off-season to make room for Artemi Panarin. The team to trade for Vesey? Ironically, the Sabres.

So, Priskie may not pan out the way Vesey did, but in fairness, Priskie’s build seems NHL ready. A 6’3″, right-handed defenseman could be exactly the kind of player that the Panthers need in their farm system.

Whether Florida acquires him or not, Priskie is generating massive hype around all NHL camps on the Atlantic Coast. It would be a shame for the Panthers to at least not give him a chance, especially with how few his asking price will be.