Florida Panthers: Should the Cats Re-Sign Alexander Petrovic?

With his contract already coming to a close, the Florida Panthers will have to decide on whether they’ll re-sign Alex Petrovic or not.

During the 2017-18 campaign, it’s safe to say that Petrovic’s year was pretty rough. In just 67 games played, the 26-year-old recorded a mere 2G, 11A, combining for 13 points all together. During the first half of the year, Petrovic was also scratched in nine games consecutively, losing playing time to the likes of MacKenzie Weegar and Ian McCoshen.

Surprisingly, despite his struggles, Petrovic managed to surprise many in several analytical categories like CF% (Corsi For Percentage) (51.5%), Rel CF% (Relative Corsi For Percentage) (1.9), and oZS% (Offensive Zone Start Percentage) (60.1%). But, despite his minor success in these categories, Petro ultimately struggled in the most important aspect of his role: defensively.

More specifically, the Alberta native struggled with positioning throughout chunks of the year, caught out of position in several instances. Because of that, coaching staff couldn’t quite rely on the right-handed defenseman, turning their trust over to Weegar and McCoshen: both who played reliably when counted on.

Now, the underline question regarding Alex Petrovic this offseason is whether the Cats should re-sign him or let him walk. Depending on what his asking price will be, that should give the Panthers an indication on whether it’s worth bringing him back or not.

By no means is Petrovic worth a long-term extension, considering his role as a defenseman (bottom pair), his production, and also taking into account the horrid year he had last season. At best, he’s really only worth another one-year deal, where he can further prove himself in the upcoming year to raise his value and play.

The Panthers have the upper hand in this situation knowing that they can either re-sign Petrovic on another cheap, one-year deal, or freely let him walk, knowing very well that they have suitable replacements in MacKenzie Weegar and Ian McCoshen, both who are younger, cheaper, and better defensemen overall.

So in hindsight, unless Petro is willing to accept another cheap, one-year extension, it really makes no sense to re-sign the 26-year-old, considering they get more or the same production from d-men like Weegar and McCoshen already. If Petro truly believes that a long-term contract is coming his way, he better realize that it’s not coming from the team in Sunrise, Florida that originally drafted him.

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In closing, while the Florida Panthers indeed hold the upper hand in regards to Alexander’s restricted free agency status, they must not panic towards the decision they make on Petrovic himself. With the assumption that a long-term contract isn’t offered during negotiation period, the Panthers will certainly come out on top, regardless of whether they keep #6 in a Panthers’ uniform or freely let him go.