Florida Panthers: Troy Brouwer, To Keep or Not to Keep?

While the Florida Panthers, as a whole, underachieved this season, some of the players had decent and career-defining seasons.

Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau fall in the latter category as both of them set career totals and firmly established themselves as top offensive players in the league.

Barkov and Huberdeau finished the season at 10th and 13th in the league in points, while continually facing the opposing teams top first and second lines.

Frank Vatrano, as well, had himself a career season. He notched 24 goals and 15 assists for 39 points. The successful season led to the Florida Panthers management rewarding Vatrano with a three-year contract extension.

In addition to these three players mentioned above, Mike Hoffman, Evgenii Dadonov, and Keith Yandle all had very good seasons as well. Each of them setting career totals in at least one of the three major offensive stat indicators.

While these players outperformed past seasons of theirs, Troy Brouwer outperformed his discounted contract.

In the summer of 2018, Troy Brouwer found himself unemployed after being bought out by the Calgary Flames. He only finished his second season of a four-year contract carrying a $4.5 million cap hit.

His first season in Calgary drew criticism when his point total dropped to 25, falling from 39 points with the St. Louis Blues the season before.

His second season in Calgary was even worse as his point total fell again to 22, and the Flames missed the playoffs.

In August of 2018, with the prospect of an NHL contract dwindling, Troy Brouwer signed a very cap-friendly contract with the Florida Panthers; a one-year term valued at $850,000. While his stats are not eye-catching, from the context of his cost, Brouwer had a very good season.

From an offensive statistical standpoint, Brouwer did well as he recorded a respectable stat line of 12 goals, 9 assists, combining for 21 points in 75 games played this season.

Additionally, for Panthers fans that watched, more of those goals or points seemed to come at big moments, where the team was either looking for a moment, a tying goal, or even a go-ahead goal.

He also carried the bull work from the enforcer perspective, as he led the team in hits with 177, the next closest being Vatrano with 139.

Defensively, his performance was respectable as well, as he finished the season with a (-6) on a team that relied heavily on the power play for goals (PPG do not register as positives for players) and for a team that ended the season with a team goal differential of (-13).

Granted, Brouwer’s time on ice was limited due to his third and fourth line roles. His plus/minus performance and offensive stats broach “good” territory while relegated to that role.

Brouwer also contributed heavily to the Panthers’ 10th ranked penalty kill unit, averaging 1:39 shorthanded time on ice. For perspective, Barkov, the team’s best penalty killer, averaged 2:04 shorthanded time on ice.

While reviewing his season, it’s tough to argue that the team should move on from Brouwer and not extend a similar contract.

The upcoming season for the Florida Panthers is going to carry heavy expectations and it doesn’t hurt having a veteran Stanley Cup winner on your third or fourth line putting up numbers like those.

Not to mention, Brouwer has a rapport with newly signed head coach Joel Quenneville from his five-year tenure with the Chicago Blackhawks and winning the Stanley Cup together back in 2010.

However, should Brouwer try to command a larger salary and term, the Panthers may and should look for other options within the organization.

While he had a strong season for his contract, Brouwer still regressed his point total from the year before and isn’t getting any younger.

If a low-risk contract can be negotiated, Brouwer should be considered and re-signed. If not, there is no question that players like Jayce Hawryluk and Dryden Hunt, as well as other inexpensive, yet talented prospects should be explored.