Panthers: Shining a light on Gustav Forsling

During the offseason, the Florida Panthers elected to buyout the final two years of Keith Yandle’s contract. Although he was still producing offense well, the team felt it was time to move on from his $6.35 million cap hit because of his struggles in the defensive zone. Now, Gustav Forsling is thriving in his expanded role and has been a nice replacement for Yandle.

In 17 games so far this season, Forsling has recorded 10 assists. That is a significant increase in production, as he had just 17 points in 43 games last season. Although that was still a very good year for him, he seems to have taken his game to the next level as a top-four defenseman.

Yet, even with the increase of playing time and production, he still has done his job defensively, too. He currently sports a +5 rating and can be utilized in all situations. Therefore, he’s blossoming into a very valuable piece of Florida’s roster.

Forsling also just signed a three-year, $8 million contract extension with the Panthers over the summer. Thus, instead of showing signs of regression after signing his big deal, he’s actually improved significantly. If he continues to produce at a similar rate as the season progresses, his $2.66 million cap hit will look like a complete steal.

Forsling is currently having a bit of a cold streak at this juncture, though. Over his last four games, he’s been held off the scoresheet. Yet, given the fact that he had 10 assists just 13 games in, this isn’t really all that concerning. It’s fair to be confident in the fact that he will very quickly change this.

It actually wouldn’t be very surprising to see Forsling get right back on the scoresheet tomorrow night when the Panthers battle it out with the Minnesota Wild. However, even if he doesn’t, fans should simply expect him to remain dependable. The 25-year-old has been a very nice surprise this season and it will be fascinating to see all he accomplishes by the end of the campaign.