The Florida Panthers signed forward Evan Rodrigues to a 4-year, $3 million AAV contract on the second day of NHL free agency, and it has the potential to be one of the best free agent deals signed this offseason.
Welcome to South Florida! ☀️
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) July 2, 2023
We’ve agreed to terms with forward Evan Rodrigues on a four-year, one-way contract.
📝 » https://t.co/pNo2whAEGx pic.twitter.com/LCNFOzByeT
Rodrigues, 29, is a former undrafted player that has 8 seasons of experience, but only saw his breakout season come during the 2021-22 season with the Pittsburgh Penguins where he scored 19 goals and 43 points in 82 games. He followed that up last season on a one-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche, and further improved his scoring rate with 16 goals and 39 points in 69 games.
Evan Rodrigues, signed 4x$3M by FLA, is a versatile two-way forward who has driven play at a very high level through a combination of good luck skills and forechecking. His lack of finishing touch can be a bit maddening. #FlaPanthers pic.twitter.com/jOKh3ftOio
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 2, 2023
With the Avs, Rodrigues proved himself as a capable complimentary linemate to the team’s star forward Nathan MacKinnon.
To see just how much of a positive effect Rodrigues had on MacKinnon, let us compare a couple of MacKinnon’s 5-on-5 stats last season with and without Rodrigues (with vs. without):
- Corsi: 59.1% vs. 54.1%
- High-danger Corsi: 59.3% vs. 48.5%
- Expected goals: 57.7% vs. 50.7%
- Goals-for: 66.0% vs. 58.5%
Across all major statistics, Rodrigues’ presence improved MacKinnon’s on-ice performance. Having a player with the ability to play with your stars and make them better is something the Panthers should be able to use to a great effect, whether that is on Aleksander Barkov or Matthew Tkachuk’s line.
Additionally, Rodrigues having that sort of net positive impact for the team and its best player with a salary cap hit of only $3 million — or 3.6% of next season’s salary cap — could be the steal of the offseason. We will still need to see him build chemistry with the Panthers’ stars and put-up actual game results, but all signs point to this being a great signing.
Statistics: Natural Stat Trick