Florida Panthers Rumors: 3 Teams the Florida Panthers Can Trade Evan Rodrigues To

The Florida Panthers entered the 2025 NHL offseason with lots of moves to make. After winning back-to-back Stanley Cups, the Cats were filled with uncertainty. Amidst their victory parade down Fort Lauderdale Beach, Bill Zito had his hands full as Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, and Brad Marchand were all impending UFAs.

Somehow, the Panthers were able to sign all three of them to new extensions. The biggest piece of assistance the front office received in keeping the core together was Ekblad taking a massive hometown discount. Each of them is signed to a long-term deal. Even after, the club was still busy on the first day of free agency.

They signed depth pieces to bolster the roster around the margins, and even got fourth-line center Tomas Nosek to resign. Now, with all the core pieces locked up for a long time, attention shifts back to the current state of the roster. According to PuckPedia, Florida is $2.95 million over the salary cap. To begin the season, the Cats will have to move the contract of somebody, unless Matthew Tkachuk goes on LTIR at the start of October.

There is a great chance that 'Chucky' will be on LTIR to begin the season, as he's suffered some lower-body ailments that could need surgery. If he were to miss a big chunk of the season, his money would come off the books, and Florida wouldn't be over the cap. However, let's just say he doesn't take that route, and it's ready on opening night. Then, Zito will have to make a move and trade someone out.

The most likely candidate to leave South Florida is forward Evan Rodrigues. The winger has been one of the Panthers' best assets in their two Stanley Cup title runs. 'E-Rod' has seen time everywhere in the lineup. He's played on the top and bottom lines ever since he came in three years ago. However, he did suffer a regression in his play last season, posting a -4 rating while recording seven fewer points than the year before.

Rodrigues is one of the older veterans on the team and will be turning 32 years old in a few weeks. The former Boston University star is still under contract for the next two seasons and will be making $6 million total. Fans also have to remember that youngster Mackie Samoskevich is still an RFA and needs a new deal, as he is coming off an intriguing rookie season.

Rorigues is the one player forward who makes a good chunk of money that Florida can afford to move on from. With all that being said, here are three teams that he can be traded to before the start of next season.

One of the teams that Florida can trade Rodrigues to is the Colorado Avalanche. This is an interesting team to watch when discussing potential trade partners for the forward. Ever since winning the Stanley Cup in 2022, the Avs have suffered three straight early postseason exits. In 2023, they were shocked by a second-year Seattle Kraken franchise in Game Seven.

Last season, Colorado was able to advance past the first round but fell to Dallas in six games in the Western Conference Semifinals. Last season, the Avalanche were once again a first-round exit, this time in another Game Seven, once again to the Stars. Despite the frustrating playoff setbacks, Colorado is still in contention for another Stanley Cup title.

According to PuckPedia, the club still has some wiggle room under the salary cap. Colorado has just over $4 million in cap space. While they might need to move a contract off their books to free up some more money to get Rodrigues. The one roadblock that could prevent a deal from happening is that many of the Avalanche's players are signed to ridiculous contracts with clauses.

Brock Nelson has a no-trade clause for the next two years and is making $7.5 million until 2028. Valeri Nichushkin, Arturri Lehkonen, and Ross Colton are making a combined $46,625,000. Each has a 12-team no-trade list. Nichuskin is not a free agent until 2030. Lehkonen and Colton don't hit the open market until 2027. Also, Devon Toews is making $7.5 million per year until 2031. He has a no-movement clause next year and has a 12-team no-trade list for the remainder of the deal.

Now, that could be a problem for completing a potential deal, but it's still a realistic possibility. Evan Rodrigues did play for the franchise during the 2022-23 season, the year before he signed with the Panthers. In that year, he put up solid numbers of 39 points(16-23-39), while being the same two-way game changer that Panthers fans have gotten used to.

'E-Rod' will be a great fit for the Avalanche. He will be able to serve as a good depth piece for the middle-six in their lineup. As mentioned, he has experience playing not just in Denver but with the core that has been put together in the Mile High City. He still can play on any line, can be another veteran presence in the locker room, and adds plenty of playoff experience to a lineup that lacks some of that on specific lines.

Jonathan Drouin left to play for the Islanders, and Joel Kiviranta is still on the open market. However, it looks as if Kiviranta's days with the Avalanche are done. They also traded Miles Wood and Charlie Coyle to the Blue Jackets for a few draft picks and a prospect. Rodrigues is a perfect candidate to slot into a second or third-line role and flourish as part of a veteran squad.

Yes, we are including an Atlantic Division rival in this, but, it makes sense. The Red Wings have slowly built one of the NHL's most promising cores. Dylan Larkin, one of the league's more underrated stars, finally has some legit talent playing alongside him. Lucas Raymond, Marco Kasper, Alex Debrincat, Moritz Seider, and Simon Edvinsson make up this extremely exciting and intriguing nucleus.

In recent times, Detroit has also added key veterans such as three-time Stanley Cup champion Patrick Kane, who is coming off a great regular season for a player at his age. General Manager and former franchise legend Steve Yzerman has given the once jokingly named 'Dead Wings' a position that the franchise hasn't had for quite some time, legitimate hope, and great reasons for optimism.

A trade for Evan Rodrigues can surely helped get the club over the hump and end a playoff drought that's been going on for the last nine seasons. 'Hockey Town' could use a bit more depth on the wings. The team signed veteran winger James Van Riemsdyk to a cheap, one-year 'prove it' deal, after having a productive season in Columbus. They also got former Winnipeg stalemate Mason Appleton.

However, they could still use more. More importantly, Yzerman has enough room under the salary cap to complete a deal and bring Rodrigues in. Puckpedia lists Detroit as having just over $12 million in available cap space. Also, there is one hole in the lineup that Rodrigues could help address. Over the offseason, Detroit did lose former Panther Vladimir Tarasenko.

After an underwhelming season in which he didn't particularly fit with the Red Wings, the Russian winger was traded to Minnesota. It was done to sign Kane to a new extension. With the loss of Tarasenko, Daily Faceoff has Elmer Söderblom as their candidate to fill in one of the wing spots on the third line. However, Söderblom has done little to suggest that he's more than a depth piece.

The Swede just turned 24 years old, which is still young. However, most skaters have already reached their peak when it comes to a developmental standpoint by this age. Söderblom was drafted by the Red Wings in 2019, but has only managed to play a total of 47 games. He is an unknown at this point, so it's necessary to add in a player of Rodrigues' caliber, just in case.

Also, his versatility will be a great problem for Detroit to deal with. Let's just say that Söderblom ends up having a breakout year in a third-line role. Well, Rodrigues could play center as well, and will be able to be more productive on that line than either of J.T. Compher or Andrew Copp. One of those guys should also be in the discussion of getting moved, especially Copp, who's making $6.25 million for the next two seasons, as a fourth-liner.

Finally, we will end this discussion with a team that is a flyer for most. The San Jose Sharks are coming off a dismal 20-50-12 season. They are currently on a six-year playoff drought. Yes, San Jose is still in a rebuilding phase. Will they be in talks for a playoff spot near the end of the 2025-26 regular season? Maybe not, but this year's Sharks team will be much improved from the squad we saw for the last two seasons. Why?

To begin, San Jose has already put together a young core that could grow into one of the league's best. The team is headlined by 19-year-old phenom Macklin Celebrini, who had a 25-goal season and finished third in Calder Trophy voting. The Sharks also have Will Smith and William Eklund. The backend also has some decent players in their mid-20s, Mario Ferraro and Timothy Liljegren.

Also, if you've been paying attention to their offseason, the Sharks have spent some money to make the team better. They signed veterans Adam Gaudette, Dmitry Orlov, and John Klingberg. They also took a flyer by signing Philipp Kurashev after an injury-riddled 2024-25 campaign, and traded for Alex Nedeljkovic to be the team's new backup goalie.

It's been a busy offseason for general manager and former Sharks skater Mike Grier. The team is not even close to spending all the salary cap money. According to PuckPedia, the Sharks have a whopping $23,890,000 in available cap money. There shouldn't be any concerns on the Sharks' part about the potential of adding Rodrigues.

He's extremely durable, barely missing any action over the last two seasons with Florida. He's still and can help produce more offense for a team that was dead last in the league in scoring. His two-way play will also help San Jose improve defensively, as they gave up the most goals in the NHL last season.

His playoff pedigree and championship experience will be a plus for the young kids who are still finding their way. Everyone knows how versatile he is. The Sharks do need more depth down the middle, as their second-line center is currently slated to be Alex Wennberg, and everyone knows he's more suited for a bottom-six role, particularly on the third line.

Why would they be opposed to making a deal for Rodrigues? There are no negatives in adding a player of his caliber. Nothing is preventing them from doing so. Even though it will not be the same situation as in Florida, Evan will still be a great fit for their team and could help the franchise make the playoffs for the first time since 2019, especially if the youngsters take a step and if Yaroslav Askarov becomes the goaltender the franchise hopes him to be.