From waiver claim to franchise mainstay, Gustav Forsling is locked in for another 8 years with the Florida Panthers
Florida Panthers' GM Bill Zito announced earlier this morning that they have re-signed stalwart defenseman Gustav Forsling to an 8-year extension carrying an Average Annual Value (AAV) of $5.75M, making Gus "the Bus" a Panther until 2032.
Gustav Forsling, in 258 games played as a Panther (at the time of writing), has notched 37 goals and 89 assists for a combined total of 126 points in that time frame. +/- isn't necessarily a super valid stat, but if it matters to you, Forsling's current career +/- with the Florida Panthers is +120, and he has registered 224 hits and 321 shot blocks in this same time frame.
Forsling quickly established himself as a clutch two-way presence on Florida's blueline and has yet to waiver from this standard. The 27 year-old blueliner has been pivotal in the Panthers' recent meteoric rise to success, and was a crucial element in getting the Cats to last year's Stanley Cup Playoffs. Look for him to have just as much an impact on the Cats' success for the remainder of the 2023-24 regular season and into the playoffs here in the coming weeks.