Fox News Flash top sports headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. The Florida Panthers are anticipating being without some players when this coming season opens, and general manager Bill Zito filled in the projected voids in free agency.
And those moves came on a day where the team had to send fan favorite Anthony Duclair out in a trade as well. The Eastern Conference champions loaded up on defensemen — two-time All-Star Oliver Ekman-Larsson and former Panther Dmitry Kulikov headlining the group — as part of a big class that struck deals with Florida on Saturday. CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM Oliver Ekman-Larsson #23 of the Vancouver Canucks skates in the overtime period of the game against the New Jersey Devils on February 06, 2023 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. (Rich Graessle/NHLI via Getty Images) Ekman-Larsson and Kulikov are both on one-year deals, as is fellow defenseman Mike Reilly.
Another newcomer to the blue line, Niko Mikkola, signed a three-year deal — and the Panthers kept defenseman Lucas Carlsson on a one-year, two-way contract.
The Vancouver Canucks bought out Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s contract two weeks ago, agreeing to pay the 31-year-old Swede $19.33 million — spread over the next eight years to reduce its salary-cap hit.