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February 27, 2026
Florida panthers

SUNRISE — The Florida Panthers have a lot of superstars in their galaxy, but Evan Rodrigues is perhaps this team’s most unsung heroes.

Not only is Rodrigues admired for being one of those strong silent types who seldom make the headlines, but his play when it counts is appreciated by coaches and teammates.

Rodrigues is known for grit and versatility — but the man can bring it when needed.

Paul Maurice has always spoken highly of Rodrigues’ willingness and ability to play any position on any line as well as shine on special teams.


Against Toronto on Thursday, Rodrigues had a rare moment of fame with his highlight-reel, unassisted shorthanded goal at 16:40 of the first period.

The play by Rodrigues against Joseph Woll pretty much broke the back and spirit of the sluggish Leafs in an eventual 5-1 win.

It was the first shorty of his 107 NHL goals.

It could not have been timelier, in another “must win” game against a division rival.

With the William Nylander about to receive a cross-ice pass from Auston Matthews, Rodrigues swarmed in and stripped Nylander of the puck, then came in alone to put a slick move on goalie Woll before tucking the puck behind him.

“I didn’t realize it,” Rodrigues said after being reminded that it was his first shorthanded goal.

“It’s nice to play the penalty kill. I did it early on in my career, then didn’t for a little bit. I’ve been doing it quite a bit this year so — it’s nice to be out there. It’s nice to see the team win.”

Rodrigues centered a line with Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart, the umpteenth line combination he played on this year.

He did not look out of place.

“Evan Rodrigues was really good tonight,” Maurice said. “Pretty dynamic with that line…There’s an awful lot of speed on one side and some great hands on the other side and I thought the three guys just played off each other really well.”

For the Leafs, who are now tied with Florida at 63 points but have played one more game, the loss was crushing especially after losing 4-2 in Tampa the night before.

As some implied after the game, Rodrigues’ shorthander, which gave Florida a 3-0 lead late in a dominating Florida first, dug the dagger too deep to recover.

Toronto coach Craig Berube was not happy about how the play developed.

“I thought it was a tough play all around,’’ he said. “We’ve got to make a better read and maybe not make that play. The guy stood up on us. It’s a tough play. It was a tough play for [Nylander]. He tried to make a play and it got picked off.”

Said Nylander: “He did a pretty good job stepping up on me. I should have, maybe, held on to it. He made a good play.”

Today is a new day for the Panthers.

And it is the second half of yet another back-to-back with yet another “must win” for the Panthers — this one against the division rival Buffalo Sabres.

Buffalo holds the first wild card spot in the East, a full nine points ahead of Florida. To make the playoffs, Florida will need about 30-33 points in the remaining 24 games.

Tough but not insurmountable.

Rodrigues has been one of the players bandied about as a possible trade chip for a cap-strapped Panthers team that may have plans to activate Sasha Barkov in the coming weeks.

If that is the case, the Panthers would need to do some pretty hefty lifting and, again, Rodrigues’ $3-million cap hit would help out significantly.

Of course, that’s just conjecture at this point considering Barkov may not be back for the Panthers until training camp.

During the summer, Rodrigues’ name was floated as a potential trade before it was publicly known Matthew Tkachuk was having major surgery — and way before Barkov was hurt on his initial day of training camp.

The Panthers basically kicked some decisions down the road.

Now. Rodrigues’ $3-million cap hit appears to be money the Panthers desperately need.

Rodrigues also has another year on the books at a very affordable price which only adds to the how valuable other teams look at him.

Truth is, Rodrigues is one of the players the Panthers do not want to move for any reason.

Is he a player the Panthers foresee being part of their future?

One would think so.

Bill Zito said “tough decisions” could be coming before the trade deadline next Friday and Rodrigues would qualify as being a pretty tough decision when it comes to moving him.

Just about every team in the NHL would take Rodrigues — and, perhaps, pay a pretty penny for him — based on his versatility not to mention what he has done over the past two postseasons with the Panthers.

For the Panthers, not only would they get the cap relief, but future trade capital.

Still, hard to think Florida would let loose a player who means as much to them as Rodrigues does both on and off the ice.

Rodrigues, for what it’s worth, says he and other players on the Panthers are not concerned about the trade deadline even as it appears obvious Florida is going to have to make some moves just to be cap compliant.

“I don’t think anyone is too worried or is even thinking about that side of things,’’ Rodrigues said on Sunday. “I’m not worried about it, and I don’t think anyone on this team is either. It is part of our sport and our business and, you never know what could happen. But I don’t think anyone is stressing about it too much if at all.

“I do not think it is a concern here. It hasn’t been talked about or is a topic of conversation. I think everyone here likes our group from coaches and management to the players here.’’

ON DECK: GAME No. 59
BUFFALO SABRES at FLORIDA PANTHERS

 

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