Florida Panthers Add Veteran Defenseman, Schmidt To Utah

FORT LAUDERDALE — The Florida Panthers added yet another veteran defenseman on a one-year deal during free agency, this time signing Jeff Petry to a one-year deal.

Petry, 37, is a right-handed shot who could slide in on Florida’s third pairing with Dmitry Kulikov.

The addition of Petry came not long after the Utah Mammoth announced it had signed now-former Florida d-man Nate Schmidt to a three-year deal worth $10.5 million.

Florida now appears as if it is pretty well stocked for the start of the upcoming season.

The Panthers signed all three of their big-ticket free agents in Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, and Brad Marchand and will return 14 forwards who were on their playoff roster including Mackie Samoskevich and Jesper Boqvist who did not play in Game 6 against the Edmonton Oilers.

Florida also has Uvis Balinskis returning and he will likely compete for playing time with Petry.

On Tuesday, the Panthers signed fourth-line center Tomas Nosek, with new backup goalie Daniil Tarasov also signing.

This will be the 16th NHL season for Petry who got his start with the Edmonton Oilers before being traded to Montreal in 2015.

Petry has played for the Oilers, Canadiens, Penguins, and spent the past two seasons with the Detroit Red Wings.

He has played in 982 NHL games over the course of his career, but has not won the Stanley Cup.

Certainly that played a role in his coming to Florida for the NHL minimum.

His contract will include performance bonuses that, if hit, would carry over onto Florida’s salary cap during the 2026-27 season.

Petry was in the final year of a four-year contract he had signed with the Canadiens that paid him $6.25 million per season.

2024 STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS 2025

FLORIDA PANTHERS

UP NEXT

• Start of NHL Free Agency: Opened today
• Panthers Development Camp, Fort Lauderdale IcePlex: Today-Thursday
• Panthers Rookie Camp, Fort Lauderdale IcePlex: Early September
• Prospect Showcase @ Tampa Bay Lightning: Early September, Wesley Chapel
• Training Camp: Mid-September
• Exhibition Games: Starts Sept. 21 @ Nashville (doubleheader)
• Opening Night: Oct 7-9 (opponent, time, date TBA)