Florida Panthers buy out Keith Yandle; extend Duclair, Forsling

The Florida Panthers had a busy Thursday morning.

The team has bought out the remainder of Keith Yandle’s contract in a move that will provide cap savings of $4-million this year and just under $1-million next year with negative cap hits of $1.2-million in 2023-24 and 2024-25.

Yandle, 34, has played in 1,032 NHL games over his career scoring 102 goals and 600 points and has spent the last five years in Florida. Last year, Yandle appeared in 56 games scoring 27 points.

The club also extended two players: defenceman Gustav Forsling and forward Anthony Duclair.

First reported by PuckPedia, Forsling’s deal will pay him an AAV of $2.67-million for three years. Duclair, according to DailyFaceoff’s Frank Seravalli, inked a three-year deal paying him an AAV of $3-million.

For the Panthers, they are projected to have $10.5-million in cap space, per PuckPedia.

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.