Florida Panthers Ink Mike Reilly to Contract

Panthers Agree to Mike Reilly Contract

Reilly has played for the Boston Bruins, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators in his eight-year NHL career. The Chicago native only got one assist in 10 games last season with the Bruins. Reilly spent most of last season having his contract buried in the AHL with the Providence Bruins. His Corsi for 54.7 and a relative Corsi of 1.8.

He’s posted 12 goals and 86 assists for 98 points in 338 career games. The Columbus Blue Jackets originally drafted Reilly in the fourth round, 98th overall of the 2011 NHL Draft. The soon-to-be 30-year-old was recently bought out by the Bruins on Friday. However, he wasn’t without a team for long. Boston shaved off $2.66 million from the salary cap by buying out the defender.

The veteran defenceman played for the University of Minnesota at the NCAA Division I level. He earned the Big Ten Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year title and a Hobey Baker Award nomination in 2015.

Impact of Mike Reilly Contract

Things started well for Reilly in Boston, but things didn’t end well. He lost his place in the lineup and had his contract buried in the AHL in Providence.

Reilly is one of the better puck-movers in this year’s free agent class. However, he’s been prone to making defensive errors in his own end of the ice. He’s far from the perfect player, but he’s worth a shot at just $1 million for one year.

The Panthers defence was one of the reasons they made the Stanley Cup Final. Florida got strong play from the blueline and adding Reilly could be a low-cost and low-risk move. The Panthers do have to replace Radko Gudas, who went to the Anaheim Ducks.