Panthers Defenseman Named NHL's Best Contract

The Florida Panthers are getting outstanding value from one of their top blue-liners.

Jon Alfano | Jul 17, 2024

Jun 24, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling (42) lifts the cup after winning game seven of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

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Florida Panthers

Florida Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling's rise to the top of the NHL has been nothing short of awe-inspiring.

It seems like ancient history now, but Forsling arrived in Florida as a waiver claim just before the 2020-21 season. An impressive debut season with the Panthers, which saw him score 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 43 games, landed him a three-year, $8 million extension that offseason. He then made that deal look like a steal over the next three years, and this season alone, he posted a league-best +56 rating and helped the Panthers win their first Stanley Cup.

Thanks to his continued excellent play, Forsling landed an eight-year, $46 million extension from Florida in March. A massive increase over his previous contract, yet still a massive discount for what he provides.

Dom Luszczysyn of The Athletic recently unveiled his updated list of the NHL's best contracts, and Forsling claimed the No. 1 spot handily. The Swedish defenseman is currently making an average of $5.75 million per year for the next eight years, but Luszczysyn's model projects him to be worth nearly double that at $11.4 million per year. He even referred to Forsling's deal as "the league's gold standard."

"Forsling plays shutdown minutes and handles them better than almost any other defenseman. He’s an exceptional puck-mover who does a lot of things well, and to do that given the difficulty of his minutes is what makes him a no-doubt franchise defenseman," Luszczysyn writes. "By Net Rating, he ranks inside the league’s top 15.

"That’s worth a lot of money, way more than what Forsling will be paid for the next eight seasons. At $5.75 million, Forsling is being paid like a No. 2 defenseman and he is so much more than that. Maybe that was the perception of him going into the season or during it, but by the end, it should’ve been clear he was several tiers above that. Forsling is the real deal, and it’s nice to see an analytics darling get the respect he deserves on the national stage thanks to an epic playoff run, in which he was a shutdown force."

The Panthers have no shortage of great deals - Matthew Tkachuk's deal (six years remaining at $9.5 million per) came in at No. 6 on this same list - but Forsling's contract is such good value that it stands above them all. It's a testamtent to not only general manager Bill Zito, but the culture that makes players comfortable with taking said deals.

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Published Jul 17, 2024

JON ALFANO