Former Panthers Go Elsewhere

    Several former Florida Panthers from this past season signed with new teams since free agency began on Friday. It has been a large turnover of personnel who left the club this weekend.
    The most noticeable person was center Stephen Weiss, who was the most tenured player with the Florida Panthers, as he signed a five-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings. Weiss left the Cats as the all-time franchise leader with 249 assists and 654 games. He was fourth all-time with 145 goals and second to Scott Mellanby with 396 points. Weiss joined the organization as the fourth overall pick in the 2001 NHL Draft, which was held in Sunrise.
    Right wing Jack Skille signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He scored three goals with nine assists in 40 games with the Cats this past season. Skille was acquired in a five-player deal from the Chicago Blackhawks in February 2011 for Michael Frolik. He won a Stanley Cup championship with Chicago in 2009-10.
    Defenseman T.J. Brennan signed as a free agent with the Toronto Maple Leafs for one year. He was with the Florida Panthers until one week before the 2013 NHL Draft when he was sent to the Nashville Predators. He was traded from the Buffalo Sabres late in the 2012-13 season and compiled two goals and seven assists in 19 games for Florida.
    Center Mike Santorelli, who was picked up on waivers by the Winnipeg Jets in early April, signed with the Vancouver Canucks. He had two goals and one assist with the Cats in 24 games and only one assist in ten games with the Jets. Santorelli joined the Cats in a trade from Nashville in August 2010.
    Another defenseman who signed elsewhere was Tyson Strachan. He signed with Florida in 2011 and had no goals and four assists in 38 games last season. Strachan inked a one-year, two-way deal with the Washington Capitals.
    Defenseman Nolan Yonkman, who played mainly with the Panthers AHL affiliate in San Antonio in 2012-13, signed a one-year contract with the Anaheim Ducks. He played seven games with Florida this season with no goals and no assists.
    He was not a free agent, but right wing George Parros was traded by the Panthers to their new division-rival the Montreal Canadiens for Philippe Lefebvre and a 2014 seventh-round pick. Parros signed as a free agent with Florida in July 2012 and had one goal with one assist in 39 games for his only season with the Cats. He previously won a Stanley Cup title with the Anaheim Ducks in 2006-07.