Sunday, May 30, 2010

Panthers Ink Markstrom

Another big signing happened over the weekend, as the Panthers locked up their 2008 2nd round pick, Swedish netminder Jacob Markstrom, to his entry-level deal, which might have some solid looking bonuses attached to them. As of Sunday afternoon, there wasn't any cap hit details for Markstrom posted on CapGeek.com, but I think it's fair to assume that he'll get a sweet deal, despite being a 2nd round pick.

Markstrom is a big framed goaltender, standing at about 6'3" and is only really starting to fill that out now, listed at 180 lbs. by the Hockey News. 

In 2010, it looks like he has some positive numbers playing in Sweden and now with a contract under his belt, the Panthers will likely get a good look at him in camp and then decide how they will want to develop him further.  He is a top rated prospect and he is the crown jewel of the prospects for the Panthers, likely going to give Tomas Vokoun a reason to look over his shoulder in 2011. 

Vokoun currently has one year remaining on his current deal with the Panthers, so it might be fair to think that Markstrom will get a shot to be his understudy for a year before taking over as the number one guy in 2012, if everything goes well for the young netminder.  He's definitely one to keep an eye on.

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