Here are the fantasy repercussions following Jason Demers signing with the Florida Panthers. Demers reached an agreement on a five-year contract worth $22.5-million.
On that note so stoked to start up with .@FlaPanthers can't wait to get going the year can't come quick enough! #floridapanthers
— jason demers (@jasondemers5) July 2, 2016
Even though it's not the most attractive free-agent signing on day two, it is one that added depth on the blueline and could do wonders for the Panthers come playoff time.
Demers was a hot commodity since the free-agent market opened July 1, being one of, if not the best right-handed shooting defenseman available. He listened to many offers from a variety of different teams, then decided to settle in the warm sunshine state of Florida.
Let's dive into Demers' value for this upcoming fantasy season. He doesn't bring much offensive upside to the table for fantasy purposes. He scored a career-high seven goals last season with Dallas and tallying 16 assists for just 23 points in 62 contests.
He has little value in standard leagues, unless he is receiving top-2 minutes, which is unlikely to happen with franchise defenseman Aaron Ekblad and recent acquisition Keith Yandle logging the lion's share of the minutes as the top blueline duo.
There was a need for another defenseman when the organization elected to ship Erik Gudbranson and a draft pick to the Canucks for Jared McCann and two of their draft picks. GM Dale Tallon and company added Demers to fill out the supporting cast. He is more of a threat offensively than Gudbransson ever was and figures to see power-play time on the second-unit.
In deeper leagues, he could be a sneaky pick in the later rounds, considering the potential production on the power-play, should either Ekblad or Yandle miss any time with injury. The Panthers finished fifth in total power play opportunities last season.
Throughout his eight-year NHL career, Demers has recorded 143 points in 423 games. If he stays healthy for the bulk of the season, five to 10 goals and 25 points are reasonable projections. He finished 140th in blocked shots and 253rd in hits, so he's not going to help in leagues that score those categories, though he did finished 55th in penalty minutes.
Expect him to average anywhere between 18 to 20 minutes of ice time, considering he averaged 20:52 last season with the Stars. If you are in need of help on the back-end late in your draft, he's worth a flier pick.
