Panthers sign Nieuwendyk and Roberts
Gary Roberts
Canadian Press
8/1/2005 4:31:15 PM
(CP) - The Florida Panthers kicked off the 2005 free-agent period by signing veteran forwards Joe Nieuwendyk and Gary Roberts, the first two casualties for the Toronto Maple Leafs under the NHL's new salary-cap era.
Both players signed two-year, $4.5-million US deals.
Nieuwendyk and Roberts, long-time friends and teammates in both Toronto and Calgary, were unrestricted free agents. Roberts, 39, played four years with the Leafs, scoring 28 goals and adding 20 assists in 72 games in 2003-04. Nieuwendyk, 38, played just the one year in Toronto, scoring 22 goals and adding 28 assists in 64 games and making a huge impact in the playoffs where he had six goals in nine games.
''Our discussions with Toronto were positive and right up until the end it was just as likely that they would be able to stay there,'' said Rick Curran, the agent for both players. ''After the noon starting time (for free agency), I had almost immediately two proposals sitting on my desk from other teams. I had a further conversation with Toronto. It reached the point where the boys had to make a decision on what they wanted to do going forward.
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''They had opportunities that they could have gone their separate ways or stayed where they were in Toronto or take advantage of an opportunity that's obviously challenging in a place like Florida with the younger players that they've drafted over the last couple of years.''
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