After passing through New York, Arizona, Chicago, Columbus and Ottawa in recent years, Quebecer Anthony Duclair will be able to enjoy some stability under the hot Florida sun.
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Duclair agreed to the terms of a three-season contract worth $ 9 million with the Florida Panthers on Thursday.
Over the past four years, the Pointe-Claire native has only been able to secure one-year contracts. He arrived with the Panthers last December, after a 40-point season with the Ottawa Senators in 2019-20. He scored 10 goals and collected 22 assists in 43 games in a pandemic season, while leading the team’s forwards in the differential with +27. Statistics that enabled him to negotiate this new agreement.
“I worked very hard for that, for the organization to give me the chance to come back for three years. It’s an honor and I certainly won’t take it for granted, ”the 25-year-old striker said at a press conference the day after signing.
“Just the fact that the contract was done so quickly this summer is really a good relief,” he added. I’m just really excited to stay here. The off-the-ice lifestyle is amazing. ”
Duclair says he has always kept his self-confidence. This contract, which he negotiated on his own, represents a great reward after several years of instability.
“I am a very confident person, he let know. I know how hard I work off the ice, I know my talent, what I can bring to the ice and to an organization. […] I made the last contracts [d’une durée] of a year and finally I was rewarded. ”
A good group
In a press conference, Duclair was very complimentary to the group of players with whom he played during the last season.
“There are several players around my age, he said. They’re just great guys off the ice, it’s easy to get along with them. You arrive in the room and you feel welcomed from the start. This is how I felt when I got to training camp. ”
“Just coming back to the same squad for another three years instead of jumping from team to team is definitely the stability I was looking for,” he added.
The pandemic helped, he said, build chemistry and camaraderie within the squad, as players were forced to spend a lot of time together at the hotel when the squad was on the road. The “excellent” mix of veterans and young players surprised “a lot of people,” he said.
The Panthers finished second in the Central Division. They were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the two-time champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was also the first time that Anthony Duclair and several other players of the team participated in the spring dance.
“I think we can grow from that, learn a lot from this experience,” he said. […] It was [le Lightning] obviously an excellent team, but I think that will only allow us to build confidence for the future. I’m just excited to keep moving forward with this group. ”
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