SUNRISE, FL - DECEMBER 13: Teammates congratulate Aleksander Barkov #16 of the Florida Panthers after he scored a second period goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets at the FLA Live Arena on December 13, 2022 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
The Florida Panthers have entered the market for PTOs as they try to rebuild their forward depth from a season ago. David Dwork of The Hockey News is reporting that the Panthers have agreed to a professional tryout agreement with forward Matt Luff and he will be with the team next week.
Luff began his career with the Los Angeles Kings organization in 2016 after the team signed him out of the Ontario Hockey League. He was coming off a season with the Hamilton Bulldogs where he scored 25 goals and 49 points in 45 games. One of the major questions at the time of his signing was the limited usage of his larger frame. He was physically one of the bigger players in the OHL at the time but rarely played to his size which made him an interesting addition for a hard-nosed Kings playstyle at the time.
Most of his tenure in the Kings organization had him with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. He nevertheless managed to skate in 64 games for Los Angeles from 2018-21 where he added 10 goals and 17 points overall. After a one-year stint with the Nashville Predators organization in 2021-22 Luff eventually signed on with the Detroit Red Wings where he has been ever since.
His two separate one-year deals with the Red Wings have allowed for 19 appearances at the NHL level with two goals and four points. His real fruitfulness with the Red Wings organization has been his time with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, although he’s been mired by injuries. He’s appeared in 54 games for the Griffins over the last two years while posting 18 goals and 43 points.
It will be challenging for Luff to crack a re-worked Panthers’ bottom-six but his recent success at the AHL level has at least garnered him an opportunity. Florida does not have a deep crop of forwards at the AHL level as they struggled to score last year in Charlotte. Luff will have to assume a next-man-up mentality heading into the season but at least it will be in pursuit of joining the roster of the defending Stanley Cup Champions.
