Bouwmeester in driver’s seat as negotiations with Panthers continue

The Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson reports that the Florida Panthers are still trying to reach an agreement on a contract extension with pending restricted free agent defenseman Jay Bouwmeester.

The problem is that Bouwmeester has the upper hand in negotiations.

For one thing, Bouwmeester scored 42 points and accumulated a plus-23 rating last season for the Panthers.

Secondly, the 23-year-old will earn $2.25 million this season, considerably less than some of his peers with similar stats will make.

Thirdly, Bouwmeester becomes an RFA next summer, allowing him to accept free agent offer sheets from other teams. Matheson believes that Bouwmeester could command $5 million a season due to his young age and skills on the ice.

And lastly, should Bouwmeester sign a one year deal with the Panthers, he can become an unrestricted free agent in 2009 and can sign elsewhere without any compensation going to the club. When asked about the possibility of testing the free agent market, Bouwmeester said that that was not on his mind.

“That’s down the road,” the soft-spoken Bouwmeester said of his potential unrestricted status in the future.

“I’ve got a couple of years to worry about that.”

However, you can bet that Panthers GM Jacques Martin is having nightmares about that possibility. So it’s no wonder the he is working overtime to get Bouwmeester’s name on a long-term contract.