Scottie Upshall to Panthers: 4 years, $14-million

The Panthers are essentially an expansion team this year, spending wildly to get to the $48.3-million salary cap. Their haul so far? D Brian Campbell and F Tomas Kopecky before free agency and G Jose Theodore and F Scottie Upshall now.

They'll get to that floor, but the team should look like the mid-1990s Tampa Bay Lightning.