Panthers Buy Out Defenseman Koistinen

The Florida Panthers announced Wednesday night that they have bought out the remaining year of Ville Koistinen's contract, making him an unrestricted free agent. In 17 games last season with the Panthers, he had one goal and three assists for four points. He also appeared in eight games with Rochester of the AHL, scoring one goal and one assist. This move really comes as no surprise since Koistinen was a frequent healthy scratch last season in Florida. He does have some offensive skill on the blueline and any teams looking for such a player could sign him to a new contract. However, I think it's very likely he will leave for Europe, as he hinted at doing so last summer when still with the Nashville Predators.