Evan Rodrigues’ shift to center has paid dividends early for the Florida Panthers

By Jordan McPherson
November 5, 2025 10:38 AM

There was a noticeable silence on the Florida Panthers’ bench as Evan Rodrigues fell to the ice early in the third period Tuesday. The veteran forward had just taken an elbow to the head from the Anaheim Ducks’ Leo Carlsson, a hit that resulted in Carlsson’s ejection from the game. Rodrigues was slow to Florida’s bench and ultimately went down the tunnel to the dressing room. Fortunately for Florida, Rodrigues returned later in the frame and ultimately was able to get back in the game. The outcome of the game — a 7-3 Anaheim rout to hand Florida a loss to start this four-game road trip — was bad enough. Florida frankly couldn’t afford to add another injury, especially to a player like Rodrigues, to the docket alongside it. The Panthers are already without a slew of key contributors — Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk the headliners but also fellow forward Tomas Nosek as well as defenseman Dmitry Kulikov. Their depth and resolve are being tested one month into a season that still has aspirations of winning a third consecutive Stanley Cup despite a 6-6-1 record that has them at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings through 13 games.

Rodrigues has been one of the integral players stepping up for Florida. He is playing center this season after being on the wing his first two seasons with the Panthers and as of late has been running a line with Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart — the same wingers that Barkov generally plays with. The 32-year-old had two points against the Ducks, scoring a breakaway goal 5:21 into the second period to tie the game at 2-2 and then having the primary assist on Eetu Luostarinen’s power play goal about five minutes later to give the Panthers a brief 3-2 lead before Anaheim (8-3-1) scored the final five goals of the contest.

Rodrigues has eight points (three goals, five assists) through 13 games played, and the Panthers are out-shooting opponents 89-61 with an 8-5 goal differential when he’s on the ice at five-on-five. “Evan moves the puck well from the middle,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said before the road trip. “There’s two different ideas. The one on the left is Carter has tremendous amount of speed, so we can find him in holes. And then Sam has an incredible shot, but he’s got the great IQ of finding open ice and the give-and-go play, I think, is there more with Evan. It’s a version of the Barkov idea. The two of them will move the puck back and forth to each other in open ice. And there’s some timing there. I think Evans controlled the puck. … He does a really good job of knowing when to try to create something and when to cut it off and stay basic. When you have great speed on one side and a real smart player on the other, you have more opportunities to make plays.”

Rodrigues said playing center has made things a bit “more free flowing,” which he feels is opening up his game. “It’s a little less up and down the walls and stops and starts,” Rodrigues said. “I think it suits me, but I’ve been doing a pretty good job. It’s definitely different, but the more consistently I play it, the more you know, I feel like my game’s [getting better]. I’ve been playing really well.” Verhaeghe agrees with his linemate. “He’s a smart player,” Verhaeghe said. “He makes simple plays. He’s easy to read off. He has great passing ability. He can skate. He’s been great at center. I didn’t know how good of a center when he was. He can win draws, so we’re trying to make the most of it. We’re down Barky, but he’s stepped up and filled the big hole for us.”