The 31-year-old has appeared in 334 NHL games, including 13 games this season (12:01 TOI). He spent most of last season on the Panthers' taxi squad, dressing in seven games. Connauton is also a veteran of 259 American Hockey League games over parts of six seasons, recording 118 points (39g-79a) with the Manitoba Moose, Chicago Wolves, Texas Stars, Tuscon Roadrunners and Colorado Eagles.
The acquisition of Connauton adds a tad more depth to the Flyers' blueline options. The left handed shooter's main appeal has always been the combination of having good size (6-foot-2, 205 pounds), above-average skating ability, a heavy if somewhat erratic shot and some physical bite to his game (including 28 credited hits in his 13 games for Florida this season, and three NHL seasons with 100+ hits).
Connauton has been inconsistent from a defensive and puck management standpoint at times in career. However, he has also put together stretches of multiple games where he's moved the puck efficiently, chipped in points and held his own without the puck. Those have been the stretches where he's stayed in starting lineups for extended periods. It's never been a question of work ethic.
Primarily, the left-handed defenseman is an NHL depth or third-pairing option at 5-on-5. As a regular starter for the Arizona Coyotes in 2017-18, Connauton posted a career-high 11 goals and 21 points at even strength.
After being drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the third round of the 2009 Draft, Connauton broke into the NHL with the Dallas Stars under Lindy Ruff in 2013-14. He showed hints of promise and was even given the opportunity for a few games to be paired with longtime NHL standout Sergei Gonchar.
Connauton dealt with inconsistency in his 36 games that season. He had an up-and-down training camp the next September and fell out of favor. In mid-November 2014, he was placed on waivers by the Stars and claimed by the Columbus Blue Jackets. He went on to post nine goals and 19 points in 54 games for Todd Richards' team.
Connauton was in and out of the Blue Jackets' starting lineup in the first half of the 2015-16, getting waived in January and claimed by Arizona. He found a home for awhile with the Coyotes, dressing in a career-high 73 games in 2017-18 and averaging 15:11 of ice time for Rick Tocchet's team. After the season, the Coyotes re-signed Connauton to a two-year extension.
In 2018-19, he was bumped up to an average 18:21 of ice time. However, Connauton spent a stint on injured reserve that kept him for a few weeks mid-season. Overall, he dressed in 50 games. After the season, the Coyotes traded Connauton and a 2020 third-round pick to the Colorado Avalanche for veteran forward Carl Söderberg.
Connauton spent the majority of the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season in the American Hockey League with the Colorado Eagles but also dressed in four games for the Avalanche. Last season, he caught on with the Panthers after signing a professional try-out (PTO) deal. A taxi squad depth option, Connauton appeared in seven regular season games for the Panthers.
This season, Connauton continued to appear sporadically. With Gustav Forsling ready to be activated off injured reserve, the Panthers placed veteran blueliner Connauton on waivers in the hopes of assigning him to the AHL's Charlotte Checkers.
As a Flyer, Connauton supplements the options for the lower end of the blueline. Nick Seeler, who is more of a strictly defensive defenseman option, has appeared in 21 of the team's 23 games to date.
