Penrith will get an extra $700,000 in their salary cap for next season following James Maloney's departure to French Super League team Catalans.
The NRL veteran signed a two-year contract on Wednesday with a third-year option for the Dragons.
It gives the Panthers flexibility to chase an established star for 2020, meaning the club could set its sights on Tyrone Peachey, reports The Sydney Morning Herald.
Maloney revealed that he had known for some time he was going to head overseas at the end of the season.
"I've known for the last three or four weeks I'll be pretty much going,'' Maloney said.
"But when we were in that losing rut, I said to Ivan [Cleary], 'I don't know if I can walk away if the season goes to shit'. It would have been hard to go after that.
"He said to me, 'you can't base everything around that'. We're in a different position now and things have turned around. Hopefully, we can go out on a high.
"A big reason I came to Penrith when I did is because I thought there was a really good opportunity to have success out here. I think there still is. I think we're still building and there are things we need to fix and get right.
"There's no doubt we've got the talent to do it. There are a few other sides who have the talent to do it, [but] just having talent doesn't make you win it. We're progressing in the right direction.
"I've always prided myself on being able to leave an imprint on where I've been and leave it in a better state than when I first got there. Most places I've done that. It's no different here. I like to leave on really good terms and I'm sure I will here."