Florida Panthers
Eastern Conference - Atlantic division
Predicted Finish: 3rd
WILL FREE-AGENT FLEEINGS PUT FLORIDA IN FLUX?
For the first time since 2008-09, an NHL team went from Stanley Cup runner-up to champion in one season.
Just like the Pittsburgh Penguins did 15 years earlier, the Panthers learned valuable lessons last spring after losing to Vegas in 2022-23. Florida becomes the latest National Hockey League franchise to win its first-ever championship, joining the Golden Knights, St. Louis Blues (2019) and Washington Capitals (2018) in the last decade. The Cats will bring back most of the team's core in 2024-25, but several key pieces left via unrestricted free agency over the summer. Florida's depth, which was a key component in the team's run to the Stanley Cup Final the last two seasons, has taken a massive hit.
As a result, it may take a miracle for the Panthers to repeat as Cup champs this season.
Sam Reinhart
Forecasts
Centers
2024-25
Last 3 Seasons
| Rank | Name, Age | GP | G | A | PTS | PPG | 23-24 | 22-23 | 21-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | A. Barkov, 29 | 75 | 26 | 58 | 84 | 1.12 | 73 / 1.10 | 68 / 1.15 | 67 / 1.31 | K |
| 63 | S. Bennett, 28 | 70 | 18 | 25 | 43 | 0.61 | 69 / 0.59 | 63 / 0.63 | 71 / 0.69 | + $ |
| 69 | A. Lundell, 23 | 80 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 0.50 | 78 / 0.45 | 73 / 0.45 | 65 / 0.68 | |
| 134 | E. Rodrigues, 31 | 82 | 13 | 24 | 37 | 0.45 | 80 / 0.49 | 69 / 0.57 | 82 / 0.52 | |
| 121 | T. Nosek, 32 | 76 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 0.24 | 36 / 0.17 | 66 / 0.27 | 75 / 0.23 | + $ |
Wingers
| Rank | Name, Age | GP | G | A | PTS | PPG | 23-24 | 22-23 | 21-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | M. Tkachuk, 26 | 81 | 40 | 64 | 104 | 1.28 | 80 / 1.10 | 79 / 1.38 | 82 / 1.27 | K |
| 25 | S. Reinhart, 28 | 82 | 38 | 35 | 73 | 0.89 | 82 / 1.15 | 82 / 0.82 | 78 / 1.05 | |
| 35 | C. Verhaeghe, 29 | 79 | 35 | 34 | 69 | 0.87 | 76 / 0.95 | 81 / 0.90 | 78 / 0.71 | $ |
| 157 | E. Luostarinen, 26 | 82 | 15 | 16 | 31 | 0.38 | 82 / 0.33 | 82 / 0.52 | 78 / 0.33 | |
| 212 | M. Entwistle, 25 | 76 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 0.26 | 67 / 0.16 | 66 / 0.15 | 55 / 0.22 | $ |
| 226 | M. Samoskevich, 21 | 49 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 0.35 | 7 / 0.00 | NCAA | Big10 | $ |
| 241 | A. Greer, 27 | 63 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 0.24 | 59 / 0.20 | 61 / 0.20 | 9 / 0.22 | |
| 129 | J. Boqvist, 25 | 42 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 0.29 | 47 / 0.30 | 70 / 0.30 | 56 / 0.41 | $ |
Defensemen
| Rank | Name, Age | GP | G | A | PTS | PPG | 23-24 | 22-23 | 21-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | G. Forsling, 28 | 81 | 11 | 30 | 41 | 0.51 | 79 / 0.49 | 82 / 0.50 | 71 / 0.52 | |
| 53 | A. Ekblad, 28 | 77 | 10 | 23 | 33 | 0.43 | 51 / 0.35 | 71 / 0.54 | 61 / 0.93 | + $ |
| 115 | N. Schmidt, 33 | 74 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 0.27 | 63 / 0.22 | 71 / 0.27 | 77 / 0.42 | $ |
| 156 | A. Boqvist, 24 | 38 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 0.39 | 35 / 0.29 | 46 / 0.52 | 52 / 0.42 | $ |
| 158 | D. Kulikov, 33 | 72 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 0.21 | 76 / 0.26 | 67 / 0.24 | 80 / 0.30 | |
| 189 | N. Mikkola, 28 | 82 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 0.12 | 82 / 0.21 | 81 / 0.07 | 54 / 0.24 |
Goaltenders
| Rank | Name, Age | GP | W | SO | GAA | Sv% | 23-24 | 22-23 | 21-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | S. Bobrovsky, 36 | 55 | 32 | 4 | 2.59 | 0.908 | 58 / 36 | 50 / 24 | 54 39 | |
| 40 | S. Knight, 23 | 28 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 0.903 | AHL | 21 / 9 | AHL | + |
Depth Chart
Left Wing |
Center |
Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| C. Verhaeghe |
C A. Barkov 1 |
M. Tkachuk (LW) |
| E. Rodrigues (W) | S. Bennett | S. Reinhart |
| E. Luostarinen | A. Lundell 1 | M. Samoskevich (LW) 1 |
| J. Gadjovich (LW) | T. Nosek | M. Entwistle (C) |
| A. Greer (RW) | W. Skoog | J. Sourdif* (RW) 3 |
| S. Vilmanis* (RW) 5 | R. McAllister* | P. Giles (RW) |
| J. Davies* (C) 6 | J. Boqvist (C) | W. Lockwood |
| O. Okuliar* | R. Asplund | J. Devine* 7 |
Defense |
Goaltender |
Notable Departures |
|---|---|---|
| G. Forsling | S. Bobrovsky | N. Cousins (FA-Ott) |
| A. Ekblad 1 | S. Knight 1 | O. Ekman-Larsson (FA-Tor) |
| N. Mikkola | C. Black* | M. Hellberg (FA-Dal) |
| N. Schmidt | C. Driedger | R. Lomberg (FA-Cgy) |
| D. Kulikov 1 | K. Gerasimyuk* 5 | S. Lorentz (UFA) |
| U. Balinskis | O. Glifford* 5 | J. Mahura (FA-Sea) |
| T. Bjornfot | T. Muszelik* 6 | B. Montour (FA-Sea) |
| M. Hovorka* | D. Gabdrakhmanov* 7 | K. Okposo (UFA) |
| M. Alscher* 3 | K. Stenlund (FA-Uta) | |
| M. Benning* 4 | A. Stolarz (FA-Tor) | |
| A. Boqvist | V. Tarasenko (FA-Det) |
Forecasts: *: Rookie; 
: injury concern; 
: contract year (UFA in 2025);
: Must-draft player Last 3 season stats: GP and PPG for skaters, GP and W for goalies; Rank is based on PPG or Ws compared to players in the same position. Age as of October 10, 2024.
Depth Chart: (Secondary Position); *: Rookie; 
: Team captain; Orange denotes off-season acquisition via free agency or trade; 1 to 9: Organizational draft pick with round selected.
Lines: Projected lines, pairs and units are for the majority of the season, not neccesarily opening night; 2023-24 Power Play TOI and G-A-PTS in parenthesis
Projected Lines/Pairs
Power Play Units
| Forwards | Defense |
|---|---|
| C. Verhaeghe - A. Barkov - S. Reinhart | G. Forsling - A. Ekblad |
| E. Rodrigues - S. Bennett - M. Tkachuk | N. Mikkola - N. Schmidt |
| E. Luostarinen - A. Lundell - M. Samoskevich | U. Balinskis - D. Kulikov |
| J. Gadjovich - T. Nosek - M. Entwistle |
| First Unit | Second Unit |
|---|---|
| S. Reinhart (3:47, 27-7-34) | E. Rodrigues (1:53, 3-7-10) |
| A. Ekblad (1:27, 1-3-4) | S. Bennett (2:00, 5-7-12) |
| A. Barkov (3:33, 5-24-29) | G. Forsling (0:39, 1-1-2) |
| C. Verhaeghe (3:13, 8-13-21) | E. Luostarinen (0:48, 2-0-2) |
| M. Tkachuk (4:03, 6-26-32) | A. Lundell (1:13, 1-4-5) |