Barkov left Florida's practice on Thursday with an apparent leg injury and is being further evaluated by the Panthers' training staff. Head Coach Paul Maurice stated that the team should have news on the team's captain by Friday. The 30-year-old is entering his 13th NHL season after finishing 2024-25 above a point-per-game for the 5th straight year with 20 goals and 71 points in 67 games.
Bill Zito surprised Panthers' fans on Wednesday when he announced 33-year-old Tomas Nosek would be out long-term to start the 2025-26 season after suffering a significant knee injury while training during the offseason. Nosek is entering his 11th NHL season after winning his first Stanley Cup with Florida last season in a complementary role, which saw him put up a goal and nine points in 59 games played.
Sebrango made his NHL debut in the 2024-25 season with Ottawa, appearing in two games and earning a one-year, two-way contract extension. The 23-year-old defenseman is expected to start 2025-26 in Belleville (AHL), where he had eight goals, 20 points and 79 PIMs in 50 games played last season.
Minutes after news of Matthew Tkachuk's offseason surgery dropped, Florida announced they had signed Luke Kunin to a one-year, $800,000 contract on Friday. The 27-year-old appeared in 75 games between Columbus and San Jose in 2024-25, picking up 11 goals, 18 points and 55 PIMs. He is expected to play a depth role in Florida's bottom-six this season.
Tkachuk is without a timetable to return after it was announced on Friday that the superstar had undergone surgery a few weeks back and is expected to miss the start of the 2025-26 regular season. There had been rumours swirling that the 27-year-old would miss some time this season after missing 30 games due to injury in 2024-25. Tkachuk is expected to remain out as late as January, and will hope to return to the Panthers before the Olympic break, where he has produced over a point-per-game since joining three seasons ago.
After two seasons in Charlotte (AHL), Michael Benning is expected to return to the Checkers after the 23-year-old signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with Florida on Thursday. The puck-moving defenseman has yet to make an NHL appearance but has excelled with the Checkers in his last two seasons, putting up an impressive nine goals, 32 points and 34 PIMs in 54 games played last season.
Florida continued to shore up its defensive depth on Thursday after announcing it had signed 24-year-old defenseman Tobias Bjornfot to a one-year, two-way contract extension. The former first-round pick came to Florida off waivers in March 2024 and managed to appear in 14 games with the Panthers during the 2024-25 season, failing to record a point. He spent the majority of last season with Charlotte (AHL), where he had three goals and 18 points in 50 games played.
Skoog will return for a third season with Charlotte (AHL) after signing a one-year, two-way contract with Florida on Wednesday. The 26-year-old centre was undrafted out of Boston University (NCAA) and made his minors debut in 2023-24. Last season, he scored nine goals, added 24 points, and accumulated 63 penalty minutes in 72 games with Charlotte.
With funds tight in Florida for the upcoming 2025-26 season, Mackie Samoskevich has signed a one-year, $775,000 bridge contract to remain with the Panthers. The 22-year-old scrappy right-winger was Florida's 2021 1st-round pick (24th overall) and made a big impact throughout their lineup in 2024-25 with 15 goals, 31 points and 129 SOG in 72 games played.
Schwindt was claimed off waivers from the Flames in early October and spent the entire 2024-25 season with the Golden Knights. The 24-year-old winger had one goal and seven assists (eight points) in 42 games with the Golden Knights but will likely serve as their No.13 forward to start 2025-26.
Entwistle only appeared in seven total games in 2024-25, all with Charlotte (AHL), where he had one goal and one assist. Expect the 25-year-old winger to start the 2025-26 season with Charlotte again.
Foote was a first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft but has not been able to establish himself as a full-time NHL player. The 24-year-old spent most of the 2024-25 campaign in the AHL, scoring 39 points (18G / 21A) in 53 games with Utica Comets.
Before playing his first career game in the KHL, Kirill Gerasimyuk signed a two-year, entry-level contract with Florida. The 21-year-old goaltender was Florida's 2021 5th-round pick (152nd overall) and excelled in the VHL last season posting a SV% above .930 between Yugra Khanty-Manisysk and SKA-Neva.
Studnicka was the 53rd overall pick of the Boston Bruins in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and has split time between the AHL and NHL throughout his career. The 26-year-old forward spent the entirety of the 2024-25 season in the AHL, scoring 45 points (16G / 19A) in 72 games with the Ontario Reign.
After spending his previous two seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, Petry joins the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers on a one-year contract worth $775K. The veteran 37-year-old defenseman averaged 18:54 time-on-ice and scored eight points (1G / 7A) in 44 games last season.
Florida has secured their new backup netminder for the 2025-26 season after the Panthers signed Daniil Tarasov to a one-year, $1.05 million contract. The 26-year-old was acquired from Columbus last week for a 5th-round pick and will provide a backup option for Sergei Bobrovsky after Florida let Vitek Vanecek head to free agency. Tarasov struggled in 2024-25, with a 7-10-2 record, 3.54 GAA and ,881 SV%.
Nosek became an integral part of Florida's bottom-six forward group in his first season with the team, especially in the playoffs, and has earned a one-year extension worth $775K AAV. The 32-year-old Czech forward had nine points (1G / 8A) in 59 games with Florida, in addition to three points (0G / 3A) in 16 postseason games.
After spending the entirety of his 16-year career with the Boston Bruins, Marchand was dealt to the Florida Panthers at the trade deadline last season and has found a new home with the team, securing a six-year contract extension worth $5.25M AAV. The 37-year-old Marchand became a fan favourite with the Panthers, finishing as the runner-up for the Conn Smythe trophy and scoring 20 points (10G / 10A) in 23 postseason games.
Ekblad was expected to be a highly desired commodity in Free Agency on July 1st, but the Panthers have locked him up to an eight-year contract extension worth $6.1 million AAV. The 29-year-old Ekblad was drafted first overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft and has spent the entirety of his career with Florida. Ekblad had 380 points (118G / 262A) in 732 career games.
One of the biggest expected off-season free agents will not be hitting the open market after Florida announced Friday that they have signed Sam Bennett to an eight-year, $64 million contract extension ($8 million AAV). The 29-year-old is coming off an impressive Conn Smythe-winning playoff performance, with 15 goals, 22 points and a +6 plus/minus in 23 games played.
