The Florida Panthers enter their first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning as the defending Stanley Cup champions. They also return a roster that has a lot of familiar faces from last season’s match-up, with some free agents sprinkled about.
While the Lightning have relied on their depth draft picks to fill out their roster, the Panthers lean heavily on their first-round picks, including a couple of recent ones in Anton Lundell and Mackie Samoskevich. Short term free agents abound in their roster, with only four players signing deals of four years or longer. Trade wise, Matthew Tkachuk was their biggest score, but they have added some important players such as Seth Jones and Sam Reinhart through the trade market.
Here’s how their roster was constructed:
Draft
Aleksander Barkov – 2013 first-round pick, 2nd overall
Anton Lundell – 2020 first-round pick, 12th overall
Mackie Samoskevich – 2021 first-round pick, 24th overall
Aaron Ekblad – 2014 first-round pick, 1st overall
Free Agency
Rasmus Asplund – July 1, 2024 (one-year contract)
Jesper Boqvist – July 1, 2024 (one-year contract)
Jonah Gadjovich – March 7, 2024 (two-year contract)
A.J. Greer – July 1, 2024 (two-year contract)
Tomas Nosek – July 1, 2024 (one-year contract)
Evan Rodrigues – July 2, 2023 (four-year contract)
Carter Verhaeghe – October 8, 2024 (eight-year contract)
Uvis Balinskis – January 3, 2024 (two-year contract)
Gustav Forsling – March 7, 2024 (eight-year contract)
Matt Kiersted – June 28, 2024 (one-year contract)
Dmitry Kulikov – July 1, 2024 (four-year contract)
Jaycob Megna – July 5, 2024 (one-year contract)
Niko Mikkola – July 1, 2023 (three-year contract)
Nate Schmidt – July 2, 2024 (one-year contract)
Sergei Bobrovsky – July 1, 2019 (seven-year contract)
Trades
Sam Bennett – April 12, 2021 – acquired with a 2022 sixth-round pick from Calgary for a 2022 second-round pick and Emil Heineman.
Eetu Luostarienen – February 24, 2020 – acquired with Erik Haula, Chase Priskie, and Lucas Wallmark from Carolina for Vincent Trocheck.
Brad Marchand – March 7, 2025 – acquired from Boston for a 2027 conditional second-round pick.
Sam Reinhart – July 24, 2021 – acquired from Buffalo a 2022 first-round pick and Devon Levi.
Nico Sturm – March 6, 2025 – acquired with a 2027 seventh-round pick from San Jose for a 2026 fourth-round pick.
Matthew Tkachuck – July 22, 2022 – acquired with a 2025 fourth-round pick from Calgary for a 2025 first-round pick, Jonathan Huberdeau, Cole Schwindt, and MacKenzie Weegar.
Seth Jones – March 1, 2025 – acquired with a 2026 fourth-round pick from Chicago for 2026 first-round pick and Spencer Knight.
Vitek Vanecek – March 5, 2025 – acquired from San Jose for Patrick Giles
