Panthers finalizing eight-year extension with Eetu Luostarinen

An effective centerman is sticking around South Beach for several more years.

According to PuckPedia, the Florida Panthers are finalizing an eight-year contract extension with forward Eetu Luostarinen. The deal, set to begin during the 2027-28 season, will carry a cap hit of $5 million through the 2031-32 campaign.

It’s a nice little pay raise for Luostarinen, who is heading into the final season of his three-year contract that he signed in July 2023. That deal has a cap hit of $3 million.

Keeping the 27-year-old on the books for the foreseeable future is key for a Panthers team that wants to recapture its status as one of the top teams in the NHL. While he doesn’t put up big numbers, Luostarinen has brought depth down the middle for Florida, especially during the team’s runs to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2024 and 2025. He hit a career-high 43 points during the 2022-23 season, the team’s first run to the final. In the spring of 2025, he scored five goals and 19 points, finishing seventh on the Cats in postseason scoring.

This past season, despite missing nine games due to injury, the Finnish center scored 11 goals and 22 assists for 33 points, though the Cats failed to make it to the postseason for the first time in seven years.

On top of his play with the Panthers, Luostarinen had a chance to represent his country on the sport’s biggest stage. In six games with Finland, he registered four assists, helping the team win the bronze medal.

The Siilinjarvi native has notched 10 goals in three of the past four seasons, including 17 during his productive 2022-23 campaign. In 447 career regular-season games in the NHL, he has scored 61 goals and 101 assists for 162 points, with another 34 points in 73 playoff contests.