Florida Panthers News

Lundell missed the Panthers' practice Wednesday for precautionary reasons and is expected to play in their opener vs. Minnesota on Thursday but is a game-time decision. The 22-year-old is entering his third full NHL season with Florida and had 12 goals, 21 assists, 152 SOG, 43 PIMs, and a +1 plus/minus in his sophomore campaign in 2022-23. The Panthers should provide an injury update closer to game-time Thursday.

Greer played his first full NHL season last year, tallying 12 points (5G / 7A) and 114 PIM in 61 games for the Bruins. The former 39th overall pick of the Colorado Avalanche in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft will likely serve as a depth forward this season for the Flames.

Bennett is unlikely to be ready for the opening game of the season and could miss two weeks as he recovers from a lower-body injury. Last season, Bennett scored 40 points (16G / 24A) in 63 games for the Panthers while predominantly playing in a second-line role. Eetu Luostarinen, who recorded 43 points (17G / 26A) in 82 games last season, is expected to handle some extra responsibility on the second line and second powerplay unit during Bennett's absence.

Tarasov was injured in practice before training camp started and has yet to make an appearance. GM Jarmo Kekäläinen said the team does not have a timeline on Tarasov's return, which is why they claimed Spencer Martin on waivers last Friday.

Verhaeghe was forced to miss Florida's training camp skate Friday as he is day-to-day with muscle tightness but is expected to be ready for opening night after facing a similar injury last preseason. The 28-year-old left-winger had a breakout season in 2023-24 with 42 goals, 31 assists, 46 PIMs, 275 SOG and a +10 plus/minus. He is entering his fifth NHL season and has 93 goals and 177 points in 254 career games played.

Luostarinen had 17 goals, 26 assists, 132 SOG, 28 PIMs and a +19 plus/minus through 82 games with Florida in 2022-23 and has signed a three-year, $9 million contract extension ($3,000,000 AAV). The 24-year-old centre joined Florida after one short season in Carolina in 2020-21 and has 29 goals, 78 points and 259 SOG through 212 career games.

Boqvist had 10 goals, 11 assists, 67 SOG, two PIMs and a +8 plus/minus through 70 games with New Jersey in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, $775,000 contract with Boston. The 24-year-old centre was selected by New Jersey in the second-round of the 2017 NHL Draft (36th overall) and has collected 28 goals and 55 points across 189 games in four seasons in New Jersey.

Bjornfot had an assist, 10 SOG, six PIMs and a +1 plus/miinus through 10 games with Los Angeles in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year, $1.55 million contract extension ($775,000 AAV) with Los Angeles. The 22-year-old defenseman was Los Angeles first-round pick in 2019 (22nd overall) and has a goal, 15 points, 93 SOG and a 26 PIMs across 116 career NHL games through four season with the Kings.

Rodrigues had 16 goals, 23 assists, 184 SOG, 30 PIMs and a +7 plus/minis through 69 games with Colorado in 2022-23 and has signed a four-year, $12 Million contract ($3,000,000 AAV) with Florida. The 29-year-old centre will be joining his third team in three years and has 69 goals, 99 assists, and 885 SOG across 385 career NHL games.

Kulikov had three goals, 13 assists, 84 SOG, 34 PIMs and a -13 plus/minus through 67 games with both Anaheim and Pittsburgh in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year contract with Florida worth $1.0 million. The 32-year-old defensemen returns to the team that originally drafted him in the first-round of the 2009 Draft (14th overall) where he had 28 goals and 138 points across seven seasons and 460 games played in Florida to begin his career.

Mikkola had a goal, five assists, 62 SOG, 58 PIMs and a +6 plus/minus through 81 games with both St.Louis and the New York Rangers in 2022-23 and has now signed a three-year contract worth $7.5 million ($2.5M AAV) with Florida. The 27-year-old stay-at-home defensemen will be joining his third NHL team and brings five goals and 23 points with 124 PIMs across 170 career NHL games to the Panthers.

Waeber was an undrafted free agent out of Switzerland. The 26-year-old netminder was 8-9-1 with a 2.50 GAA, .914 SV% and two shutouts in 19 games with ZSC Lions of the National League, the top-tier of Swiss hockey.

Balinskis is an undrafted free agent from Latvia who has spent the last three season in the Czech Extraliga. The 26-year-old blue liner had 11 goals and 24 assists (35 points) in 50 games with Liberec Bili Tygri HC in 2023. He represented Latvia in the 2022 Olympics, tallying three assists in four games.

Luostarinen reportedly tried to play on his broken leg, but could not go. Luostarinen is expected to avoid surgery, so he should be ready for training camp for the 2023-24 season. Luostarinen finished the 2022-23 season with 43 points (17G / 26A) in 82 games.

Tkachuk suffered an upper-body injury in Game 3, fought through it in Game 4 but will not play in a must-win Game 5. With Tkachuk unavailable, Grigori Denisenko is expected to make his playoff debut.

Bobrovsky was pulled in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final after allowing four goals on 13 shots (.692 SV%) as Florida dropped to 0-2 in the series but is expected to take the crease again for Game 3 vs. Vegas on Thursday. The 34-year-old has been a godsend throughout the playoffs, leading Florida with an 11-4-0 record, 2.50 GAA and .925 SV%. He will hope to get his team in the winning column for the first time in the Finals as he takes on Vegas, who has won three straight and finished the regular season 11th in the NHL in goals allowed per game (2.74).