Panthers GM Barry Zito did not have a definitive timetable for when Ekblad is expected to make his season debut but said it's safe to assume he'll be back between "November to January." That timeline doesn't clarify Ekblad's status, but more detailed updates could become available throughout training camp.
Both Ekblad and Brandon Montour underwent offseason shoulder surgery, and GM Bill Zito said they're "on time" and are expected to be back in "a month or two." This puts both defensemen on pace to be ready close to the start of the regular season. The Panthers play just eight games in October, so even if Ekblad misses the start of the season, he may not miss too many games.
Petry was traded to the Canadiens as a part of the Erik Karlsson trade a couple of weeks ago, and 25 percent of his salary was retained then. Detroit getting him with an additional 50 percent retained means he'll come in at $2.344M AAV for the next two seasons. The 35-year-old is a Michigan native and is coming off a 31-point (5G / 26A) season, appearing in just 61 games for the Penguins.
Petry surprisingly returns to Montreal after just one season after being included as part of a three-way trade which saw Erik Karlsson head to Pittsburgh and three players and a 1st-round pick head to San Jose. The 35-year-old defensemen left Montreal for Pittsburgh after eight seasons and had five goals, 26 assists, 113 SOG, 24 PIMs and a +2 plus/minus in 61 games in 2022-23.
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.
Nosek had seven goals, 11 assists, 69 SOG, 48 PIMs and a +9 plus/minus through 66 games played with Boston in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, $1 million contract with New Jersey. The 30-year-old centre will be joining his fourth NHL team and he has 42 goals, 101 points and 146 PIMs across 398 career games played.
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.
Sebrango was a third-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and split the 2023 season between Grand Rapids (AHL) and Toledo (ECHL). The 21-year-old was fairly deep on the Red Wings' defensive prospect depth chart, so it's not a huge loss for an organization that has invested a lot of draft capital in defensemen in recent years. During his time in the AHL, Sebrango had five goals and 13 assists (18 points) in 135 games over the last three seasons.
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.
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.
Ekblad played through a broken foot, two shoulder dislocations and multiple oblique tears throughout the postseason and his shoulder will require offseason surgery. Ekblad will not be ready in time for training camp. His injury isn't expected to linger too deep into the 2023-24 season, but expect a more detailed timetable following his surgery.
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).
