How the Florida Panthers Faired After Free Agency Opened.
Following their Stanley Cup win, the Panthers had more than a handful of free agents up for a contract. The biggest one being Sam Reinhart who would’ve been highly sought after on the open market following a career-high season. As is always the case Florida wasn’t able to keep all of their free agents, however, they were able to keep significant pieces and bring in new talent to help fill in the gaps. GM Bill Zito said prior to free agency starting that they would try to keep as many players as possible and that they were going to spend to the cap. Some of the acquisitions were to help fill out rosters in their affiliate teams. There were plenty of moves made for the main Panthers roster, which leaves them in a favorable position to fight for back-to-back Cup wins.
Extensions:
Sam Reinhart was the one player the whole hockey sphere was waiting to see what would happen. He had expressed his desire to stay in South Florida throughout the playoffs, and Zito and the organization said the same. There were nerves among fans when there hadn’t been any type of extension announcement as free agency got closer and closer. That announcement finally came the morning free agency opened with the Panthers putting out posts sharing that Reinhart had extended for another eight years at $8.625M AAV, making him the fourth highest-paid Panther behind Barkov, Bobrovsky, and Tkachuk. A sigh of relief could be felt throughout the fanbase at the announcement, and that also means that Barkov, Tkachuk, Forsling, and Reinhart are all signed by at least 2030.
Dmitry Kulikov was the next extension announced, with him getting a four-year deal with a $1.15M AAV, adding more stability to the blue line. Kulikov had a great playoff for the Panthers and was very solid on the bottom defensive pairing and on the penalty kill. He certainly made a game-saving play in Game 7 of the Cup Final by using his stick to keep a loose puck out of the net and out of the reach of any Oilers’ players, which then turned into Reinhart’s game-winning goal. He’s not the biggest defensive name on the Florida roster but he does make big plays when needed. Kulikov had twenty points during the regular season and sat at a respectable +15. Initially drafted by Florida, he has the chance to close out his career with the Cats, as he’ll be 37 by the time this extension is done.
Anton Lundell was the final extension announced during free agency. An underrated player coming into the Playoffs that I said was worth keeping an eye on. He proved me right by having a fantastic postseason. Lundell got a six-year extension at $5M AAV, this also extends him to at least the 2030 season keeping a big part of Florida’s core players together. Lundell came up big for the Cats when Sam Bennett was out with injury, and he needed to play up on the second line with Tkachuk and Verhaeghe. He had 17 points during the postseason with three goals and 14 assists. Lundell was second on the team in +/- behind Forsling, the second-best center in faceoff win percentage at 52.5% behind Barkov, and tied with Barkov for second on team assists at 14. Lundell shares many similarities with Barkov in how he plays; at only 22, he’s only going to get better as he gets more experience.
Departures:
The biggest loss for the Panthers on the defensive end was Brandon Montour. Montour signed a seven-year deal with the Seattle Kraken at $7.14M AAV, giving him both a big pay increase and term limit. With his offensive production, he gives the Kraken the option to run a power play unit with two defensemen between himself and Vince Dunn who currently anchors the top PP unit. Montour had 33 points during the regular season, with eight goals and 25 assists, and 11 points during the postseason, with three goals and eight assists. His postseason numbers were on par with what he did a season prior, although the regular season numbers were down from the 2022-2023 season, where he had 73 points; Montour was recovering from an injury and only played 66 games as opposed to the 80.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson is the other defenseman the Cats lost with him getting a four-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs at $3.5 AAV. He played on the third defensive pairing with Kulikov, but OEL also has experience playing a bigger defensive role on a team and carrying more minutes. OEL got time on the power play units, both the first and second unit, during the playoffs. He averaged around 18 and a half minutes of ice time during the regular season and 15 and a half during the postseason.
OEL isn’t the only Panther heading to Toronto Anthony Stolarz signed a two-year deal at $2.5M AAV. The Leafs had a glaring deficit in goal, and Stolarz was a fantastic backup for the Cats this past season. He led the league in save percentage and goals against, and he also had one of the highest save numbers for a shutout in franchise history. Every time Stolarz was needed in the net he stepped up and played great. The Bobrovsky/Stolarz tandem was one of the strongest goalie tandems in the NHL. He’ll have a shot at potentially being a full-time starter in Toronto or at least playing more games than he did with the Panthers.
