Florida Panthers fans best be excited about the 2026-27 team, since the lineup will not experience that much turnover, barring any trades or buyouts, for the 2027-28 season. Right now, General Manager Bill Zito has $236,786 to work with to stay under the NHL Salary Cap, which is set at $104 million. Unless someone gets injured, as most of the roster did last year, the club will not be adding anyone before opening night and could have a very quiet trade deadline unless they swap one contract for another straight up.
All these numbers got us thinking: if the Panthers run into salary cap trouble this season and have limited draft capital in the coming years, what could next summer look like? How much money would Zito have to readjust the roster, one hopefully celebrating a Stanley Cup victory, but if not, does he have enough space to find the missing piece?
How much cap space will the Panthers have for the 2027 offseason?
According to CapWages, the Panthers will have $10,636,786 in cap space, with Garnet Hathaway, Lars Eller, and Sam Lafferty being the top free agents from this year’s club. Meanwhile, players like Bokondji Imama, Cole Reinhardt, MacKenzie Entwistle, Angus Crookshank, Mikulas Hovorka, and Casey Fitzgerald, all signed to two-way contracts, will also be free agents.
Other players on two-way deals include Kai Schwindt, John Beecher, Marek Alscher, Donovan Sebrango, Tobias Bjornfot, and goalie Kirill Gerasimyuk, all of whom are restricted free agents next summer.
Overall, captain Aleksander Barkov remains Florida’s highest-paid player at $10 million, followed closely by Matthew Tkachuk at $9.5 million. Because of the team’s recent run of successes with back-to-back Stanley Cup titles, several other key players like Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett cashed in on lucrative deals that carry an $8 million annual salary. Moreover, Zito acquired Brady Tkachuk this summer and is now on the hook for his $8.2 million salary.
It is way too early to see how Zito maneuvers the Panthers' finances throughout the season, especially if the reunion with goalie Jacob Markström doesn’t pan out as expected. Considering the club was in the Connor Hellebuyck rumors for the longest time, many have come to say “never say never” when it comes to Zito’s moves. So with $10 million in projected cap space, can he continue to work his magic and bring in another game-breaker to ensure Florida brings home another Stanley Cup?
Add us as a preferred source on Google