The Florida Panthers do not have a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, having used their top picks in recent years to build a roster that reached three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, winning back-to-back titles in 2024 and 2025.
Considering that the organization was one of the NHL’s worst teams for years, not only did they stockpile their own top picks, such as second overall in 2013 and first overall in 2014, but they also assembled a lineup with other teams’ top picks.
Heading into the 2026-27 season, Florida will boost a lineup featuring nine first-round picks, including the following players:
NHL Draft Day has us reminiscing on these first-rounders 😌 pic.twitter.com/ogmC3i8rQE
— Hard Rock Bet (@HardRockBet) June 26, 2026
How did the Panthers acquire all these players? Besides sending away roster players, they have also dealt away many of their recent draft picks and mortgaged the future through 2030.
Aleksander Barkov- 2nd Overall 2013 (Florida)
One year after qualifying for the playoffs in 2011-12, the Panthers produced the NHL’s second-worst record at 15-27-6 for 36 points, three points behind the Colorado Avalanche, who ended up drafting Nathan MacKinnon first overall, allowing them to select Aleksander Barkov.
Seth Jones - 4th Overall 2013 (Nashville)
Seth Jones is the second-to-last player to join this exclusive club in Florida, having come to town via a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on Mar. 1, 2025. The Panthers gave up a first-round pick in this year’s draft and Spencer Knight for Jones.
Aaron Ekblad - 1st Overall 2014 (Florida)
After selecting their future captain in 2013, the Panthers once again had the league’s second-worst record at 29-45-8 for 66 points, slightly better than the Buffalo Sabres who had 52 points. That year, the franchise won the NHL Draft Lottery and selected Aaron Ekblad.
Sam Reinhart - 2nd Overall 2014 (Buffalo)
After missing out on the top pick in 2014, the Sabres selected Sam Reinhart at second overall. He’d play seven seasons in Buffalo before the Panthers acquired him on July 24, 2021, in exchange for a 2022 first-round pick and Devon Levi.
Sam Bennett - 4th Overall 2014 (Calgary)
The Calgary Flames selected Sam Bennett with the fourth overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft. He’d skate with the Flames for seven years before a trade on Apr. 12, 2021, which also included a sixth-round pick coming to Florida for a second-round pick in 2022 and Emil Heineman.
Matthew Tkachuk - 6th Overall 2016 (Calgary)
Matthew Tkachuk is the second first-round pick to join the Panthers from the Flames organization. After indicating he wouldn’t re-sign, the club traded him to Florida on July 22, 2022, for Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, Cole Schwindt, plus a conditional first-round pick in the 2025 Draft. The Panthers also acquired a 2025 fourth-round pick in the exchange.
Luke Kunin - 15th Overall 2016 (Minnesota)
Luke Kunin did not come straight from the Minnesota Wild, who drafted him 15th overall in 2016. Instead, he bounced around with Nashville, San Jose, and Columbus before relocating to South Florida as a free agent on Aug. 22, 2025.
Brady Tkachuk - 4th Overall 2018 (Ottawa)
Matthew’s brother, Brady, is the newest entry to the first-round pick club on the Panthers, joining the organization on June 21, 2026, in an exchange for a first- and second-round pick in 2026, 2029, and 2030. For the past five seasons, Tkachuk was the captain of the Senators, who drafted him fourth overall in 2018.
Anton Lundell - 12th Overall 2020 (Florida)
A few years before the Panthers became the dominant team in the Eastern Conference, they held the 12th overall pick in the 2020 Draft and selected Finnish center Anton Lundell. Before his 25th birthday, Lundell became a two-time Stanley Cup winner.
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