On Tuesday, the Florida Panthers finally answered a lingering question, one that has been on fans' minds since the final buzzer of the 2025-26 season. Who was going to be their starting goalie on opening night if two-time Stanley Cup winner Sergei Bobrovsky departed via free agency?
That answer is now a former franchise second-round draft pick, 36-year-old Jacob Markström.
HE’S BAAAACK 😼 pic.twitter.com/vKuSS0vifU
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) June 30, 2026
General Manager Bill Zito traded forwards Evan Rodrigues, Jesper Boqvist, and Ben Steeves for Angus Crookshank and Markström, who returns to the team that drafted him 31st overall in the 2008 NHL Draft.
As the centerpiece of a blockbuster deal a day before free agency, Markström will don a Panthers jersey for the first time since 2014. In 43 career games with Florida, he was 11-25-5 with an .898 SV% and 3.21 GAA. During his first stint, the club made the playoffs only once, winning the Southeast Division title in 2011-12.
On Mar. 4, 2014, the Panthers traded Markström to the Vancouver Canucks in another shocking move, bringing Roberto Luongo back to the franchise that launched him on the path to becoming a star goalie. Eventually, the Special Adviser to the General Manager would retire in Florida and never leave, joining the front office and earning two Stanley Cups.
Bringing Markström back to where it all started is a nice story, considering he’s now got a shared history with Luongo, because now these two have a chance to work together.
And there will be plenty to work on.
As mentioned, Markström is 36 years old and hasn’t played more than 50 games since 2023. Various injuries have derailed his most recent campaigns, especially in New Jersey, where he went 49-35-7 in 93 games, producing a .892 SV% and 2.76 GAA.
Through a lengthy 16-year career, featuring stops in Florida, Vancouver, Calgary, and New Jersey, he’s 264-231-64. He is the second-winningest Swedish netminder, chasing only Hall of Famer Henrik Lundqvist, who finished with 459.
Since finishing second in Vezina Trophy voting back in 2021-22, when he surpassed 30 wins for the first and only time in his career, finishing with 37 while recording a league-leading nine shutouts, Markström has played the 11th most games at 200, with the 14th most wins, but also the sixth most losses. In addition, he’s compiled an .896 SV% and 2.81 GAA.
If fans were worried about Bobrovsky’s recent performances, at least when he came to town, he had an 11-18 playoff record in 34 games. Markström is 14-17 in 31 games, only playing in the postseason for two series in 2020 and 2022 and one in 2025, only advancing past the first round on two occasions.
In the event the Panthers are healthy next season, they can support their new goalie, but if that’s not the case, then fans may end up disappointed in Markström because he’s not a gamebreaker anymore. Moreover, at $6 million a year for the next two seasons, fans will expect him to remain healthy, lead Florida to the playoffs, and win a few rounds, or risk being run out of town.
Of course, there were not a lot of great options in free agency to fill the gap that Bobrovsky is leaving by signing with another team. However, the Panthers came up short in the Connor Hellebuyck sweepstakes, the goalie they needed to win another Stanley Cup with their current core.
Historically, there have been 43 Swedish goalies in NHL history, and two of them, Pelle Lundberg and Lundqvist, have led their teams to the Stanley Cup Final. If the Panthers have their sights set on another Stanley Cup victory in 2027 or even 2028, not only will they need Markström to play the very best of his career, but they will need to make history.
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