On Oct. 7, 2025, the Florida Panthers prepared to defend their back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, with an all-star-loaded lineup that didn’t even include captain Aleksander Barkov, who missed the entire campaign with an ACL and MCL injury.
When we look back at that night’s lineup, here’s a breakdown of who wore a Panthers sweater in a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Forwards | Defense | Goalies |
|---|---|---|
Sam Bennett | Jeff Petry | Sergei Bobrovsky |
Sam Reinhart | Seth Jones | Daniil Tarasov |
Anton Lundell | Aaron Ekblad | |
Evan Rodrigues | Dmitry Kulikov | |
Carter Verhaeghe | Gustav Forsling | |
Eetu Luostarinen | Niko Mikkola | |
Jesper Boqvist | ||
Luke Kunin | ||
A.J. Greer | ||
Jonah Gadjovich | ||
Brad Marchand | ||
Mackie Samoskevich |
Before the first day of NHL Free Agency in 2026, the Panthers had already overhauled their bottom six, added an Olympic gold medalist, and found a new number-one goalie, finally answering the question of who was going to stop pucks after Bobrovsky left.
Here’s a breakdown of players from last season’s opening night who are no longer with the team:
- Jeff Petry (traded in March)
- Mackie Samoskevich (traded in June)
- A.J. Greer (traded in June)
- Evan Rodrigues (traded in June)
- Jesper Boqvist (traded in June)
- Sergei Bobrovsky (free agency)
- Danii Tarasov (free agency)
Considering Florida has only $4.6 million in cap space left, their only significant signing in early July could be a reunion with Radko Gudas and inking recently acquired restricted free agent netminder Akira Schmid to a new deal, since there isn’t much wiggle room to make a splash to an already retooled lineup.
Recently, the Panthers acquired Brady Tkachuk, who can slot in anywhere in the lineup and can play significant power-play minutes. Second, they went out and added toughness by trading for Garnet Hathaway. They solved their goalie concerns by bringing in Jacob Markström. Finally, although nothing is confirmed ahead of free agency, it appears Florida is interested in bringing back Gudas into the fold.
We have acquired forward Brady Tkachuk from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for three first-round draft selections and one second-round selection.
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) June 21, 2026
Details » https://t.co/UJBd7GWW4M pic.twitter.com/Lus56ibowp
Moreover, it goes without saying that one of the team’s greatest acquisitions came without a trade or a free-agency signing. Instead, it’s the return of Barkov, who looked amazing at the recent World Championships, where he led Finland to the title.
At the recent Panthers’ 2026 NHL Draft viewing party, General Manager Bill Zito discussed the laundry list of players recovering from significant injuries, telling fans in attendance that everyone is on course to start the regular season with a clean bill of health.
Bill Zito on #FlaPanthers recovering from injury: "Everybody who was injured is on schedule with recovery. Some folks, I think, are completely recovered; other people still are in some type of therapy. I don't think any of it is real significant."
— Jordan McPherson (@J_McPherson1126) June 27, 2026
Despite a returning core from last year’s Opening Night festivities, this upcoming one in October 2026 will be quite different. Gone are several players who won two Stanley Cups in a Panthers sweater, but in their place will be a handful of new and returning faces, hungry to join a core eager to get back to the Stanley Cup Final for the fourth time in five seasons.
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