Florida Panthers News

Vancouver played their opening night victory vs. Edmonton with only 17 skaters and have been granted the right to recall Jack Studnicka on an emergency basis from Abbotsford (AHL) without it effecting the teams' salary cap. The 24-year-old centre had four goals, four assists, 65 SOG, 16 PIMs and a -12 plus/minus in 48 games with Vancouver and Boston in 2022-23 and will be looking to stick with the team longer than his original emergency call up.

Lundell missed the Panthers' practice Wednesday for precautionary reasons but took part in Thursday's morning skate ahead of their game vs. Minnesota and is still. game-time decision for the affiar. The 22-year-old is entering his third full NHL season with Florida and had 12 goals, 21 assists, 152 SOG, 43 PIMs, and a +1 plus/minus in his sophomore campaign in 2022-23. The Panthers should provide an injury update closer to warmups Thursday.

Bennett will not be ready for the Panthers' opening game of the season as he did not travel with the team as he recovers from a lower-body injury. Last season, Bennett scored 40 points (16G / 24A) in 63 games for the Panthers while predominantly playing in a second-line role. Eetu Luostarinen, who recorded 43 points (17G / 26A) in 82 games last season, is expected to handle some extra responsibility on the second line and second powerplay unit during Bennett's absence.

In 50 games last season (24-20-3), Bobrovsky posted a very pedestrian 3.07 GAA and .901 SV% before ultimately losing priority in the crease to, then-Panthers' backup, Alex Lyon down the stretch. Bobrovsky regained his composure in the postseason, leading the Panthers to the Stanley Cup Finals with a 2.78 GAA and .915 SV% in 19 games (12-6-0). Bobrovsky is coming off a lacklustre preseason, posting a 2.75 GAA and .883 SV% in three games (1-2-0), and has been frustratingly inconsistent since joining the Panthers in 2019-20. It's difficult to predict what to expect from Bobrovsky as the Panthers are listed as +114 road underdogs in their season-opener against the Minnesota Wild.

Lundell missed the Panthers' practice Wednesday for precautionary reasons and is expected to play in their opener vs. Minnesota on Thursday but is a game-time decision. The 22-year-old is entering his third full NHL season with Florida and had 12 goals, 21 assists, 152 SOG, 43 PIMs, and a +1 plus/minus in his sophomore campaign in 2022-23. The Panthers should provide an injury update closer to game-time Thursday.

Gregor was a full-time member of the San Jose Sharks the last two seasons, accumulating 40 points (18G / 22A) across 120 games. The 25-year-old centerman will provide some nice forward depth for the Maple Leafs roster.

Greer played his first full NHL season last year, tallying 12 points (5G / 7A) and 114 PIM in 61 games for the Bruins. The former 39th overall pick of the Colorado Avalanche in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft will likely serve as a depth forward this season for the Flames.

Bennett is unlikely to be ready for the opening game of the season and could miss two weeks as he recovers from a lower-body injury. Last season, Bennett scored 40 points (16G / 24A) in 63 games for the Panthers while predominantly playing in a second-line role. Eetu Luostarinen, who recorded 43 points (17G / 26A) in 82 games last season, is expected to handle some extra responsibility on the second line and second powerplay unit during Bennett's absence.

Tarasov was injured in practice before training camp started and has yet to make an appearance. GM Jarmo Kekäläinen said the team does not have a timeline on Tarasov's return, which is why they claimed Spencer Martin on waivers last Friday.

Verhaeghe was forced to miss Florida's training camp skate Friday as he is day-to-day with muscle tightness but is expected to be ready for opening night after facing a similar injury last preseason. The 28-year-old left-winger had a breakout season in 2023-24 with 42 goals, 31 assists, 46 PIMs, 275 SOG and a +10 plus/minus. He is entering his fifth NHL season and has 93 goals and 177 points in 254 career games played.

Panthers GM Barry Zito did not have a definitive timetable for when Ekblad is expected to make his season debut but said it's safe to assume he'll be back between "November to January." That timeline doesn't clarify Ekblad's status, but more detailed updates could become available throughout training camp.

Both Ekblad and Brandon Montour underwent offseason shoulder surgery, and GM Bill Zito said they're "on time" and are expected to be back in "a month or two." This puts both defensemen on pace to be ready close to the start of the regular season. The Panthers play just eight games in October, so even if Ekblad misses the start of the season, he may not miss too many games.

Petry was traded to the Canadiens as a part of the Erik Karlsson trade a couple of weeks ago, and 25 percent of his salary was retained then. Detroit getting him with an additional 50 percent retained means he'll come in at $2.344M AAV for the next two seasons. The 35-year-old is a Michigan native and is coming off a 31-point (5G / 26A) season, appearing in just 61 games for the Penguins.

Petry surprisingly returns to Montreal after just one season after being included as part of a three-way trade which saw Erik Karlsson head to Pittsburgh and three players and a 1st-round pick head to San Jose. The 35-year-old defensemen left Montreal for Pittsburgh after eight seasons and had five goals, 26 assists, 113 SOG, 24 PIMs and a +2 plus/minus in 61 games in 2022-23.

Luostarinen had 17 goals, 26 assists, 132 SOG, 28 PIMs and a +19 plus/minus through 82 games with Florida in 2022-23 and has signed a three-year, $9 million contract extension ($3,000,000 AAV). The 24-year-old centre joined Florida after one short season in Carolina in 2020-21 and has 29 goals, 78 points and 259 SOG through 212 career games.

Nosek had seven goals, 11 assists, 69 SOG, 48 PIMs and a +9 plus/minus through 66 games played with Boston in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, $1 million contract with New Jersey. The 30-year-old centre will be joining his fourth NHL team and he has 42 goals, 101 points and 146 PIMs across 398 career games played.

Boqvist had 10 goals, 11 assists, 67 SOG, two PIMs and a +8 plus/minus through 70 games with New Jersey in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, $775,000 contract with Boston. The 24-year-old centre was selected by New Jersey in the second-round of the 2017 NHL Draft (36th overall) and has collected 28 goals and 55 points across 189 games in four seasons in New Jersey.

Sebrango was a third-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and split the 2023 season between Grand Rapids (AHL) and Toledo (ECHL). The 21-year-old was fairly deep on the Red Wings' defensive prospect depth chart, so it's not a huge loss for an organization that has invested a lot of draft capital in defensemen in recent years. During his time in the AHL, Sebrango had five goals and 13 assists (18 points) in 135 games over the last three seasons.

Bjornfot had an assist, 10 SOG, six PIMs and a +1 plus/miinus through 10 games with Los Angeles in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year, $1.55 million contract extension ($775,000 AAV) with Los Angeles. The 22-year-old defenseman was Los Angeles first-round pick in 2019 (22nd overall) and has a goal, 15 points, 93 SOG and a 26 PIMs across 116 career NHL games through four season with the Kings.

Rodrigues had 16 goals, 23 assists, 184 SOG, 30 PIMs and a +7 plus/minis through 69 games with Colorado in 2022-23 and has signed a four-year, $12 Million contract ($3,000,000 AAV) with Florida. The 29-year-old centre will be joining his third team in three years and has 69 goals, 99 assists, and 885 SOG across 385 career NHL games.