Key departures
Nate Schmidt, D: He parlayed a strong season with the Panthers into a three-year contract with the Utah Mammoth on July 1. Florida signed Schmidt after the final season of his contract was bought out by the Winnipeg Jets. He played 103 of 105 total games last season and won the Stanley Cup for the first time. Schmidt had 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) in 80 regular-season games and 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in 23 Stanley Cup Playoff games, including four assists in the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final. … Nico Sturm, F: Signed a two-year contract with the Minnesota Wild on July 1. Florida acquired Sturm from the San Jose Sharks on March 6. He played eight postseason games and won the Stanley Cup for the second time (Colorado Avalanche in 2022). … Vitek Vanecek, G: Signed a one-year contract with the Mammoth on July 1. Vanecek was acquired from the Sharks on March 5. … Jaycob Megna, D: Signed a two-year contract with the Vegas Golden Knights on July 1. Menga played for the Panthers and Charlotte in the AHL last season.
On the cusp
Jack Devine, F: The 22-year-old joined Charlotte after four seasons at the University of Denver, where he won two national championships. Devine played three AHL games at the end of the regular season and had five points (two goals, three assists) in seven Calder Cup Playoff games. … Mikulas Hovorka, D: The Panthers are very high on the 24-year-old; he played 60 regular-season games (three goals, seven assists) for Charlotte in 2024-25, his first pro season in North America. Hovorka had five assists in 18 playoff games.
What they still need
Not much. After signing Mackie Samoskevich to a one-year contract July 10, the Panthers have 14 of their top forwards from their run to a second consecutive Stanley Cup championship under contract. They were able to keep all three of their big pending free agents (Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand) and have all except Schmidt returning among their core defensemen. There is a question whether Matthew Tkachuk will need surgery during the offseason; the forward said it was 50-50 on exit day. If he does and misses time early, Samoskevich could take his spot on the right side of the second line.
They said it
"You never know how things are going to play out. I just wanted to come in and buy in and be part of the group and play whatever role I was put in and do it to the best I possibly can. When you walk into this room and you see what guys are putting themselves through every day to prepare and to sacrifice and how dialed in they are, you just kind of follow suit. They've built an incredible culture in this room. It's very easy to follow. And when you do that, you just leave it all on the ice. We have a good team, so good things happen in here and we have a lot of fun." -- forward Brad Marchand
EDGE stat to watch
The Panthers led the 2025 playoffs in high-danger goals (52), and Bennett was tied with Corey Perry of the Edmonton Oilers for the most among individual players in that category (eight each). Not far behind was Florida's third line of Marchand (seven; tied for third), Anton Lundell (six; fifth) and Eetu Luostarinen (four; tied for ninth). Bennett, who had strong underlying numbers behind his Conn Smythe Trophy win, was also tied with Perry for second in high-danger shots on goal (27) during the playoffs behind Oilers captain Connor McDavid (29). -- Troy Perlowitz
