Inside look at Florida Panthers

NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, the Florida Panthers.

The Florida Panthers won't have to wait long this season to be reminded of what they missed out on when they failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season.

The Panthers will watch the Carolina Hurricanes raise their 2026 Stanley Cup banner before the teams open the season at Lenovo Center on Sept. 29 (5 p.m. ET; ESPN). Florida started the past two seasons by raising its own Stanley Cup banners and made three consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Final before fatigue and a rash of injuries caught up to them last season.

Healthy and reinforced by a host of offseason additions, including acquiring forward Brady Tkachuk in a trade with the Ottawa Senators to unite him with older brother Matthew, the Panthers are determined to reclaim their spot as the NHL's top team. They'll begin that quest by facing the Hurricanes.

"They're the champs," Panthers general manager Bill Zito said. "For us, it's going to be hard starting against the best. You've got to play them anyway. You might as well (in the opener). Let's go. 

"But they're the team to beat and I think we're just excited to have a chance."

Acknowledging that the Hurricanes are "the team to beat" doesn't mean the Panthers are conceding anything. As disappointing as going 40-38-4 last season was, Florida understands that much of what went wrong was beyond its control, beginning with captain Aleksander Barkov tearing the ACL and MCL in his right knee in training camp and missing the entire season.

There's still a lot of belief in the culture that the Panthers established in reaching the Cup Final in each of their first three seasons after Paul Maurice became coach in 2022. 

"It's all about winning," Brady said. "There's nothing about individuals or individual success. The sole focus here is just about excellence"

The trade for Brady on June 21 was the first of a flurry of moves.

Florida also added goalies Jacob Markstrom (trade with the New Jersey Devils) and Akira Schmid (trade with the Vegas Golden Knights), forwards Lars Eller (signed one-year contract) and Garnet Hathaway (trade with the Philadelphia Flyers) and defenseman Radko Gudas (signed a six-year contract after his rights were acquired from the Anaheim Ducks).

Gudas, who helped the Panthers reach the Cup Final in 2023 before they lost to the Golden Knights, is back for a second stint with the team after three seasons with the Ducks and hoping to get in on the Cup-winning fun.   

"Seeing them (have) success and seeing them getting built and seeing them playing with more mojo and being the team to beat pretty much, it's awesome to see," Gudas said. "It helps you with getting going and helps you motivate yourself to become even better. 

"The goal is a hundred percent set."

Adding Brady, who had 59 points (22 goals, 37 assists) in 60 games last season, Eller and Hathaway to a forward group that includes Barkov, Matthew and fellow returnees Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand, Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen gives Florida depth up front that Zito said "can match up historically with any of our teams."

The biggest change is Markstrom, who began his NHL career in Florida (2011-2014), returning to succeed Sergei Bobrovsky as the No. 1 goalie. A cornerstone of the Cup teams, Bobrovsky signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs after playing seven seasons with the Panthers.

"I think everyone that's there wants the same thing," Markstrom said. "We all want to win again and that's the same mindset and same goal as I (have) now also."

It will help that the Panthers are expected to be fully healthy for the start of training camp, according to Zito. Their lengthy list of injuries last season included Barkov, Matthew (surgery for torn adductor muscle, sports hernia), Marchand (lower body), Verhaeghe (lower body), Bennett (lower body) and defensemen Seth Jones (upper body, broken foot), Dmitry Kulikov (shoulder surgery, broken nose, broken finger), Niko Mikkola (knee), Gustav Forsling (undisclosed) and Uvis Balinskis (fractured foot).

Although Barkov didn't play in the NHL last season, he led Finland to the gold medal at the 2026 IIHF World Championship in May with a team-high 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 10 games. He'll be hungry on opening night along with the rest of the returning Panthers. 

"It's already been a long summer for us," Luostarinen said. "I'm sure everybody wants to get back out there and play."