Panthers acquire B. Tkachuk to join brother, Markstrom to replace Bobrovsky

After the NHL Draft, free agency and other offseason moves, NHL.com is examining where each team stands in preparation for the 2026-27 regular season, which starts Sept. 29. Today, the Florida Panthers:

2025-26 season: 40-38-4, seventh in Atlantic Division; missed Stanley Cup Playoffs

Key arrivals

Brady Tkachuk, F: The 26-year-old arrived in Florida to join older brother Matthew on June 21, coming via trade with the Ottawa Senators. The Panthers sent the No. 9 and No. 25 picks in the 2026 NHL Draft to Ottawa plus a conditional first-round pick in the 2029 NHL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2027 Draft. Tkachuk, who had 59 points (22 goals, 37 assists) in 60 games last season, is a candidate to play on the top line. He has two years remaining on his contract. … Jacob Markstrom, G: Acquired from the New Jersey Devils on June 30 for forwards Evan Rodrigues, Jesper Boqvist and Ben Steeves, Markstrom will replace future Hall of Fame goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The No. 31 pick by Florida in the 2008 NHL Draft, Markstrom spent the first four seasons of his career with the Panthers. The 36-year-old went 23-19-1 last season with a 3.07 goals-against average and a .883 save percentage in 44 games (43 starts); he is entering the first year of a two-year contract that begins this season. … Garnet Hathaway, F: Acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers on June 25, the 34-year-old had three points (one goal, two assists) in 66 games last season. … Akira Schmid, G: Acquired in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights on June 29 for a third-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft, Schmid, 26, went 16-10-6 with a 2.59 GAA and .893 save percentage in 34 games (29 starts) last season. … Radko Gudas, D: Signed a six-year contract on July 1 after his rights were traded to Florida from the Anaheim Ducks on June 29. The 36-year-old, who played for the Panthers from 2020-23, had 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 56 games last season. … Lars Eller, F: Signed a one-year contact on July 1. The 37-year-old had 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in 68 games for the Ottawa Senators last season. … Alexander Petrovic, D: The 34-year-old signed a two-year contract on July 1 after he had 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 54 regular-season games for the Dallas Stars last season. He previously played for the Panthers from 2012-19. … Sam Lafferty, F: The 31-year-old signed a one-year, two-way contract on July 1. A depth forward, he had two points (one goal, one assist) in 29 games for the Chicago Blackhawks last season.

Key departures

Sergei Bobrovsky, G: The 37-year-old signed a three-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 1 after he went 27-23-1 with a 3.07 GAA and .877 save percentage in 52 games (51 starts) last season. He spent seven seasons with Florida and helped the Panthers win the Stanley Cup twice. … Evan Rodrigues, F: Traded to the Devils in the Markstrom deal, he had 31 points (11 goals, 20 assists) in 69 games last season. … Jesper Boqvist, F: Also part of the Markstrom trade to New Jersey after having 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 73 games last season. … A.J. Greer, F: Signed a four-year contract with the Ducks after being sent to Anaheim in the Gudas trade; he had 32 points (17 goals, 15 assists) in 78 games last season. … Mackie Samoskevich, F: Signed a three-year contract with the Kraken on July 1 after he was acquired in a trade on June 21 for a first-round pick in 2026 and a conditional second-round pick in 2027. Samoskevich, 23, had 32 points (12 goals, 20 assists) in 77 games last season. … Daniil Tarasov, G: The backup to Bobrovsky last season, Tarasov signed a one-year contract with the Red Wings on July 1. He played in an NHL career-high 33 games last season and was 13-15-3 with a 3.05 GAA and .895 save percentage.

On the cusp

Cole Schwindt, F: The 25-year-old had seven points (five goals, two assists) in 29 games for the Panthers last season. Although he's played 78 games in the NHL in his career, including 42 with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2024-25, he has never been an NHL regular. Chosen No. 81 in the 2019 draft by the Panthers, Schwindt signed a two-year contract on July 1. ... Sandis Vilmanis, F: The 22-year-old played in 19 games with Florida last season, with five points (three goals, two assists). He was taken in the fifth round (No. 157) by Florida in the 2022 draft. … Jack Devine, F: The 22-year-old was selected in the seventh round (No. 221) of the 2022 draft. He got into six games with Florida last season, but did not have a point. He spent 63 games with the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League, with 43 points (18 goals, 25 assists), plus two assists in three playoff games. … Marek Alscher, D: The 22-year-old defenseman from Czechia was taken No. 93 in the 2022 draft and played four games in the NHL last season with three assists. He played in 52 games for the Checkers, with 11 points (three goals, eight assists).

What they still need

Health. The 2025-26 Panthers were derailed by injuries, starting in training camp when Aleksander Barkov went down, necessitating ACL and MCL surgeries to his right knee that cost him the entire season. He wouldn't be the only one. Matthew Tkachuk missed the first 47 games of the season after offseason surgery, and over the course of the year Seth Jones, Tomas Nosek, Dmitry Kulikov, Jonah Gadjovich, Sam Reinhart, Brad Marchand, Anton Lundell and Rodrigues missed time as well. The Panthers have a potential championship roster that was rebuilt in the offseason, but they need their injury woes to slow this upcoming season.

They said it

"Not many players can do that, be out for the whole year and then just dominate on that high level. It was really good to see him playing like normal him. So it's a good thing for us to see that he's playing that level already, and now after the summer he's going to be even better." -- Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen on Barkov playing at the 2026 IIHF World Championships after missing the 2025-26 season

EDGE stat to watch

Brady Tkachuk is an advanced stats standout who should fit in seamlessly with Florida, which ranked fifth in offensive zone time percentage (42.2; percentage of time that the puck spends in the offensive zone while the game clock is running) and ninth in 5-on-5 shot attempts percentage (51.9) last season despite missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Tkachuk also ranked third in the NHL in offensive zone time percentage (48.6) with the Senators last season. Since the start of the puck and player tracking era (2021-22), Tkachuk ranks third in high-danger shots on goal (639) behind Zach Hyman (725) and John Tavares (654). -- Pete Jensen

Fantasy spin 

Forward Sam Bennett is one of three players with at least 100 goals, 1,000 shots on goal and 700 hits over the past five seasons combined (others: Brady Tkachuk, Alex Ovechkin). Bennett was a fringe top 100 overall player in standard category fantasy leagues last season (110th overall) and could have an elevated ceiling with exposure to either of the Tkachuk brothers. Matthew Tkachuk, who led Florida in points per game (1.10; 34 in 31 games) last season, should return to a top-25 overall player now that he's fully healthy. Markstrom is also a top-15 goalie option given Florida's defensive structure and elite supporting cast in front of him. -- Troy Perlowitz

Projected lineup

Brady Tkachuk -- Aleksander Barkov -- Sam Reinhart

Carter Verhaeghe -- Sam Bennett -- Matthew Tkachuk

Eetu Luostarinen -- Anton Lundell -- Brad Marchand

Sandis Vilmanis -- Lars Eller – Garnet Hathaway

Gustav Forsling -- Aaron Ekblad

Niko Mikkola -- Seth Jones

Dmitry Kulikov -- Radko Gudas

Jacob Markstrom

Akira Schmid