SUNRISE, Fla. – Florida Panthers President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Bill Zito announced today the club’s opening night roster for the 2026-27 season. The Panthers open the season with a 5:00 p.m. ET matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at Lenovo Center.
Forwards (12)
8 – Brady Tkachuk
9 – Sam Bennett
13 – Sam Reinhart
14 – Bokondji Imama
15 – Anton Lundell
16 – Aleksander Barkov (C)
19 – Matthew Tkachuk
20 – Lars Eller
21 – Garnet Hathaway
23 – Carter Verhaeghe
27 – Eetu Luostarinen
95 – Sandis Vilmanis
Defensemen (7)
3 – Seth Jones
5 – Aaron Ekblad
6 – Radko Gudas
7 – Dmitry Kulikov
26 – Uvis Balinskis
42 – Gustav Forsling
77 – Niko Mikkola
Goaltenders (2)
25 – Jacob Markstrom
40 – Akira Schmid
Injured Reserve (1)
63 – Brad Marchand
Injured Non-Roster (1)
12 – Jonah Gadjovich
The following players have been assigned to the Charlotte Checkers (AHL):
- Forwards: Nathan Bastian, John Beecher, Angus Crookshank, Jack Devine, Sam Lafferty, Cole Reinhardt, Samu Salminen, Gracyn Sawchyn, Cole Schwindt, Kai Schwindt and Hunter St. Martin
- Defensemen: Marek Alscher, Tobias Bjornfot, Casey Fitzgerald, Mikulas Hovorka, Ludvig Jansson, Alexander Petrovic, Emil Pieniniemi, Donovan Sebrango and Matvei Shuravin
- Goaltenders: Cooper Black, Kirill Gerasimyuk and Tyler Muszelik
The following players have been released from their professional tryouts (PTO) and will report to the Charlotte Checkers (AHL):
- Forwards: William Bitten, Karsen Dorwart, Riese Gaber, Robert Mastrosimone, Liam McLinskey and Nate Smith
Fans can tune into Tuesday’s season opener against the Carolina Hurricanes on ESPN and the ESPN App at 5 p.m. ET. A special local pre-game show begins at 4:30 p.m. ET across Scripps Sports stations and PanthersPlus.TV in South Florida. The game will also be available on 104.3 WQAM and Audacy.com. For complete broadcast information during the 2026-27 season, visit FloridaPanthers.com/HowToWatch.
2026-27 Florida Panthers single game tickets are on sale now! To score tickets for Panthers home games throughout the campaign, click here. For all the latest in Panthers news, concerts and events at Amerant Bank Arena & FTL War Memorial, sign up for '93 Society newsletter and receive information straight to your inbox. Visit FloridaPanthers.com or SeatGeek.com for all ticketing needs.
