FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Gustav Forsling is ready to go.
Having already hit the two-game maximum for veterans in the preseason, the Florida Panthers defenseman has his sights squarely set on the Season Opener in Raleigh on Tuesday.
“We've done the hardest work,” Forsling said after Friday’s practice at Baptist Health IcePlex. “Today was a quick, fast practice. I think everyone pushed themselves, and we had a high tempo out there, a lot of skating. It was a lot of fun to speed things up."
For Forsling, the work is half the fun.
A multi-time winner of the organization’s annual “most fit” award, you’d be hard-pressed to find a player that enjoys spending more time in the gym than the smooth-skating Swede.
With the Panthers getting a longer-than-usual offseason to recharge following three straight trips to the Stanley Cup Final – including back-to-back wins in 2024 and 2025 – it should come as no surprise Forsling spent much of that extra time grinding.
“You can push yourself a little harder,” Forsling said of how he adjusted his training. “You got a longer block, so you can space it out a little bit and get some rest in between too. You don't have to push yourself too hard every week, but you can be a little smarter with your training. I feel like I was a little smarter. You had a lot of time to get stronger and faster.”
That’s a scary thought for opposing offenses.
Heading into his 10th season in the NHL, few defensemen around the league -- if any, to be honest -- have built up a better reputation making elite players look casual than Forsling.
Over his six seasons with the Panthers, who claimed him off waivers from the Carolina Hurricanes in January of 2021, Forsling has finished with an expected goals for percentage above 50% at 5-on-5 in every season since taking his talent to Florida, including a career-best mark of 56.75% in 2023-24.
Armed with an active stick and high hockey IQ, he’s amassed a +161 plus/minus rating in those seasons.
Since 2020-21, only Colorado’s Devon Toews (+215) has a better mark among blueliners.
“He is elite at closing gaps off the rush, his transition game” head coach Paul Maurice said of Forsling. “You watch that late in the game [on Tuesday at Carolina]. You saw it in overtime. He can just push at the end of games. He can get into holes that other people can't because he's so fit. I think he's going to be able to maintain that for a lot of years in his career. He's going to play until he doesn't want to play anymore because he's just such a strong skater and he maximizes his fitness every year.”
As always, Forsling is gearing up for another season alongside longtime running mate Aaron Ekblad.
Florida's shutdown pair during both runs to the Stanley Cup, Forsling and Ekblad have a combined 55.36 CF% and 54.67 GF% at 5-on-5 over the past three season together.
During the team’s back-to-back Cups wins in 2024 and 2025, the Panthers led 33-26 in goals and 355-296 in shots on goal at 5-on-5 when Forsling and Ekblad were deployed together.
“We know exactly how our game works out there and it's so easy,” Forsling said of his chemistry with Ekblad. “Like you said, we’ve played so many games now together that we know where we are on the ice. We talk a lot on the ice, too, which is a big key."
Entering only the third year of the eight-year contract extension signed with the Panthers in March of 2024, Forsling, a native of Linkoping, Sweden, has recorded 220 points (59G, 161A) in 557 career games. In the postseason, he’s added 23 points (8G, 23A) in 84 games.
Never satisfied, he’s hoping to take another step forward this season.
“That’s the recipe,” Forsling said. “Keep pushing and getting better.”
