The Florida Panthers are approaching the holiday season in their 2025-26 campaign. With a record of 12-11-1 and 25 points, they sit four points behind both wild card spots in the Eastern Conference, controlled by the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
In the Atlantic Division, they sit three points behind the Ottawa Senators for third, four points behind the Montreal Canadiens for second, and a whopping seven points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for first. The Panthers look to become the first team since Denis Potvin and the early 1980s New York Islanders to win three straight Stanley Cups.
During the season, the team has faced numerous adversities early on. With that, the team will have a long list to mail to Santa Claus at the North Pole this holiday season.
1. Heal from Injuries as Quickly as Possible
Probably the number one thing they want for Christmas is to get healthy quickly. Even before the season started, the team was battered with injuries. Their captain, Aleksander Barkov, tore his ACL and MCL at practice and will not return for the regular season.
Forward Matthew Tkachuk received surgery for a torn adductor injury he suffered last season, but is projected to return to play next month. Additionally, forward Tomas Nosek received surgery for a knee injury he suffered in the playoffs and is also expected to resume playing next month.
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When the season started, the infirmary began seeing a lot more patients. In the third game of the season against the Flyers, defenseman Dmitry Kulikov suffered a labrum tear in his right shoulder and required surgery to repair it. He is sidelined for the next four months. Forward Jonah Gadjovich sustained an upper-body injury on Oct. 25 against the Vegas Golden Knights. As a result, he went under the knife and is projected to be out for three months.
Last week, forward Cole Schwindt broke his arm against the Vancouver Canucks and is expected to miss two to three months. That same week, not even on the ice, forward Eetu Luostarinen suffered an accident at a barbecue and is projected to be week-to-week.
This has spread the roster incredibly thin with call-ups and players that are normally healthy scratches seeing playing time. This holiday season, they just need to start healing up for a big playoff push.
2. An Extra Defenseman Brought Into the Lineup
Due to injury and performance, the defense has seen a revolving door of players coming in and out of the lineup.
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Last month, it was reported by David Dwork that general manager Bill Zito was looking at potential options to upgrade his roster at the blue line. The team could look at players on expiring contracts like the San Jose Sharks’ Dmitry Orlov. This would easily solidify the bottom pairing of their defensive core.
3. A Temporary Replacement for Injured Forwards
As previously mentioned, the forward grouping on the Panthers has been spread thin due to the unfair amount of injuries they have piled up.
If Zito is working the phones to get his hands on a defensive piece, a small offensive piece could also help with the injury amount. There have been rumors circulating recently of Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin coming to Florida. He could be brought into the fray with his Cup-winning resume.
Is It Enough to Turn the Season Around?
The season itself is off to a rough start, but the team getting these things this holiday season should be enough to right the ship and put them on a push toward the playoffs.
If they can find all of that, the Panthers have yet another chance at running the table. They’ve faced pushback many times before, and it’s shaped them to become back-to-back champions.
