The Florida Panthers enter the 2024-25 season as defending Stanley Cup Champions for the first time in franchise history. They look to end this season the same way they finished their last by lifting Lord Stanley’s holy grail again. The last team to win back-to-back championships was the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021.
A ton of changes happened to the roster since the Cup was crowned. At first glance, it seems like the team is going to take a step back this season. But it may be too soon to jump the gun on that assumption. Despite a completely different look, the team has not declined.
A Lot of the Panthers’ Winning Core Is Still Here
A ton of big names signed their way out of South Florida during the summer. This includes defenseman Brandon Montour, who inked a new deal with the Seattle Kraken. However, most of the core that has brought the Panthers success over the last few seasons is still around.
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Captain Aleksander Barkov has six years left on his eight-year, $80 million deal that averages $10 million annually. Matthew Tkachuk is on year three of an eight-year contract for $76 million, with an annual average of $9.5 million. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is still under contract for the next two seasons at $10 million per season. Defenseman Gustav Forsling just recently signed an extension and is under contract for the next eight seasons at a cheap $5.75 million cap hit. And this past offseason, Florida rewarded the man who scored the Cup-winning goal, Sam Reinhart, with an eight-year contract worth $8.625 million per year.
The Panthers have most of their top pieces locked up for a fair amount of time. This will keep the team in a competitive state for the immediate future.
The Newly Acquired Panthers Are Just as Strong as Those Who Left
Florida had a good chunk of their bottom six and bottom-pairing defensemen leave in free agency. But their new acquisitions for cheap are still strong enough to keep them competitive.
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Forward Tomas Nosek is with the Panthers on a one-year deal. He’s a threat at the faceoff dot with a career faceoff win percentage of 54.4 and a 57.2 percent win rate in postseason play. Additionally, defenseman Nate Schmidt joins his old head coach Paul Maurice after signing a deal. Throughout his NHL career, he’s been great at piling points and providing offense with 220 career points (47 goals, 173 assists) and a rating of plus-102. This includes seven playoff goals and 21 playoff assists with a plus-5 rating.
The Boqvist brothers, Adam and Jesper, reunite in Broward County as they both signed one-year contracts. Adam, a first-round pick in 2018 by the Chicago Blackhawks, has 85 career points (23 goals, 62 assists) and familiarity with general manager Bill Zito from his days with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Jesper has 34 goals and 35 assists, along with one playoff assist in 14 appearances, throughout his NHL career.
The newcomers to this team can provide the same skills that were lost in free agency. And the best part? They did not cost as much as the former players. Zito once again grabbed great talent while not breaking the bank.
Can the Panthers Go Back-to-Back?
The goal for the upcoming season is easier said than done, and that is to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions. Getting to the Stanley Cup Final is hard. Getting back is even harder. Going three times in a row would be a crazy feat. However, it has happened recently with the Lighting going in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Despite the difficulty, the taste of repeating is still in the Panthers’ mouths.
“I’ve always said, ‘I’ve just got to win one, and then, you’ll be set,’” Tkachuk said. “I’ve talked about it with guys that win early in their career, like, ‘Oh, you won one. You’re good, you’ve got it for the rest of your career.’ I couldn’t have been so wrong with saying that. I’m almost greedier. I want it more. I want this feeling again.”
Matthew Tkachuk on wanting to repeat.
The Panthers have shown they can handle the toughest of adversity and come out victorious. This includes injuries piling up and nearly being reverse-swept by the Edmonton Oilers in the Final. The culture has changed significantly over the years in Sunrise, and the team roster is going to show how it translates to winning.
