2024–25 Florida Panthers season explained

League:NHL
Season:2024–25
Year:2024
Team:Florida Panthers
Division:Atlantic
Conference:Eastern
Record:0–0–0
Homerecord:0–0–0
Roadrecord:0–0–0
Goalsfor:0
Goalsagainst:0
Generalmanager:Bill Zito
Coach:Paul Maurice
Captain:Aleksander Barkov
Altcaptain:Aaron Ekblad
Matthew Tkachuk
Arena:Amerant Bank Arena
Minorleague:Charlotte Checkers (AHL)
Savannah Ghost Pirates (ECHL)

The 2024–25 Florida Panthers season will be the 31st season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established in 1993. The Panthers will enter the season as the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Previous season

The Florida Panthers finished as the top seed in the Atlantic Division and met the in-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.[1] The Panthers eliminated the Lightning in five games.[2] They then faced the Boston Bruins in the second round, winning the series in six games.[3] The Panthers defeated the New York Rangers in the conference finals in six games, advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second consecutive season.[4]

In the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals series matchup against the Edmonton Oilers, the Panthers initially held a 3–0 lead before experiencing defeats in the following three games. The Panthers defeated the Oilers 2–1 in Game 7 at home. This victory clinched the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship in its 30 years of existence.[5]

Off-season

The off-season saw the Panthers lose several key depth pieces. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Anthony Stolarz, Vladimir Tarasenko, Brandon Montour, Kevin Stenlund, Ryan Lomberg, and Josh Mahura left in free agency. Ekman-Larsson and Stolarz both signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tarasenko with the Detroit Red Wings, Montour and Mahura with the Seattle Kraken, Stenlund with the Utah Hockey Club, and Lomberg with the Calgary Flames.

The Panthers changed their ECHL affiliate and are now affiliated with the Savannah Ghost Pirates after having been paired with the Florida Everblades.[6]

After airing their games on Bally Sports Florida (formerly Fox Sports Florida and SportsChannel Florida) for the majority of the Panthers existence, Scripps Sports will now produce and broadcast Panthers games.[7] The broadcasts will be free over-the-air on local channels WSFL-TV 39 in Miami-Fort, Lauderdale, WHDT-TV 9 in Stuart-West Palm Beach, and TBD in Fort Myers-Naples.[8] Additionally, Scripps Sports will create a streaming platform to allow fans to stream the games within the broadcast region.

NHL 4 Nations Face-Off

The NHL 4 Nations Face-Off is an ice hockey tournament scheduled to take place on February 12–20, 2025. The 4 Nations Face-Off will replace the NHL's annual All-Star Game for 2025. In the tournament, teams representing Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States will play each other in a round-robin format, followed by a one-game final between the two top-placed teams.

On June 28, 2024, Aleksander Barkov was named to Team Finland, Gustav Forsling was named to Team Sweden, and Matthew Tkachuk was named to Team United States.[9] Further, Panthers assistant coach Tuomo Ruutu was named as an assistant coach to Team Finland.

The remaining roster will be selected and announced "later in the year".[10]

Schedule and results

The preseason schedule was published on June 23, 2024.[11]

2024 preseason game log: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0)
Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Recap
1 September 22 Florida
2 September 22 Nashville Florida
3 September 25 Florida
4 September 27 Florida
5 September 28 Carolina Florida
6 September 30Tampa Bay Florida
7October 2 Florida Tampa Bay
8 October 5 Florida
Notes:
Indicates split-squad. Played at Kia Center in Orlando, Florida. Played at Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Quebec.

Regular season

The regular season schedule was published on July 2, 2024.[12]

2024–25 game log
Legend:
Notes:
Played at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland as a part of the 2024 NHL Global Series.

Awards and honors

Records

Transactions

The Panthers have been involved in the following transactions during the 2024–25 season.

Key:

Contract is entry-level.

Contract initially takes effect in the 2025–26 season.

Players acquired

Date Player Former team Term Via Ref
1-year Free agency [13]
1-year Free agency [14]
Boston Bruins 2-year Free agency [15]
1-year Free agency [16]
1-year Free agency [17]
1-year Free agency [18]
Chicago Blackhawks 1-year Free agency [19]
1-year Free agency [20]

Players lost

Date Player New team Term Via Ref
4-year Free agency [21]
2-year Free agency [22]
7-year Free agency [23]
2-year Free agency [24]
Toronto Maple Leafs 2-year Free agency [25]
2-year Free agency [26]

Extensions

Date Player Term Ref
Patrick Giles 2-year [27]
1-year [28]
8-year [29]
1-year [30]
4-year [31]
6-year [32]

Draft picks

See also: List of Florida Panthers draft picks.

Below are the Florida Panther's selections at the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 28 and 29, 2024, at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada.[33]

RoundPlayerPosNationalityCollege/Junior/Club team (League)
258Linus ErikssonCDjurgårdens IF (HockeyAllsvenskan)
397Matvei ShuravinDKrasnaya Armiya (MHL)
4129Simon ZetherCRögle BK (SHL)
6169Stepan GorbunovCBelye Medvedi Chelyabinsk (MHL)
6193Hunter St. MartinLWMedicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
7201Denis GabdrakhmanovGTyumensky Legion (MHL)
Notes:

Notes and References

  1. Web site: NHL.com Media Site . April 17, 2024 . media.nhl.com.
  2. Web site: Richards . George . April 29, 2024 . Panthers pull away in 3rd, eliminate Lightning with win in Game 5 . June 1, 2024 . NHL.com.
  3. Web site: Pohoryles . Joe . May 17, 2024 . Forsling scores late, Panthers defeat Bruins in Game 6 to advance to East Final . June 1, 2024 . NHL.com.
  4. Web site: Richards . George . June 1, 2024 . Panthers defeat Rangers in Game 6, reach Stanley Cup Final . June 2, 2024 . NHL.com.
  5. Web site: Rosen . Dan . June 24, 2024 . Panthers recover, defeat Oilers in Game 7 of Stanley Cup Final for 1st title . June 24, 2024 . NHL.com.
  6. Web site: 2024-06-17 . Florida Panthers Announce ECHL Affiliation with Savannah Ghost Pirates Florida Panthers . 2024-07-05 . www.nhl.com . en.
  7. Web site: 2024-07-02 . Stanley Cup champion Panthers sign deal to move local broadcasts from Bally to Scripps Sports . 2024-07-05 . AP News . en.
  8. Web site: 2024-07-02 . Florida Panthers, Scripps Sports partner on multi-year agreement to air National Hockey League team’s games Florida Panthers . 2024-07-05 . www.nhl.com . en.
  9. Web site: 2024-06-28 . "First Six" 4 Nation Rosters Unveiled BLOG New Jersey Devils . 2024-07-10 . www.nhl.com . en.
  10. Web site: 2024-02-02 . NHL to hold 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in 2025 NHL.com . 2024-07-10 . www.nhl.com . en.
  11. Web site: Preseason Florida Panthers . 2024-07-25 . www.nhl.com . en.
  12. Web site: 2024-07-02 . Florida Panthers Announce 2024-25 Regular Season Schedule Florida Panthers . 2024-07-07 . www.nhl.com . en.
  13. Web site: July 1, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Forward Jesper Boqvist on One-Year Contract Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
  14. Web site: July 1, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Goaltender Chris Driedger on One-Year Contract Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
  15. Web site: July 1, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Forward A.J. Greer on Two-Year Contract Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
  16. Web site: July 1, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Forward Tomas Nosek on One-Year Contract Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
  17. Web site: July 2, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Forward MacKenzie Entwistle to a One-Year, Two-Way Contract Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
  18. Web site: July 2, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Defenseman Nate Schmidt on One-Year Contract Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
  19. Web site: July 5, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Defenseman Jaycob Megna on One-Year, Two-Way Contract Florida Panthers . July 7, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
  20. Web site: July 9, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Defenseman Adam Boqvist on One-Year Contract Florida Panthers . July 10, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
  21. Web site: July 1, 2024 . Maple Leafs Sign Defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson Toronto Maple Leafs . July 8, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
  22. Web site: July 1, 2024 . Ryan Lomberg signs two-year deal with Flames . July 8, 2024 . Sportsnet.ca . en.
  23. Web site: July 1, 2024 . Kraken sign Montour, Stephenson to 7-year contracts NHL.com . July 8, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
  24. Web site: July 1, 2024 . Utah Hockey Club Signs Forward Kevin Stenlund to Two-Year Contract Utah Hockey Club . July 8, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
  25. Web site: July 1, 2024 . Maple Leafs sign goaltender Anthony Stolarz to two-year deal . July 8, 2024 . Sportsnet.ca . en.
  26. Web site: July 3, 2024 . Tarasenko signs 2-year, $9.5 million contract with Red Wings NHL.com . July 8, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
  27. Web site: June 28, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Forward Patrick Giles to a Two-Year, Two-Way Contract Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
  28. Web site: June 28, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Defenseman Matt Kiersted to a One-Year, Two-Way Contract Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
  29. Web site: June 30, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Forward Sam Reinhart on an Eight-Year Contract Extension Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
  30. Web site: July 1, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Forward Rasmus Asplund to a One-Year, Two-Way Contract Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
  31. Web site: July 1, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov on Four-Year Contract Extension Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
  32. Web site: July 3, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Forward Anton Lundell on Six-Year Contract Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
  33. Web site: 2024-06-29 . Florida Panthers Select Six Players on Day 2 of 2024 NHL Draft Florida Panthers . 2024-07-05 . www.nhl.com . en.