TEAM EDITORIAL

The Florida Panthers enter the 2026 offseason with a reshaped roster and a clear focus on stabilizing a still-strong core after a busy summer of movement. The biggest storyline is in net, where Jacob Markstrom arrives to replace Sergei Bobrovsky, and the club has also added depth across all three positions with veteran signings such as Radko Gudas, Lars Eller, Sam Lafferty, John Beecher, Tobias Bjornfot, Donovan Sebrango, Mikulas Hovorka, and Akira Schmid. Florida also made a major splash by bringing in Brady Tkachuk, giving the lineup another high-end power forward to join Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, and Carter Verhaeghe. At the same time, the Panthers lost some familiar names to free agency, and the roster now has a more pronounced blend of proven scorers, physical support pieces, and younger depth options.

The club’s immediate concern is health, especially Brad Marchand, who had offseason surgery and is expected to miss the start of training camp or even the beginning of the season. With the preseason opener set for September 20 at home against Carolina, Florida’s camp outlook centers on integrating new arrivals, checking the recovery timelines of key veterans, and sorting out roles for prospects such as Jack Devine, Sandis Vilmanis, and the rest of a deep but unsettled supporting cast.