Raw Charge
Summary
The Florida Panthers are back! At least that seems to be the prevailing train of thought throughout the summer. They are also older, have two new netminders, and face a much tougher Atlantic Division. 2025-26 Record 40-38-4, 84 points (7th in Atlantic) 2025-26 Record Against Lightning 1-3-0 2025-26 Goals For 246 (18th) 2025-26 Goals Against 274 (28th) 2025-26 Power Play 19.5% (19th) 2025-26 Penalty Kill 81.0% (9th) 2026-27 Division Odds +155 2026-27 Stanley Cup Odds +650 Stats via NHL, odds via Hard Rock Bet Off-season Additions Brady Tkachuk, Jacob Markstrom, Garnet Hathaway, Akira Schmid, Radko Gudas, Lars Eller, Sam Lafferty, Alex Petrovic Off-season Departures Sergei Bobrovsky, Evan Rodrigues, Mackie Samoskevich, A.J. Greer, Daniil Tarasov, Tomas Nosek, Jesper Boqvist, Noah Gregor, Vinnie Hinostroza Rookie to Watch The Florida Panthers don’t really do rookies. If we had to focus on one, it would be Latvian winger Sandis Vilmanis. The 22-year-old made his debut in 2025-26, appearing in 19 games while averaging 10:24 of ice time. A fifth-round pick in 2024 he recorded three goals and two assists in his first season. A bit sheltered (60% offensive zone starts) he did finish with positive possession numbers. This year, injuries give him a chance to start the season in Florida. A high-energy forward with a little bit of a scoring touch he could be one of those forwards that Florida seems to find that gives them depth scoring. Will he be a 20-goal guy? Probably not, but he will be a pain to play against. Preview It seems like forever ago that the Florida Panthers pulled off one of the bigger trades in the offseason as they acquired Brady Tkachuk from Ottawa for a boatload of draft picks . After a season where injuries derailed them from the outset, the Panthers are expected to ride the Tkachuk brothers back to the top of the division, and according to the oddsmakers, they are the favorites to win the Stanley Cup. Had we wrote this preview when we intended to, we would probably have a more favorable view of that vision, but an injury to team captain Sasha Barkov could send them down a similar path as last season. Injuries had to be expected for Florida as they are the second-oldest team in the league behind the Los Angeles Kings with an average age of (30.58). Even before the season began, 38-year-old Brad Marchand was on the injured list, and their core group of players are all a year older. Veteran free agent signings Radko Gudas, Lars Eller, and Garnett Hathaway didn’t do anything to drive down that average age, either. Adding Brady Tkachuk should help with some of the offense that departed in the offseason, but the Panthers biggest need was in net as they lost both Daniil Tarasov and Sergei Bobrovsky to free agency. To replace the duo, they brought in Jacob Markstrom and Akira Schmid, good goaltenders both of them, but neither are considered to have the pedigree that Bobrovsky had, even in the twilight of his career. Despite, or perhaps because of, their age, the Panthers are still a very good hockey club. They are going to find ways to score goals and are going to be a pain to play against. The big question will be if they can keep the pucks out of the net.