# 2023–24 Florida Panthers season

The 2023–24 Florida Panthers season was the 30th season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established in 1993. They entered the season as the defending Eastern Conference champions, having lost in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals.
On March 28, 2024, the Panthers clinched a playoff berth for the fifth straight season following the Detroit Red Wings' 4–0 loss against the Carolina Hurricanes. On April 16, the Panthers clinched their third Atlantic Division title and fourth all-time division title following the win against the Toronto Maple Leafs alongside a Boston Bruins loss to the Ottawa Senators.
The Panthers averaged 18,632 fans in attendance this season. This mark is the highest average attendance in team history.
The Panthers met the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Panthers and Lightning previously met in the playoffs twice, with Tampa Bay winning both series. The Panthers eliminated the Lightning in five games. They faced the Boston Bruins in the second round, winning the series in six games. 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.
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, averting a possible reverse sweep, which would have made Florida the first team to suffer this fate since Detroit in the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals. This victory clinched the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship in its 30 years of existence.

## Previous season

After barely clinching a wild card spot in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Panthers were set to face the Boston Bruins, who had set a NHL record for most wins and points in a season. After being down 3–1 in the series, the Panthers came back and won the series in overtime in Game 7 to pull off one of the biggest upsets in NHL history. The Panthers would then upset the Toronto Maple Leafs to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 27 years. Subsequently, the Panthers would sweep the Carolina Hurricanes to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1996. In the Stanley Cup Finals, the Panthers were defeated by the Vegas Golden Knights in five games. Coupled with the Miami Heat's defeat one night earlier in the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets (which was also decided in five games), South Florida had two teams lose their respective sport's finals on consecutive days.

## 30th anniversary celebrations

In July 2023, the Florida Panthers announced celebrations for their 30th Anniversary season including the unveiling of the club's 30th Anniversary logo. The Panthers celebrated thirty years of Panthers hockey with a theme night honoring each decade. On January 11 as the Panthers hosted the Los Angeles Kings, fans celebrated the birth of the franchise in the 1990s. On March 7 versus the Philadelphia Flyers, the 2000s were spotlighted and on March 28 versus the New York Islanders, game presentation and in-game themes highlighted the 2010s into the current era.

## Standings
### Divisional standings

Atlantic Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | y – Florida Panthers | 82 | 52 | 24 | 6 | 42 | 268 | 200 | +68 | 110 |
| 2 | x – Boston Bruins | 82 | 47 | 20 | 15 | 36 | 267 | 224 | +43 | 109 |
| 3 | x – Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 46 | 26 | 10 | 33 | 303 | 263 | +40 | 102 |
| 4 | x – Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 45 | 29 | 8 | 37 | 291 | 268 | +23 | 98 |
| 5 | e – Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 41 | 32 | 9 | 27 | 278 | 274 | +4 | 91 |
| 6 | e – Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 39 | 37 | 6 | 33 | 246 | 244 | +2 | 84 |
| 7 | e – Ottawa Senators | 82 | 37 | 41 | 4 | 25 | 255 | 281 | −26 | 78 |
| 8 | e – Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 30 | 36 | 16 | 20 | 236 | 289 | −53 | 76 |

### Conference standings

Eastern Conference Wild Card :
| Pos | Div | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | AT | x – Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 45 | 29 | 8 | 37 | 291 | 268 | +23 | 98 |
| 2 | ME | x – Washington Capitals | 82 | 40 | 31 | 11 | 32 | 220 | 257 | −37 | 91 |
| 3 | AT | e – Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 41 | 32 | 9 | 27 | 278 | 274 | +4 | 91 |
| 4 | ME | e – Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 38 | 32 | 12 | 32 | 255 | 251 | +4 | 88 |
| 5 | ME | e – Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 38 | 33 | 11 | 30 | 235 | 261 | −26 | 87 |
| 6 | AT | e – Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 39 | 37 | 6 | 33 | 246 | 244 | +2 | 84 |
| 7 | ME | e – New Jersey Devils | 82 | 38 | 39 | 5 | 33 | 264 | 283 | −19 | 81 |
| 8 | AT | e – Ottawa Senators | 82 | 37 | 41 | 4 | 25 | 255 | 281 | −26 | 78 |
| 9 | AT | e – Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 30 | 36 | 16 | 20 | 236 | 289 | −53 | 76 |
| 10 | ME | e – Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 27 | 43 | 12 | 21 | 237 | 300 | −63 | 66 |

## Schedule and results
### Preseason

The preseason schedule was published on June 23, 2023.

### Regular season

The regular season schedule was published on June 27, 2023.
2023–24 game log :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2024 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Sam Reinhart | 82 | 57 | 37 | 94 | +29 | 31 |
| Matthew Tkachuk | 80 | 26 | 62 | 88 | +19 | 88 |
| Aleksander Barkov | 73 | 23 | 57 | 80 | +33 | 24 |
| Carter Verhaeghe | 76 | 34 | 38 | 72 | +17 | 36 |
| Sam Bennett | 69 | 20 | 21 | 41 | +17 | 100 |
| Evan Rodrigues | 80 | 12 | 27 | 39 | +26 | 34 |
| Gustav Forsling | 79 | 10 | 29 | 39 | +56 | 43 |
| Anton Lundell | 78 | 13 | 22 | 35 | +19 | 46 |
| Brandon Montour | 66 | 8 | 25 | 33 | +1 | 46 |
| Oliver Ekman-Larsson | 80 | 9 | 23 | 32 | +10 | 76 |
| Eetu Luostarinen | 82 | 12 | 15 | 27 | +1 | 26 |
| Dmitry Kulikov | 76 | 1 | 19 | 20 | +15 | 63 |
| Aaron Ekblad | 51 | 4 | 14 | 18 | +27 | 50 |
| Niko Mikkola | 82 | 3 | 14 | 17 | +11 | 69 |
| Kevin Stenlund | 81 | 11 | 4 | 15 | −10 | 62 |
| Nick Cousins | 69 | 7 | 8 | 15 | +1 | 64 |
| Vladimir Tarasenko$^†$ | 19 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| Josh Mahura | 30 | 0 | 9 | 9 | −2 | 20 |
| Ryan Lomberg | 75 | 5 | 2 | 7 | −1 | 80 |
| Jonah Gadjovich | 39 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 104 |
| Uvis Balinskis | 26 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 8 |
| Steven Lorentz | 38 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −9 | 10 |
| Will Lockwood | 26 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +2 | 16 |
| Mackie Samoskevich | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 0 |
| Mike Reilly$^‡$ | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| Tobias Bjornfot$^†$ | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Justin Sourdif$^†$ | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kyle Okposo$^†$ | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Aleksander Barkov | 24 | 8 | 14 | 22 | −1 | 8 |
| Matthew Tkachuk | 24 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 0 | 31 |
| Carter Verhaeghe | 24 | 11 | 10 | 21 | −5 | 20 |
| Anton Lundell | 24 | 3 | 14 | 17 | +8 | 12 |
| Sam Reinhart | 24 | 10 | 6 | 16 | −2 | 12 |
| Evan Rodrigues | 24 | 7 | 8 | 15 | +6 | 4 |
| Sam Bennett | 19 | 7 | 7 | 14 | −1 | 12 |
| Gustav Forsling | 24 | 4 | 9 | 13 | +9 | 12 |
| Brandon Montour | 24 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 12 |
| Vladimir Tarasenko | 24 | 5 | 4 | 9 | +4 | 2 |
| Eetu Luostarinen | 24 | 2 | 6 | 8 | +2 | 22 |
| Oliver Ekman-Larsson | 24 | 2 | 4 | 6 | +1 | 24 |
| Aaron Ekblad | 24 | 1 | 5 | 6 | +4 | 16 |
| Niko Mikkola | 24 | 2 | 2 | 4 | +4 | 22 |
| Steven Lorentz | 16 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −1 | 0 |
| Dmitry Kulikov | 24 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −1 | 16 |
| Kyle Okposo | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −1 | 10 |
| Kevin Stenlund | 24 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 8 |
| Nick Cousins | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 20 |
| Ryan Lomberg | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 10 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Sergei Bobrovsky | 58 | 58 | 3,414:14 | 36 | 17 | 4 | 135 | 2.37 | 1,584 | .915 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Anthony Stolarz | 27 | 24 | 1,506:27 | 16 | 7 | 2 | 51 | 2.03 | 684 | .925 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Sergei Bobrovsky | 24 | 24 | 1,419:32 | 16 | 8 | 55 | 2.32 | 583 | .906 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Anthony Stolarz | 1 | 0 | 34:50 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5.17 | 19 | .842 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* $^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Panthers. Stats reflect time with the Panthers only.
* $^‡$Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Panthers only.
* Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

## Awards and honors
### Awards

Aleksander Barkov won the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the forward who demonstrates the most skill in the defensive component of the game. This is Barkov's second career Selke win.

### Milestones

Sam Reinhart became the second Florida Panthers player in history with a 50-goal season.

### Records
## Transactions

The Panthers have been involved in the following transactions during the 2023–24 season.
Key:
† Contract is entry-level. ‡ Contract initially takes effect in the 2024–25 season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 29, 2023 (2023-06-29) | To San Jose SharksAnthony Duclair | To Florida PanthersSteven Lorentz 5th-round pick in 2025 |
| March 6, 2024 (2024-03-06) | To Ottawa SenatorsConditional 4th-round pick in 2024 3rd-round pick in 2025 | To Florida PanthersVladimir Tarasenko |
| March 8, 2024 (2024-03-08) | To Pittsburgh PenguinsLudovic Waeber Conditional 7th-round pick in 2025 | To Florida PanthersMagnus Hellberg |
| March 8, 2024 (2024-03-08) | To Buffalo SabresCalle Sjalin Conditional 7th-round pick in 2024 | To Florida PanthersKyle Okposo |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 1, 2023 (2023-07-01) | Oliver Ekman-Larsson | Vancouver Canucks | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 1, 2023 (2023-07-01) | Dmitry Kulikov | Minnesota Wild | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 1, 2023 (2023-07-01) | Niko Mikkola | New York Rangers | 3-year | Free agency |
| July 1, 2023 (2023-07-01) | Mike Reilly | Boston Bruins | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 1, 2023 (2023-07-01) | Kevin Stenlund | Winnipeg Jets | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 1, 2023 (2023-07-01) | Anthony Stolarz | Anaheim Ducks | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 2, 2023 (2023-07-02) | Will Lockwood | New York Rangers | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 2, 2023 (2023-07-02) | Evan Rodrigues | Colorado Avalanche | 4-year | Free agency |
| July 2, 2023 (2023-07-02) | Alexander True | Seattle Kraken | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 5, 2023 (2023-07-05) | Rasmus Asplund | Nashville Predators | 1-year | Free agency |
| October 16, 2023 (2023-10-16) | Jonah Gadjovich | San Jose Sharks | 1-year | Free agency |
| March 8, 2024 (2024-03-08) | Tobias Bjornfot | Vegas Golden Knights | | Waivers |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Term | Via |
| July 1, 2023 (2023-07-01) | Evan Fitzpatrick | Syracuse Crunch (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 1, 2023 (2023-07-01) | Radko Gudas | Anaheim Ducks | 3-year | Free agency |
| July 1, 2023 (2023-07-01) | Alex Lyon | Detroit Red Wings | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 1, 2023 (2023-07-01) | Givani Smith | San Jose Sharks | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 3, 2023 (2023-07-03) | Marc Staal | Philadelphia Flyers | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 21, 2023 (2023-07-21) | Aleksi Heponiemi | EHC Biel-Bienne (NL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 31, 2023 (2023-07-31) | Connor Bunnaman | Oulun Kärpät (Liiga) | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 3, 2023 (2023-08-03) | Max Gildon | Adler Mannheim (DEL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| October 9, 2023 (2023-10-09) | John Ludvig | Pittsburgh Penguins | | Waivers |
| November 25, 2023 (2023-11-25) | Mike Reilly | New York Islanders | | Waivers |

### Extensions

| Date | Player | Term |
| July 1, 2023 (2023-07-01) | Lucas Carlsson | 1-year |
| July 1, 2023 (2023-07-01) | Grigori Denisenko | 2-year |
| July 2, 2023 (2023-07-02) | Gerald Mayhew | 1-year |
| July 25, 2023 (2023-07-25) | Eetu Luostarinen | 3-year‡ |
| December 7, 2023 (2023-12-07) | Josh Davies | 3-year† |
| January 3, 2024 (2024-01-03) | Uvis Balinskis | 2-year‡ |
| March 7, 2024 (2024-03-07) | Gustav Forsling | 8-year‡ |

## Draft picks

Below are the Florida Panthers' selections at the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 28–29, 2023, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club Team (League) |
| 2 | 63 | Gracyn Sawchyn | C | Canada | Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) |
| 4 | 127 | Albert Wikman | D | Sweden | Färjestad BK (J20 Nationell) |
| 5 | 159 | Olof Glifford | G | Sweden | HV71 (J18 Nationell) |
| 6 | 191 | Luke Coughlin | D | Canada | Rimouski Océanic (QMJHL) |
| 7 | 198$^3$ | Stepan Zvyagin | LW | Russia | Dinamo Minsk (KHL) |