# 2024–25 Florida Panthers season

The 2024–25 Florida Panthers season is the 31st season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established in 1993. The Panthers entered the season as the defending Stanley Cup champions having defeated the Edmonton Oilers in seven games in the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals.

## 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. The Panthers eliminated the Lightning in five games. They then 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. This victory clinched the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship in its 30 years of existence.

## 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. Kyle Okposo announced his retirement on September 19, 2024.
The Panthers changed their ECHL affiliate and are now affiliated with the Savannah Ghost Pirates after having been paired with the Florida Everblades.
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. 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 WFTX 36.3 in Fort Myers-Naples. Additionally, Scripps Sports will create a streaming platform to allow fans to stream the games within the broadcast region.
To commemorate the 2024 Stanley Cup win, the Panthers designed a special center ice face-off logo. The Panthers filled in the circle with red and surrounding it is the famous embossed pattern from the bowl of the Stanley Cup. The Panthers used gold for the pattern to make it look like rays of the sun, being they play in the Sunshine State.

## 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. Further, Panthers assistant coach Tuomo Ruutu was named as an assistant coach to Team Finland.
The remaining roster was announced on December 4, 2024. Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett joined Team Canada. Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen, and Niko Mikkola joined Team Finland. Gustav Forsling joined Team Sweden with Scouting and Development Consultant Patric Hornqvist and Assistant Coach Myles Fee joining as staff. Lastly, General Manager Bill Zito and Equipment Manager Teddy Richards joined Team United States as staff.
The Panthers led the league with 8 players selected for the tournament.

## Standings
### Divisional standings

Atlantic Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Florida Panthers | 67 | 41 | 23 | 3 | 35 | 219 | 180 | +39 | 85 |
| 2 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 66 | 38 | 23 | 5 | 33 | 234 | 179 | +55 | 81 |
| 3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 66 | 39 | 24 | 3 | 31 | 210 | 197 | +13 | 81 |
| 4 | Ottawa Senators | 66 | 36 | 25 | 5 | 27 | 195 | 187 | +8 | 77 |
| 5 | Montreal Canadiens | 66 | 32 | 27 | 7 | 23 | 197 | 216 | −19 | 71 |
| 6 | Detroit Red Wings | 66 | 31 | 29 | 6 | 23 | 191 | 211 | −20 | 68 |
| 7 | Boston Bruins | 68 | 30 | 30 | 8 | 23 | 184 | 218 | −34 | 68 |
| 8 | Buffalo Sabres | 65 | 26 | 33 | 6 | 21 | 206 | 230 | −24 | 58 |

### Conference standings

Eastern Conference Wild Card :
| Pos | Div | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | AT | Ottawa Senators | 66 | 36 | 25 | 5 | 27 | 195 | 187 | +8 | 77 |
| 2 | ME | New York Rangers | 67 | 33 | 28 | 6 | 30 | 203 | 201 | +2 | 72 |
| 3 | AT | Montreal Canadiens | 66 | 32 | 27 | 7 | 23 | 197 | 216 | −19 | 71 |
| 4 | ME | Columbus Blue Jackets | 66 | 31 | 27 | 8 | 23 | 217 | 221 | −4 | 70 |
| 5 | AT | Detroit Red Wings | 66 | 31 | 29 | 6 | 23 | 191 | 211 | −20 | 68 |
| 6 | AT | Boston Bruins | 68 | 30 | 30 | 8 | 23 | 184 | 218 | −34 | 68 |
| 7 | ME | New York Islanders | 65 | 29 | 28 | 8 | 23 | 175 | 194 | −19 | 66 |
| 8 | ME | Pittsburgh Penguins | 69 | 28 | 31 | 10 | 19 | 202 | 250 | −48 | 66 |
| 9 | ME | Philadelphia Flyers | 68 | 28 | 32 | 8 | 17 | 192 | 232 | −40 | 64 |
| 10 | AT | Buffalo Sabres | 65 | 26 | 33 | 6 | 21 | 206 | 230 | −24 | 58 |

## Schedule and results

The preseason schedule was published on June 23, 2024.

### Regular season

The regular season schedule was published on July 2, 2024.
2024–25 game log :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)
Notes:
$^A$ Played at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland as a part of the 2024 NHL Global Series. :

## Awards and honors
### Awards
### Milestones

Sam Reinhart was named 1st Star of the Week for the week ending Oct. 20 with 4G–5A–9P in 4GP.

### Records
## Roster

* view
* talk
Updated March 6, 2025
| No. | Player | Pos | S/G | Age | Acquired | Birthplace |
| 26 | Uvis Balinskis | D | L | 28 | 2023 | Ventspils, Latvia |
| 16 | Aleksander Barkov (C) | C | L | 29 | 2013 | Tampere, Finland |
| 9 | Sam Bennett | C | L | 28 | 2021 | East Gwillimbury, Ontario |
| 72 | Sergei Bobrovsky | G | L | 36 | 2019 | Novokuznetsk, Soviet Union |
| 70 | Jesper Boqvist | C | L | 26 | 2024 | Falun, Sweden |
| 5 | Aaron Ekblad (A) | D | R | 29 | 2014 | Windsor, Ontario |
| 42 | Gustav Forsling | D | L | 28 | 2021 | Linköping, Sweden |
| 12 | Jonah Gadjovich | LW | L | 26 | 2023 | Whitby, Ontario |
| 10 | A. J. Greer | LW | L | 28 | 2024 | Joliette, Quebec |
| 3 | Seth Jones | D | R | 30 | 2025 | Arlington, Texas |
| 7 | Dmitry Kulikov | D | L | 34 | 2023 | Lipetsk, Soviet Union |
| 15 | Anton Lundell | C | L | 23 | 2020 | Espoo, Finland |
| 27 | Eetu Luostarinen | C | L | 26 | 2020 | Siilinjärvi, Finland |
| 63 | Brad Marchand | LW | L | 36 | 2025 | Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| 77 | Niko Mikkola | D | L | 28 | 2023 | Kiiminki, Finland |
| 92 | Tomáš Nosek | LW | L | 32 | 2024 | Pardubice, Czech Republic |
| 13 | Sam Reinhart | C | R | 29 | 2021 | North Vancouver, British Columbia |
| 17 | Evan Rodrigues | C | R | 31 | 2023 | Toronto, Ontario |
| 25 | Mackie Samoskevich | RW | R | 22 | 2021 | Newtown, Connecticut |
| 88 | Nate Schmidt | D | L | 33 | 2024 | St. Cloud, Minnesota |
| 8 | Nico Sturm | C | L | 29 | 2025 | Augsburg, Germany |
| 19 | Matthew Tkachuk (A) | LW | L | 27 | 2022 | Scottsdale, Arizona |
| 41 | Vítek Vaněček | G | L | 29 | 2025 | Havlíčkův Brod, Czech Republic |
| 23 | Carter Verhaeghe | C | L | 29 | 2020 | Toronto, Ontario |

## 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.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 29, 2024 | To Seattle KrakenPHI 5th-round pick in 2024 (#141 overall) | To Florida Panthers6th-round pick in 2024 (#169 overall) 7th-round pick in 2024 (#207 overall) |
| March 1, 2025 | To Chicago BlackhawksSpencer Knight 1st-round pick in 2026 | To Florida PanthersSeth Jones 4th-round pick in 2026 |
| March 5, 2025 | To San Jose SharksPatrick Giles | To Florida PanthersVitek Vanecek |
| March 6, 2025 | To San Jose Sharks4th-round pick in 2026 | To Florida PanthersNico Sturm 7th-round pick in 2027 |
| March 6, 2025 | To Winnipeg JetsChris Driedger | To Florida PanthersKaapo Kahkonen |
| March 7, 2025 | To Boston BruinsConditional 2nd-round pick in 2027 | To Florida PanthersBrad Marchand |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 1, 2024 (2024-07-01) | Jesper Boqvist | Boston Bruins | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 1, 2024 (2024-07-01) | Chris Driedger | Seattle Kraken | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 1, 2024 (2024-07-01) | A. J. Greer | Boston Bruins | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 1, 2024 (2024-07-01) | Tomas Nosek | New Jersey Devils | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 2, 2024 (2024-07-02) | MacKenzie Entwistle | Chicago Blackhawks | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 2, 2024 (2024-07-02) | Nate Schmidt | Winnipeg Jets | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 5, 2024 (2024-07-05) | Jaycob Megna | Chicago Blackhawks | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 9, 2024 (2024-07-09) | Adam Boqvist | Columbus Blue Jackets | 1-year | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Term | Via |
| July 1, 2024 (2024-07-01) | Oliver Ekman-Larsson | Toronto Maple Leafs | 4-year | Free agency |
| July 1, 2024 (2024-07-01) | Ryan Lomberg | Calgary Flames | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 1, 2024 (2024-07-01) | Brandon Montour | Seattle Kraken | 7-year | Free agency |
| July 1, 2024 (2024-07-01) | Kevin Stenlund | Utah Hockey Club | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 1, 2024 (2024-07-01) | Anthony Stolarz | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 3, 2024 (2024-07-03) | Vladimir Tarasenko | Detroit Red Wings | 2-year | Free agency |
| August 29, 2024 (2024-08-29) | Nick Cousins | Ottawa Senators | 1-year | Free agency |
| September 3, 2024 (2024-09-03) | Steven Lorentz | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1-year | Free agency |
| September 19, 2024 (2024-09-19) | Kyle Okposo | | | Retirement |
| January 31, 2025 (2025-01-31) | Adam Boqvist | New York Islanders | | Waivers |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term |
| June 28, 2024 (2024-06-28) | Patrick Giles | 2-year |
| June 28, 2024 (2024-06-28) | Matt Kiersted | 1-year |
| June 30, 2024 (2024-06-30) | Sam Reinhart | 8-year |
| July 1, 2024 (2024-07-01) | Rasmus Asplund | 1-year |
| July 1, 2024 (2024-07-01) | Dmitry Kulikov | 4-year |
| July 3, 2024 (2024-07-03) | Anton Lundell | 6-year |
| October 8, 2024 (2024-10-08) | Carter Verhaeghe | 8-year‡ |
| October 25, 2024 (2024-10-25) | Hunter St. Martin | 3-year† |
| November 4, 2024 (2024-11-04) | Gracyn Sawchyn | 3-year† |
| March 4, 2025 (2025-03-04) | Jesper Boqvist | 2-year‡ |
| March 5, 2025 (2025-03-05) | Jesse Puljujarvi | 1-year |
| March 6, 2025 (2025-03-06) | Evan Cormier | 1-year |

## 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.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 2 | 58 | Linus Eriksson | C | Sweden | Djurgårdens IF (HockeyAllsvenskan) |
| 3 | 97 | Matvei Shuravin | D | Russia | Krasnaya Armiya (MHL) |
| 4 | 129 | Simon Zether | C | Sweden | Rögle BK (SHL) |
| 6 | 169 | Stepan Gorbunov | C | Russia | Belye Medvedi Chelyabinsk (MHL) |
| 6 | 193 | Hunter St. Martin | LW | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) |
| 7 | 201 | Denis Gabdrakhmanov | G | Russia | Tyumensky Legion (MHL) |
Notes: