# 2022–23 Florida Panthers season

The 2022–23 Florida Panthers season was the 29th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established in 1993. It is the Panthers' 24th season at FLA Live Arena. This is the Panthers' first season under new head coach Paul Maurice. The Panthers qualified for the playoffs after the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins each lost their games on April 11, 2023.
After barely clinching a wild card spot in the playoffs, the Panthers were set to face the Boston Bruins, who had set the 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. Making their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance for the first time in 27 years, 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.

## Off-season

On June 22, 2022, Paul Maurice was named head coach following the departure of interim coach Andrew Brunette.

## Standings
### Divisional standings

Atlantic Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 65 | 12 | 5 | 54 | 305 | 177 | +128 | 135 |
| 2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 50 | 21 | 11 | 42 | 279 | 222 | +57 | 111 |
| 3 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 46 | 30 | 6 | 38 | 283 | 254 | +29 | 98 |
| 4 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 42 | 32 | 8 | 36 | 290 | 273 | +17 | 92 |
| 5 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 42 | 33 | 7 | 30 | 296 | 300 | −4 | 91 |
| 6 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 39 | 35 | 8 | 31 | 261 | 271 | −10 | 86 |
| 7 | Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 35 | 37 | 10 | 28 | 240 | 279 | −39 | 80 |
| 8 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 31 | 45 | 6 | 21 | 232 | 307 | −75 | 68 |

### Conference standings

Eastern Conference Wild Card :
| Pos | Div | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | ME | x – New York Islanders | 82 | 42 | 31 | 9 | 36 | 243 | 222 | +21 | 93 |
| 2 | AT | x – Florida Panthers | 82 | 42 | 32 | 8 | 36 | 290 | 273 | +17 | 92 |
| 3 | ME | e – Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 40 | 31 | 11 | 31 | 262 | 264 | −2 | 91 |
| 4 | AT | e – Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 42 | 33 | 7 | 30 | 296 | 300 | −4 | 91 |
| 5 | AT | e – Ottawa Senators | 82 | 39 | 35 | 8 | 31 | 261 | 271 | −10 | 86 |
| 6 | AT | e – Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 35 | 37 | 10 | 28 | 240 | 279 | −39 | 80 |
| 7 | ME | e – Washington Capitals | 82 | 35 | 37 | 10 | 27 | 255 | 265 | −10 | 80 |
| 8 | ME | e – Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 31 | 38 | 13 | 26 | 222 | 277 | −55 | 75 |
| 9 | AT | e – Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 31 | 45 | 6 | 21 | 232 | 307 | −75 | 68 |
| 10 | ME | e – Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 25 | 48 | 9 | 15 | 214 | 330 | −116 | 59 |

## Schedule and results
### Preseason

The preseason schedule was published on June 30, 2022.

### Regular season

The regular season schedule was published on July 6, 2022.
2022–23 game log :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Matthew Tkachuk | 79 | 40 | 69 | 109 | +29 | 123 |
| Aleksander Barkov | 68 | 23 | 55 | 78 | +10 | 8 |
| Carter Verhaeghe | 81 | 42 | 31 | 73 | +10 | 46 |
| Brandon Montour | 80 | 16 | 57 | 73 | +9 | 107 |
| Sam Reinhart | 82 | 31 | 36 | 67 | −12 | 12 |
| Eetu Luostarinen | 82 | 17 | 26 | 43 | +19 | 28 |
| Gustav Forsling | 82 | 13 | 28 | 41 | +19 | 40 |
| Sam Bennett | 63 | 16 | 24 | 40 | +5 | 54 |
| Aaron Ekblad | 71 | 14 | 24 | 38 | −14 | 68 |
| Anton Lundell | 73 | 12 | 21 | 33 | +1 | 43 |
| Eric Staal | 72 | 14 | 15 | 29 | −5 | 26 |
| Nick Cousins | 79 | 9 | 18 | 27 | −1 | 38 |
| Ryan Lomberg | 82 | 12 | 8 | 20 | −1 | 88 |
| Radko Gudas | 72 | 2 | 15 | 17 | +14 | 79 |
| Josh Mahura | 82 | 4 | 12 | 16 | +17 | 48 |
| Colin White | 68 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 12 |
| Marc Staal | 82 | 3 | 12 | 15 | +10 | 43 |
| Anthony Duclair | 20 | 2 | 7 | 9 | +4 | 2 |
| Rudolfs Balcers | 14 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 4 |
| Zac Dalpe | 14 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −4 | 2 |
| Matt Kiersted | 20 | 1 | 3 | 4 | +4 | 6 |
| Givani Smith$^†$ | 34 | 1 | 3 | 4 | +1 | 72 |
| Chris Tierney | 13 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −1 | 2 |
| Aleksi Heponiemi | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 |
| Patric Hornqvist | 22 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −4 | 13 |
| Grigori Denisenko | 18 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −5 | 4 |
| Anton Levtchi | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Casey Fitzgerald$^†$ | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| Lucas Carlsson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Matthew Tkachuk | 20 | 11 | 13 | 24 | +12 | 74 |
| Carter Verhaeghe | 21 | 7 | 10 | 17 | +7 | 8 |
| Aleksander Barkov | 21 | 5 | 11 | 16 | +5 | 10 |
| Sam Bennett | 20 | 5 | 10 | 15 | +5 | 60 |
| Brandon Montour | 21 | 8 | 5 | 13 | +2 | 39 |
| Sam Reinhart | 21 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 12 |
| Anthony Duclair | 20 | 4 | 7 | 11 | −6 | 16 |
| Anton Lundell | 21 | 2 | 8 | 10 | +3 | 2 |
| Gustav Forsling | 21 | 2 | 6 | 8 | +7 | 10 |
| Aaron Ekblad | 20 | 2 | 6 | 8 | +9 | 20 |
| Nick Cousins | 21 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 16 |
| Eetu Luostarinen | 16 | 2 | 3 | 5 | +2 | 4 |
| Eric Staal | 21 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −4 | 12 |
| Josh Mahura | 21 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −6 | 6 |
| Radko Gudas | 21 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −5 | 34 |
| Colin White | 21 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −9 | 6 |
| Ryan Lomberg | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 22 |
| Zac Dalpe | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −8 | 2 |
| Grigori Denisenko | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 0 |
| Casey Fitzgerald | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 10 |
| Givani Smith | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Marc Staal | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Sergei Bobrovsky | 50 | 49 | 2,834:22 | 24 | 20 | 3 | 145 | 3.07 | 1,466 | .901 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Alex Lyon | 15 | 14 | 893:11 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 43 | 2.89 | 488 | .914 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Spencer Knight | 21 | 19 | 1,168:45 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 62 | 3.18 | 627 | .901 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Sergei Bobrovsky | 19 | 18 | 1,164:21 | 12 | 6 | 54 | 2.78 | 639 | .915 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Alex Lyon | 4 | 3 | 198:32 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 3.63 | 107 | .888 | 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.

## Transactions

The Panthers have been involved in the following transactions during the 2022–23 season.
Key:
† Contract is entry-level  ‡ Contract initially takes effect in the 2023–24 season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| July 8, 2022 (2022-07-08) | To Pittsburgh Penguins7th-round pick in 2023 | To Florida Panthers7th-round pick in 2022 |
| July 22, 2022 (2022-07-22) | To Calgary FlamesJonathan Huberdeau Cole Schwindt MacKenzie Weegar Conditional$^1$ 1st-round pick in 2025 | To Florida PanthersMatthew Tkachuk Conditional$^2$ 4th-round pick in 2025 |
| December 19, 2022 (2022-12-19) | To Anaheim DucksMichael Del Zotto | To Florida PanthersGivani Smith |
| December 19, 2022 (2022-12-19) | To Detroit Red WingsDanny O'Regan | |
| March 20, 2023 (2023-03-20) | To Los Angeles KingsCole Krygier | To Florida PanthersFuture considerations |
Notes:
* Calgary will receive Florida's 1st-round pick in 2026 instead if Florida's 1st-round pick in 2025 is within the top 2 selections.
* Florida will receive Calgary's 4th-round pick in 2026 instead if Florida's 1st-round pick in 2025 is within the top 2 selections.

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Anthony Bitetto | San Jose Sharks | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Nick Cousins | Nashville Predators | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Alex Lyon | Carolina Hurricanes | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Marc Staal | Detroit Red Wings | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Nathan Staios | Hamilton Bulldogs (OHL) | 3-year† | Free agency |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Colin White | Ottawa Senators | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 14, 2022 (2022-07-14) | Rudolfs Balcers | San Jose Sharks | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 15, 2022 (2022-07-15) | Gerald Mayhew | Anaheim Ducks | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 16, 2022 (2022-07-16) | Chris Tierney | Ottawa Senators | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 17, 2022 (2022-07-17) | Michael Del Zotto | Ottawa Senators | 1-year | Free agency |
| September 20, 2022 (2022-09-20) | Patrick Giles | Boston College Eagles (HE) | 2-year† | Free agency |
| October 10, 2022 (2022-10-10) | Josh Mahura | Anaheim Ducks | | Waivers |
| October 21, 2022 (2022-10-21) | Eric Staal | Iowa Wild (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| March 3, 2023 (2023-03-03) | Jean-Francois Berube | Charlotte Checkers (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| March 3, 2023 (2023-03-03) | Evan Fitzpatrick | Charlotte Checkers (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| April 3, 2023 (2023-04-03) | Ryan McAllister | University of Western Michigan (NCHC) | 3-year†‡ | Free agency |
| April 18, 2023 (2023-04-18) | Uvis Balinskis | Bili Tygri Liberec (ELH) | 1-year†‡ | Free agency |
| June 12, 2023 (2023-06-12) | Ludovic Waeber | ZSC Lions (NL) | 1-year‡ | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Term | Via |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Noel Acciari | St. Louis Blues | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Ben Chiarot | Detroit Red Wings | 4-year | Free agency |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Claude Giroux | Ottawa Senators | 3-year | Free agency |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Jonas Johansson | Colorado Avalanche | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Maxim Mamin | CSKA Moscow (KHL) | 3-year | Free agency |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Mason Marchment | Dallas Stars | 4-year | Free agency |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Markus Nutivaara | San Jose Sharks | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Chase Priskie | Buffalo Sabres | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 25, 2022 (2022-07-25) | Robert Hagg | Detroit Red Wings | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 2, 2022 (2022-08-02) | Petteri Lindbohm | Frolunda HC (SHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 24, 2022 (2022-08-24) | German Rubtsov | Spartak Moscow (KHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| October 10, 2022 (2022-10-10) | Rudolfs Balcers | Tampa Bay Lightning | | Waivers |
| February 1, 2023 (2023-02-01) | Anton Levtchi | | | Contract termination |
| February 23, 2023 (2023-02-23) | Chris Tierney | Montreal Canadiens | | Waivers |
| May 12, 2023 (2023-05-12) | Logan Hutsko | IK Oskarshamn (SHL) | 2-year‡ | Free agency |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term |
| July 8, 2022 (2022-07-08) | Lucas Carlsson | 1-year |
| July 8, 2022 (2022-07-08) | Eetu Luostarinen | 2-year |
| July 15, 2022 (2022-07-15) | Evan Nause | 3-year† |
| July 26, 2022 (2022-07-26) | Henry Bowlby | 1-year |
| September 27, 2022 (2022-09-27) | Spencer Knight | 3-year‡ |
| September 30, 2022 (2022-09-30) | Kai Schwindt | 3-year† |
| February 10, 2023 (2023-02-10) | Josh Mahura | 1-year‡ |
| March 13, 2023 (2023-03-13) | Marek Alscher | 3-year†‡ |
| March 27, 2023 (2023-03-27) | Zac Dalpe | 2-year‡ |
| April 12, 2023 (2023-04-12) | Michael Benning | 3-year†‡ |
| May 8, 2023 (2023-05-08) | Mackie Samoskevich | 3-year†‡ |

## Draft picks

Below are the Florida Panthers' selections at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on July 7 and 8, 2022, at Bell Centre in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 3 | 93 | Marek Alscher | D | Czech Republic | Portland Winterhawks (WHL) |
| 4 | 125 | Ludvig Jansson | D | Sweden | Sodertalje SK (HockeyAllsvenskan) |
| 5 | 157 | Sandis Vilmanis | LW | Latvia | Lulea HF (J20 Nationell) |
| 6 | 186$^3$ | Joshua Davies | C | Canada | Swift Current Broncos (WHL) |
| 6 | 189 | Tyler Muszelik | G | United States | U.S. National Team Development Program (USHL) |
| 7 | 214$^4$ | Liam Arnsby | C | Canada | North Bay Battalion (OHL) |
| 7 | 221 | Jack Devine | RW | United States | University of Denver (NCHC) |
Notes:
* The Florida Panthers' first-round pick will go to the Buffalo Sabres as the result of a trade on July 24, 2021, that sent Sam Reinhart to Florida in exchange for Devon Levi and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade). The condition—Buffalo will receive a first-round pick in 2022 if Florida's first-round pick is outside of the top ten selections—was converted when the Panthers qualified for the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs on April 3, 2022.
* The Florida Panthers' second-round pick will go to the Seattle Kraken as the result of a trade on March 16, 2022, that sent Calle Jarnkrok to Calgary in exchange for a third-round pick in 2023, a seventh-round pick in 2024 and this pick.
* The Toronto Maple Leafs' sixth-round pick went to the Florida Panthers as the result of a trade on March 21, 2022, that sent Tyler Inamoto to Columbus in exchange for Max Domi and this pick.
* The Pittsburgh Penguins' seventh-round pick will go to the Florida Panthers as the result of a trade on July 8, 2022, that sent a seventh-round pick in 2023 to Pittsburgh in exchange for this pick.