Familiar faces highlight Florida Panthersâ moves on first day of free agency Florida Panthers Make Moves on First Day of NHL Free Agency The first day of NHL free agency was relatively quiet for the Florida Panthers, especially compared to their active week and a half leading up to it. Despite having already made several key trades to secure their goaltending tandem and forward depth, Panthers president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Zito still managed to make some moves that will benefit the team in the present and future. Internal Contract Extensions The Panthers signed two internal contract extensions, with forward Eetu Luostarinen getting an eight-year deal and forward Sandis Vilmanis signing a two-year deal. Luostarinenâs new deal, which starts in the 2027-28 season and runs through the 2034-35 season, carries an average annual value of $5 million. Vilmanisâs deal also goes into effect in the 2027-28 season, and he will be entering the final year of his entry-level contract that pays him $930,000 this season. Familiar Forwards Return In addition to the contract extensions, the Panthers also brought back some familiar faces. Cole Schwindt was re-signed to a two-year deal to beef up the bottom of their depth chart at center. Schwindt played 29 games for Florida last season, serving mostly as the teamâs fourth-line center, and is likely the early frontrunner to be the teamâs fourth-line center again this season. Reunions on Defense The Panthers also brought back two familiar faces on defense, signing Radko Gudas to a six-year deal and Alexander Petrovic to a two-year deal. Gudasâs deal carries a $1.5 million cap hit and puts the 14-year NHL veteran under contract through his age-42 season. Petrovicâs deal, meanwhile, will keep him with the Panthers through the 2028-29 season. The signings give Florida a core of eight defensemen heading into the season. Moving On from Sergei Bobrovsky While the Panthers made several key additions, they also said goodbye to a key player in goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. After seven years with Florida, including backstopping them to back-to-back Stanley Cups, Bobrovsky is now heading to the Toronto Maple Leafs on a three-year deal that carries an annual cap hit of $7 million. The Panthers pivoted to acquiring Jacob Markstrom and Arkin Schmid to form their new goaltending tandem after being unable to work things out with Bobrovsky. Markstrom, who was acquired on Tuesday, is also a former Panther, having been the teamâs second-round pick in 2008. Source: WorldNewsAPI | Read original
