2024–25 Florida Panthers season explained

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.^[1] The Panthers eliminated the Lightning in five games.^[2] They then faced the Boston Bruins in the second round, winning the series in six games.^[3] 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.^[4]

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.^[5]

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.^[6]

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.^[7] 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.^[8] 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.^[9]

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.^[10] Further, Panthers assistant coach Tuomo Ruutu was named as an assistant coach to Team Finland.^[11]

The remaining roster was announced on December 4, 2024.^[12] Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett joined Team Canada. Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen, and Niko Mikkola joined Team Finland. Gustav Forsling joined Team Sweden with Assistant General Manager Patric Hornqvist and Video 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.^[13]

Standings

Conference standings

Schedule and results

The preseason schedule was published on June 23, 2024.^[14]

2024 preseason game log: 5–3–0 (Home: 3–1–0; Road: 2–2–0)
	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 22		2–3	Florida			8,076	1–0–0	[15]
2	September 22	Nashville	2–6	Florida			8,076	2–0–0	[16]
3	September 25	Florida	7–8				15,899	2–1–0	[17]
4	September 27	Florida	2–8			Knight	14,875	2–2–0	[18]
5	September 28	Carolina	4–5	Florida	OT	Driedger	14,702	3–2–0	[19]
6	September 30	Tampa Bay	3–1	Florida		Knight	14,013	3–3–0	[20]
7	October 2	Florida	2–1	Tampa Bay	OT	Knight	11,270	4–3–0	[21]
8	October 5	Florida	4–2			Bobrovsky	17,320	5–3–0	[22]
Notes: Indicates split-squad. Played at Kia Center in Orlando, Florida. Played at Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Quebec.

Regular season

The regular season schedule was published on July 2, 2024.^[23]

2024–25 game log
October: 7–3–1 (Home: 2–1–1 ; Road: 5–2–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 8 4–6 Florida 19,813 1–0–0 2 [24] 2 October 10 Florida 1–3 Bobrovsky 19,346 1–1–0 2 [25] 3 October 12 Florida 2–5 16,644 1–2–0 2 [26] 4 October 14 Florida 4–3 Boston Bobrovsky 17,850 2–2–0 4 [27] 5 October 15 Florida 4–3 Knight 18,484 3–2–0 6 [28] 6 October 17 3–2 Florida OT Bobrovsky 17,865 3–2–1 7 [29] 7 October 19 3–4 Florida OT Bobrovsky 19,572 4–2–1 9 [30] 8 October 22 5–1 Florida Bobrovsky 18,264 4–3–1 9 [31] 9 October 24 Florida 3–1 Bobrovsky 18,006 5–3–1 11 [32] 10 October 26 Florida 6–3 Knight 15,807 6–3–1 13 [33] 11 October 28 Florida 5–2 Buffalo Bobrovsky 12,906 7–3–1 15 [34]
November: 8–6–0 (Home: 6–4–0 ; Road: 2–2–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 12 November 1 Florida 6–4 12,786 8–3–1 17 [35] 13 November 2 Dallas 2–4 Florida 12,807 9–3–1 19 [36] 14 November 7 2–6 Florida Bobrovsky 18,264 10–3–1 21 [37] 15 November 9 3–4 Florida SO Bobrovsky 19,547 11–3–1 23 [38] 16 November 12 4–1 Florida Knight 18,677 11–4–1 23 [39] 17 November 14 New Jersey 6–2 Florida Bobrovsky 18,573 11–5–1 23 [40] 18 November 16 0–5 Florida Bobrovsky 19,157 12–5–1 25 [41] 19 November 19 Florida 3–6 Winnipeg Bobrovsky 15,225 12–6–1 25 [42] 20 November 21 Florida 1–3 Knight 19,107 12–7–1 25 [43] 21 November 23 7–4 Florida Bobrovsky 18,638 12–8–1 25 [44] 22 November 25 4–1 Florida Knight 18,504 12–9–1 25 [45] 23 November 27 1–5 Florida Bobrovsky 18,563 13–9–1 27 [46] 24 November 29 Florida 6–3 Bobrovsky 18,920 14–9–1 29 [47] 25 November 30 Carolina 0–6 Florida Knight 18,648 15–9–1 31 [48]
December: 0–0–1 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–1) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 26 December 3 Florida 4–5 OT 15,502 15–9–2 32 [49] 27 December 5 Florida – 28 December 7 – Florida 29 December 10 Florida – 30 December 12 Florida – 31 December 14 Florida – 32 December 16 Florida – 33 December 18 Florida – 34 December 20 – Florida 35 December 22 Florida – 36 December 23 Tampa Bay – Florida 37 December 28 – Florida 38 December 30 – Florida
January: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 39 January 2 – Florida 40 January 3 – Florida 41 January 6 Florida – 42 January 8 Florida – 43 January 11 – Florida 44 January 13 Florida – 45 January 14 Florida – 46 January 16 – Florida 47 January 18 – Florida 48 January 21 Florida – Anaheim 49 January 22 Florida – 50 January 25 Florida – 51 January 26 Florida – 52 January 29 Los Angeles – Florida
February: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 53 February 1 – Florida 54 February 2 – Florida 55 February 4 Florida – 56 February 6 Florida – 57 February 8 – Florida 58 February 22 – Florida 59 February 25 Florida – 60 February 27 – Florida
March: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 61 March 1 – Florida 62 March 3 – Florida 63 March 6 – Florida 64 March 8 – Florida 65 March 11 Florida – 66 March 13 Florida – 67 March 15 Florida – 68 March 16 Florida – 69 March 20 Florida – Columbus 70 March 22 Florida – 71 March 23 – Florida 72 March 28 – Florida 73 March 30 Montreal – Florida
April: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 74 April 1 Florida – 75 April 2 Florida – 76 April 5 Florida – 77 April 6 Florida – 78 April 8 Toronto – Florida 79 April 10 Detroit – Florida 80 April 12 – Florida 81 April 14 – Florida 82 April 15 Florida –
Legend: Notes: Played at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland as a part of the 2024 NHL Global Series.

Awards and honors

Milestones

Sam Reinhart was named 1st Star of the Week for the week ending Oct. 20 with 4G–5A–9P in 4GP.^[50]

Records

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.

Players acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Term	Via	Ref
			1-year	Free agency	[52]
			1-year	Free agency	[53]
		Boston Bruins	2-year	Free agency	[54]
			1-year	Free agency	[55]
			1-year	Free agency	[56]
			1-year	Free agency	[57]
		Chicago Blackhawks	1-year	Free agency	[58]
			1-year	Free agency	[59]

Players lost

Date	Player	New team	Term	Via	Ref
			4-year	Free agency	[60]
			2-year	Free agency	[61]
			7-year	Free agency	[62]
			2-year	Free agency	[63]
		Toronto Maple Leafs	2-year	Free agency	[64]
			2-year	Free agency	[65]
			1-year	Free agency	[66]
		Toronto Maple Leafs	1-year	Free agency	[67]
				Retirement	[68]

Signings

Date	Player	Term	Ref
	Patrick Giles	2-year	[69]
		1-year	[70]
		8-year	[71]
		1-year	[72]
		4-year	[73]
		6-year	[74]
		8-year	[75]
		3-year	[76]

Draft picks

See also: List of Florida Panthers 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.^[77]

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

Notes:

Notes and References

1. Web site: NHL.com Media Site . April 17, 2024 . media.nhl.com.
2. Web site: Richards . George . April 29, 2024 . Panthers pull away in 3rd, eliminate Lightning with win in Game 5 . June 1, 2024 . NHL.com.
3. Web site: Pohoryles . Joe . May 17, 2024 . Forsling scores late, Panthers defeat Bruins in Game 6 to advance to East Final . June 1, 2024 . NHL.com.
4. Web site: Richards . George . June 1, 2024 . Panthers defeat Rangers in Game 6, reach Stanley Cup Final . June 2, 2024 . NHL.com.
5. Web site: Rosen . Dan . June 24, 2024 . Panthers recover, defeat Oilers in Game 7 of Stanley Cup Final for 1st title . June 24, 2024 . NHL.com.
6. Web site: June 17, 2024 . Florida Panthers Announce ECHL Affiliation with Savannah Ghost Pirates Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
7. Web site: July 2, 2024 . Stanley Cup champion Panthers sign deal to move local broadcasts from Bally to Scripps Sports . July 5, 2024 . AP News . en.
8. Web site: July 2, 2024 . Florida Panthers, Scripps Sports partner on multi-year agreement to air National Hockey League team's games Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
9. Web site: Dan . O'Leary . August 26, 2024 . Panthers put Stanley Cup-inspired design at center ice . August 27, 2024 . NHL.com . en.
10. Web site: June 28, 2024 . "First Six" 4 Nation Rosters Unveiled BLOG New Jersey Devils . July 10, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
11. Web site: 2024-12-05 . Eight Florida Panthers Skaters and Five Staff Members Named to Respective 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off Rosters Florida Panthers . 2024-12-05 . www.nhl.com . en.
12. Web site: 2024-12-05 . Eight Florida Panthers Skaters and Five Staff Members Named to Respective 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off Rosters Florida Panthers . 2024-12-05 . www.nhl.com . en.
13. Web site: NHL . PR .
14. Web site: Preseason Florida Panthers . July 25, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
15. Web site: Florida Panthers - Nashville Predators - September 22, 2024 . NHL.com . September 22, 2024 . September 22, 2024.
16. Web site: Florida Panthers - Nashville Panthers - September 22, 2024 . NHL.com . September 22, 2024 . September 22, 2024.
17. Web site: Florida Panthers - Tampa Bay Lightning - September 25, 2024 . NHL.com . September 25, 2024 . September 25, 2024.
18. Web site: Carolina Hurricanes - Florida Panthers - September 27, 2024 . NHL.com . September 27, 2024 . September 27, 2024.
19. Web site: Carolina Hurricanes - Florida Panthers - September 28, 2024 . NHL.com . September 28, 2024 . September 28, 2024.
20. Web site: Florida Panthers - Tampa Bay Lightning - September 30, 2024 . NHL.com . September 30, 2024 . September 30, 2024.
21. Web site: Florida Panthers - Tampa Bay Lightning - October 2, 2024 . NHL.com . October 2, 2024 . October 2, 2024.
22. Web site: Boston Bruins - Los Angeles Kings - October 5, 2024 . NHL.com . October 5, 2024 . October 5, 2024.
23. Web site: July 2, 2024 . Florida Panthers Announce 2024-25 Regular Season Schedule Florida Panthers . July 7, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
24. Web site: Boston Bruins - Florida Panthers - Oct 8, 2024 . NHL.com . October 8, 2024 . October 8, 2024.
25. Web site: Florida Panthers - Ottawa Senators - Oct 10, 2024 . NHL.com . October 10, 2024 . October 10, 2024.
26. Web site: Buffalo Sabres - Florida Panthers - Oct 12, 2024 . NHL.com . October 12, 2024 . October 12, 2024.
27. Web site: Boston Bruins - Florida Panthers - Oct 14, 2024 . NHL.com . October 14, 2024 . October 14, 2024.
28. Web site: Columbus Blue Jackets - Florida Panthers - Oct 15, 2024 . NHL.com . October 15, 2024 . October 15, 2024.
29. Web site: Florida Panthers - Vancouver Canucks - Oct 17, 2024 . NHL.com . October 18, 2024 . October 17, 2024.
30. Web site: Florida Panthers - Vegas Golden Knights - Oct 19, 2024 . NHL.com . October 19, 2024 . October 19, 2024.
31. Web site: Florida Panthers - Minnesota Wild - Oct 22, 2024 . NHL.com . October 22, 2024 . October 22, 2024.
32. Web site: Florida Panthers – New York Rangers – Oct 24, 2024 . NHL.com . October 24, 2024 . October 24, 2024.
33. Web site: Florida Panthers - New York Islanders - Oct 26, 2024 . NHL.com . October 26, 2024 . October 26, 2024.
34. Web site: Buffalo Sabres - Florida Panthers - Oct 28, 2024 . NHL.com . October 28, 2024 . October 28, 2024.
35. Web site: Dallas Stars - Florida Panthers - Nov 1, 2024 . NHL.com . November 1, 2024 . November 1, 2024.
36. Web site: Dallas Stars - Florida Panthers - Nov 2, 2024 . NHL.com . November 2, 2024 . November 2, 2024.
37. Web site: Florida Panthers - Nashville Predators - Nov 7, 2024 . NHL.com . November 7, 2024 . November 7, 2024.
38. Web site: Florida Panthers - Philadelphia Flyers - Nov 9, 2024 . NHL.com . November 9, 2024 . November 9, 2024.
39. Web site: Florida Panthers - New Jersey Devils - Nov 12, 2024 . NHL.com . November 12, 2024 . November 12, 2024.
40. Web site: New Jersey Devils - Florida Panthers - Nov 14, 2024 . NHL.com . November 14, 2024 . November 14, 2024.
41. Web site: Florida Panthers - Winnipeg Jets - Nov 16, 2024. NHL.com . November 16, 2024 . November 16, 2024.
42. Web site: Florida Panthers - Winnipeg Jets - Nov 19, 2024. NHL.com . November 19, 2024 . November 19, 2024.
43. Web site: Chicago Blackhawks - Florida Panthers - Nov 21, 2024. NHL.com . November 21, 2024 . November 21, 2024.
44. Web site: Colorado Avalanche - Florida Panthers - Nov 23, 2024. NHL.com . November 23, 2024 . November 23, 2024.
45. Web site: Florida Panthers - Washington Capitals - Nov 25, 2024 . NHL.com . November 25, 2024 . November 25, 2024.
46. Web site: Florida Panthers - Toronto Maple Leafs - Nov 27, 2024 . NHL.com . November 27, 2024 . November 27, 2024.
47. Web site: Carolina Hurricanes - Florida Panthers - Nov 29, 2024 . NHL.com . November 29, 2024 . November 29, 2024.
48. Web site: Carolina Hurricanes - Florida Panthers - Nov 30, 2024 . NHL.com . November 30, 2024 . November 30, 2024.
49. Web site: Florida Panthers – Pittsburgh Penguins – Dec 3, 2024 . NHL.com . December 3, 2024 . December 3, 2024.
50. Web site: October 21, 2024 . Super Sam: Reinhart named 1st Star of the Week Florida Panthers . October 22, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
51. Web site: Panthers nab pair of late draft picks from Kraken . sportsnet.ca . June 29, 2024. October 25, 2024.
52. Web site: July 1, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Forward Jesper Boqvist on One-Year Contract Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
53. Web site: July 1, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Goaltender Chris Driedger on One-Year Contract Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
54. Web site: July 1, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Forward A.J. Greer on Two-Year Contract Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
55. Web site: July 1, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Forward Tomas Nosek on One-Year Contract Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
56. Web site: July 2, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Forward MacKenzie Entwistle to a One-Year, Two-Way Contract Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
57. Web site: July 2, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Defenseman Nate Schmidt on One-Year Contract Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
58. Web site: July 5, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Defenseman Jaycob Megna on One-Year, Two-Way Contract Florida Panthers . July 7, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
59. Web site: July 9, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Defenseman Adam Boqvist on One-Year Contract Florida Panthers . July 10, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
60. Web site: July 1, 2024 . Maple Leafs Sign Defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson Toronto Maple Leafs . July 8, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
61. Web site: July 1, 2024 . Ryan Lomberg signs two-year deal with Flames . July 8, 2024 . Sportsnet.ca . en.
62. Web site: July 1, 2024 . Kraken sign Montour, Stephenson to 7-year contracts NHL.com . July 8, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
63. Web site: July 1, 2024 . Utah Hockey Club Signs Forward Kevin Stenlund to Two-Year Contract Utah Hockey Club . July 8, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
64. Web site: July 1, 2024 . Maple Leafs sign goaltender Anthony Stolarz to two-year deal . July 8, 2024 . Sportsnet.ca . en.
65. Web site: July 3, 2024 . Tarasenko signs 2-year, $9.5 million contract with Red Wings NHL.com . July 8, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
66. Web site: August 29, 2024 . Ottawa Senators Sign Veteran Forward Nick Cousins: Feisty, Controversial, and a Stanley Cup Champion . September 4, 2024 . Yahoo Sports . en-US.
67. Web site: September 3, 2024 . Maple Leafs sign Pacioretty, Lorentz to one-year deals . September 9, 2024 . Sportsnet.ca . en.
68. Web site: September 19, 2024 . Okposo retires after 17 seasons, won Cup with Panthers NHL.com . September 19, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
69. Web site: June 28, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Forward Patrick Giles to a Two-Year, Two-Way Contract Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
70. Web site: June 28, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Defenseman Matt Kiersted to a One-Year, Two-Way Contract Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
71. Web site: June 30, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Forward Sam Reinhart on an Eight-Year Contract Extension Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
72. Web site: July 1, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Forward Rasmus Asplund to a One-Year, Two-Way Contract Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
73. Web site: July 1, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov on Four-Year Contract Extension Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
74. Web site: July 3, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Forward Anton Lundell on Six-Year Contract Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
75. Web site: October 8, 2024 . Verhaeghe signs 8-year contract with Panthers NHL.com . October 9, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
76. Web site: October 25, 2024 . Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Forward Hunter St. Martin on a Three-Year, Entry-Level Contract . October 25, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.
77. Web site: June 29, 2024 . Florida Panthers Select Six Players on Day 2 of 2024 NHL Draft Florida Panthers . July 5, 2024 . www.nhl.com . en.