Panthers’ 2024 Free Agents, Draft Targets, Offseason Guide After NHL Final Win

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Unrestricted free agents: Nick Cousins, Ryan Lomberg, Steven Lorentz, Kyle Okposo, Sam Reinhart, Kevin Stenlund, Vladimir Tarasenko, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Dmitry Kulikov, Brandon Montour, Anthony Stolarz

Restricted free agents: Anton Lundell, Josh Mahura

The Panthers have core players including Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe, Aaron Ekblad, Gustav Forsling and Sergei Bobrovsky locked in through next season.

That doesn’t mean this offseason will be full of easy decisions. More than half of the 2023-24 roster is entering free agency this summer.

The Panthers’ most pressing decision will involve Sam Reinhart, who took advantage of a contract year by putting together the best season of his career.

Earning minutes on the Panthers’ top line and power-play unit helped Reinhart record a personal-best 94 points through 82 regular-season games.

During the regular season he trailed only the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews for the NHL scoring lead with 57 goals, and led the league with 27 strikes on the power play.

Reinhart’s previous career-high was 33 goals, and he led the NHL with a 24.5 shooting percentage last season, so his ability to repeat his totals from last season are in question.

But he’s been a consistent boost to his linemates, including Barkov, who gave credit to Reinhart for contributing to his 2023-24 Selke Trophy win.

Combined with his dominant regular-season and playoff contributions, that contribution has likely earned him a raise from the $6.5 million he made in 2023-24.

The question is whether or not the Panthers will be able to offer it, or if Reinhart will accept an offer from a scoring-needy team willing to pay up in the hope that he can similarly elevate their own first line.

The Panthers also have a key decision to make with Brandon Montour, who led the team’s skaters in ice time this season and served as a central reason Florida allowed just 27.8 shots against per game, the third-fewest in the NHL, during the regular season.

Montour was also a key part of the Panthers’ penalty kill and a reliable playoff producer, a performance that could potentially have priced him out of the Florida’s budget.

Another significant pending UFA is backup goaltender Anthony Stolarz, who put together a strong campaign behind Sergei Bobrovsky with a .925 save percentage and 2.03 goals against average through 27 appearances (24 starts.)

There is a chance that campaign could have made Stolarz too pricey too keep, especially considering the Panthers have already committed $10 million to keeping Bobrovsky as the team’s starter for two more seasons.

Other free agency questions surround veterans like Vladimir Taranseko, who has played for four teams in the last two seasons and could move again this summer; Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who finished out his one-year deal on the Panthers’ third pairing; and Kyle Okposo, the former New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres winger who joined Florida for the playoff run.

Likely to walk is Nick Cousins, who was in and out of the lineup during the Panthers’ postseason.

The Panthers also have restricted free agency negotiations to consider with Anton Lundell, the team’s third-line center and a strong contributor throughout the playoff run.

Overall, it will be a busy offseason of free agency negotiations for the Panthers. How many of these players the team retains will shape the rest of their decisions in the draft and free agency.