Puck Drop Preview: 2026-27 Florida Panthers
Last Word On Hockey's Puck Drop Previews are back for the 2026-27 season! As the regular season approaches, Last Word will preview each team's current outlook and stories to watch for the upcoming year. We'll also do our best to project how things will go for each team throughout the campaign. Today, we're previewing the …
The Florida Panthers are expected to be contenders in the Eastern Conference for the upcoming NHL season. The team boasts star power, depth, and a strong defense. Key players include Aleksander Barkov, Brady Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, and Sam Bennett. The Panthers made several additions during the 2026 offseason, acquiring players such as Akira Schmid, Radko Gudas, Lars Eller, Garnet Hathaway, and Jacob Markstrom.
The top-six forward group is considered exceptional, with players like Barkov, Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, Brad Marchand, Anton Lundell, and the Tkachuk brothers. The bottom six has also shown improvement, with a deep and solid depth chart. The defensive pairings are strong, with Aaron Ekblad, Seth Jones, Gustav Forsling, and Niko Mikkola making up the top two pairs.
The bottom pair is also expected to be effective. The Panthers have shown significant improvement since their previous season, and they are considered strong contenders for the 2026-27 season.
Written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
