The Florida Panthers’ injury-riddled 2026 season left what seemed like a power vacuum in the NHL’s Eastern Conference. Entering the 2026 season, they were the reigning back-to-back Stanley Cup champions and had just three-peated as Eastern Conference champions. The Carolina Hurricanes took advantage of this gap, running with the opportunity to become the 2026 Stanley Cup winners.
Going into the 2027 season, the Panthers appear stronger than ever. When healthy, they’ve proven to be the Hurricanes’ kryptonite, going 8-1 against the defending champs in their last two playoff meetings combined. Both teams still have the same roster core they had in those two meetings.
The Panthers have now had arguably the best offseason of any NHL team this summer. They are far and away the best team out of the NHL’s 32.
The Panthers’ 2026 Offseason
So what did Florida do exactly to bolster their roster? They added Brady Tkachuk, the younger and bigger brother of Matthew Tkachuk, their tenured second-line left winger. The two are experienced playing together as teammates in both the Olympics and the Four Nations Face-Off.
They traded Evan Rodrigues for Jacob Markstrom and a draft pick for Akira Schmid, immediately filling the void left by departing goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.
To make matters scarier, they acquired both Radko Gudas and Garnet Hathaway, two of the dirtiest players in the league. In fact, these two fought each other just six months ago.
The Panthers entered the offseason with three of the dirtiest players in the league. They just added two more, and another hyper-physical player in Brady Tkachuk. Opposing teams will be taking beatings on the ice this season.
2027 Florida Panthers Projected Lines
Florida still has the vast majority of their core pieces from their last championship run. Team captain and three-time Selke Trophy winner Aleksander Barkov is returning to center the first line after being out for the entire 2026 season. Former Selke Trophy finalist Sam Reinhart will flank Barkov to his right, and Carter Verhaeghe likely will once again be to his left.
The second line, likely consisting of Sam Bennett and the Tkachuk brothers, will send opponents running. The third line will be the same one that came through during big moments in the 2025 playoffs: Eetu Luostarinen, Anton Lundell and Brad Marchand make up one of the most formidable third lines in hockey.
Defensemen Gustav Forsling, Aaron Ekblad, Niko Mikkola, Seth Jones and Dmitry Kulikov will all still be around, and Gudas adds an extra scare factor.
Other Stanley Cup Contenders
If they remain healthy, the Panthers should blast through the East without much of a problem. Carolina may give them a run for their money, especially as they’ve improved since the last time the two titans met in the playoffs. But the real challenges likely arise from the West.
The Minnesota Wild still have a ways to go to become a true top contender, and the Dallas Stars’ window is closing with a goaltender who has a history of playoff struggles. That leaves the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights as the only major threats to the throne.
Vegas will be extra motivated as they lost in the Stanley Cup Finals to the Hurricanes in June. They now have playoff experience with star Mitch Marner on their team, too, which makes them more formidable.
But while they were able to “bully the bullies” when they played the Panthers for the 2023 Stanley Cup, Vegas has lost some big bodies while the Panthers have gained more pesky players. Alex Pietrangelo, Nic Roy and Nic Hague, all sizable players, are no longer with the Knights.
Tomas Hertl, Marner and Noah Hanifin are all new stars they’ve added since, but we have to remember that the Knights have lost a number of key players from their 2023 roster. Odds are Adin Hill isn’t gonna have another magical playoff run. It’s a challenge Florida should overcome.
Colorado showed just how dangerous they can be in 2026, winning the Presidents’ Trophy with a regular-season goal differential of +99. But they’ve been nerfed after the loss of Valeri Nichushkin, and the Avs’ new bottom-six looks like barbecue chicken for the Panthers.
The only reasons the Panthers wouldn’t win the 2027 Stanley Cup are injuries or infighting. Garnet Hathaway has had previous entanglements with both Matthew Tkachuk and Radko Gudas. But if coach Paul Maurice can get the team to gel and work together, this year’s Panthers will be one of the best teams the modern NHL has seen.
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