Florida Panthers set to take on Chicago Blackhawks in NHL season opener

The race for the three-peat is on for Florida Panthers fans.

The National Hockey League announced early Monday that its season opener will feature the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers, who will take on the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, Oct. 7 at Amerant Bank Arena.

The Cats’ matchup at 5 p.m. Florida time will be the first in the NHL’s opening triple header.

Later in the evening, the New York Rangers will battle the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden before the Colorado Avalanche take on the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena.

If this season is an indication, the showdown between the Panthers and the Blackhawks won’t exactly be a fair fight.

In the Central Division, the Blackhawks finished in last place, occurring 25 wins, 46 losses, and completely missing the playoffs for the fifth straight year. This upcoming season, however, the key to the Blackhawks roster is their rookie talent. They have 15 players on their active roster younger than 25, and with one of the NHL’s most impressive young pipelines, their opening game versus the reigning Stanley Cup Champs could be the jumping off point this up-and-coming team needs to prove themselves for the 2025-26 season.

While there wasn’t a ton of movement from the Blackhawks this offseason, the youngins on this roster make the team unpredictable going into the fall.

At the center of Chicago’s youth movement is Connor Bedard, the 19-year-old center who’s already drawn comparisons to 37-year-old Pittsburgh Penguins’ captain Sidney Crosby for his playmaking on the ice.

After a standout rookie season where he led the team in points (67) and assists (44), Bedard is expected to take a major step forward this season, giving the Blackhawks a fighting chance against any opponent, including the reigning champs.

We should also keep a close eye on 21-year-old center Frank Nazar and 19-year-old defenseman Artyom Levshunov. Nazar brings speed and creativity to Chicago’s middle six and made history for the franchise this year as the only rookie to score a penalty-shot goal. Levshunov, the No. 2 pick in the 2024 draft, adds massive size to the Blackhawks blue line at 208 pounds and 6 foot 2 inches.

The Blackhawks young talent, combined with some of their veteran experience from centers like Ryan Donato and Teuvo Teravainen means that the Cats shouldn’t count them out for this opener just yet.

The Florida Panthers’ general manager Bill Zito has notably made magic happen this offseason, somehow keeping all of the crucial components of the defending champions’ puzzle in Sunrise.

The Cats were able to re-sign their free-agent stars Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand, and Aaron Ekblad with just $19 million in cap space, a testament to the culture Zito has created on the team where, money or not, repping Gold, Red and Blue is what these players want.

“BZ is the man with the plan, right?” defenseman and alternative captain Ekblad said earlier this month. “That’s why they brought him in. He has an idea of the way things should be run and what needs to be done to win and how guys need to be treated and treated fairly. Total and utmost respect for his ability to do his job but also continue to be a good person in the process. We as players appreciate that. Can’t say enough great things about what he’s done, both as a GM and as a person — and I know the second part as a person probably means more to him than being a good GM. It’s a true testament to everything he’s done for us.”

The Panthers’ front office was additionally able to retain much of their younger talent, improving the team’s longevity by re-signing 22-year-old forward Mackie Samoskevich.

They also bolstered their rookie roster with standout AHL additions, including Jack Studnicka — who recorded 45 points this season with the Ontario Reign — and MacKenzie Entwistle, who played in eight Calder Cup Playoff games with the Charlotte Checkers this season.

For both the Cats and the Blackhawks, however, they’ve still got some time to rest and relax before pre-season and the ultimate first puck drop in early October. The complete 2025-26 NHL regular-season schedule for all 32 teams is set to be announced on Wednesday, July 16, at 1 p.m.

This story was originally published July 14, 2025 at 12:43 PM.