Things are about to pick up for the Panthers. A look at their offseason schedule
The Florida Panthers might not be in the Stanley Cup playoffs this year — a rarity these days for the two-time defending champions — but the calendar will still be busy.
And things are finally about to start ramping up, including some actually hockey for the postseason-deprived Panthers.
At least four Panthers players are set to participate in the 16-team IIHF World Championship in Switzerland, which start on Friday and run through May 31.
The headliner of that group, of course, is Florida captain Aleksander Barkov, who missed all of the 2025-26 season after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery after his first training camp practice. Barkov made his official return to the ice in a game setting on Thursday in Finland’s tune-up game against Switzerland ahead of the tournament. Finland lost 5-4 in a shootout, with Barkov logging Finland’s only goal in the shootout portion of the event.
It was his first game action since Game 6 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final when the Panthers repeated as champions.
“It’s a big honor to represent Finland for me,” Barkov said last month during Florida’s end-of-season exit interviews, “and one of those childhood dreams to win a World Championship is a big goal for me too. So really excited about that.”
Joining Barkov on Team Finland at the 2026 World Championship is Anton Lundell, who tied a career high last season with 18 goals and whose 44 points were one shy of a career high despite missing the final month of the season with injuries to his ribs.
Beyond those two, star Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk will play for the United States in an attempt to be the first American hockey player to join the Triple Gold Club — winning a Stanley Cup, Olympics and World Championship. He was formally named to the United States’ roster on Thursday and is the only member of the US’ gold-winning Olympic team on the 25-man preliminary roster.
Additionally, forward Sandis Vilmanis, who had five points in 19 games for Florida in his first taste of the NHL, is set to represent Latvia at the World Championship after also doing so at the Olympics in February. And while nothing is official, defenseman Uvis Balinskis has also been seen as a candidate to represent Latvia if he receives medical clearance after missing the final month of the season with a fractured foot.
The tournament should supply Panthers fans with their hometown hockey fix through the end of May.
After that, a strong look toward the future begins.
The NHL draft is set for June 26-27, shortly after the Stanley Cup playoffs wrap up and a new NHL champion is crowned. The Panthers have the No. 9 overall pick and three selections in the top 48 overall. The team’s development camp will take place shortly afterward.
And then free agency opens on July 1. While the Panthers have the majority of its roster signed to deals, the team needs to address its goaltending as both Sergei Bobrovsky and Daniil Tarasov are slated to be free agents.
With the NHL’s salary cap rising to $104 million for the 2026-27 season, Florida currently has about $15.38 million in projected cap space to work with.
This story was originally published May 10, 2026 at 7:46 AM.
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