The Florida Panthers Champions Celebration was a huge success with over 200,000 fans lining A1A and Ft. Lauderdale beach to bask in the sweltering glory of the club’s second straight Stanley Cup. Now, the heavy lifting starts off the ice as general manager extraordinaire Bill Zito will have to reload his roster to keep the good times rolling. Sam Bennett (#2), Brad Marchand (#3) and Aaron Ekblad (#4) are all near the top of The Athletic’s NHL free-agent big board behind the offseason biggest potential prize, Mitch Marner. Defenseman Nate Schmidt, forwards Tomas Nosek and Nico Sturm, and backup goalie Vitek Vanecek are also unrestricted free agents. Burgeoning talent Mackie Samsokevich, a 22-year-old restricted free agent, also needs a new contract.
After pulling out a 4-3 overtime win on Saturday, the Charlotte Checkers will look to even the Calder Cup Final when they take on the Abbotsford Canucks tonight in Game 6 at Bojangles Coliseum.
- WHEN: 7 p.m. ET
- WHERE: Bojangles Coliseum – Charlotte, NC
- ON THE TUBE: NHL Network
- SERIES: Canucks lead 3-2
- LAST MEETING: CLT 4, @ABB 3 (OT) (Recap) 6/21/2025
- NEXT MEETING: Game 7 – June 25, 2024 (if necessary)
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Charlotte: Kähkönen (12-5 .908 / 2.13 1SO) Abbotsford: Šilovs (15-7 .931 / 2.01 5SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Charlotte / Abbotsford