Sportnet’s One Lingering Offseason Question For Each NHL Team had this to say about our Cats:
Florida Panthers: Any more surprises up their sleeve?
There doesn’t appear to be any business left to do in Florida this summer. They have 14 forwards and seven defencemen on the roster and everyone is signed. In fact, they got way out ahead of Eetu Luostarinen, signing him to an eight-year extension while his current deal still has a season left. The one contract left to sort out is Akira Schmid, who looks set to be Jacob Markstrom’s backup next season. Schmid is an RFA.
So, Florida’s roster looks ready to start out 2026-27 this way. If there are any lingering questions for them, they mostly have to do with training camp roster battles, which we’ll swing back around to in September. But for the rest of the summer, all we wonder is: Are there any more surprising moves on the way?
The Montreal Canadiens signed Bogdan Konyushkov to a two-year, entry-level contract that carries a cap hit of $1,013,750. The 23-year old defenseman will be loaned back to his KHL team Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod for the upcoming season. Konyushkov was selected in the fourth round (110th overall) of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.
Staying in the Atlantic Division, the Ottawa Senators re-signed forward Tyler Boucher to a one-year, two-way deal worth $850K. A former first-round pick, Boucher, 24, put up 12 goals and 14 assists in 47 AHL games with the Belleville Senators in 2025-26.
Oskar Sundqvist signed a one-year, two-way contract to remain with the St. Louis Blues. The deal is worth $850,000 at the NHL level and $300,000 at the AHL level. The 32-year-old forward, who was an unrestricted free agent, had five goals 17 points in 52 games for the Blues last season.
The Seattle Kraken signed goaltender Victor Östman to a one-year, two-way contract worth $850K. Östman went 17-15-3 and posted a .906 save percentage for the Coachella Valley Firebirds and made his NHL debut with the Kraken in a 2-0 loss to the Colorado Avalanche in the regular season finale.
Seattle also inked defenseman Ville Ottavainen to a one-year, two-way contract worth $850K. The 23-year-old Finn, a fourth-round pick in 2021, put up three goals and 17 points in games with Coachella Valley.
The Minnesota Wild signed defenseman Carson Lambos to a one-year, two-way contract worth $850K. Lambos produced a career-high eight goals and 19 in points in 70 games with the Iowa Wild. He made his NHl debut on December 18, in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Center Colton Dach signed a two-year contract worth $2.4 million with the Edmonton Oilers. On March 4, 2026, Dach was acquired, along with Jason Dickinson, from the Chicago Balckhawks in exchange for Andrew Mangiapane and a conditional first-round pick in the 2027 NHL Entry Draft. He scored two goals and added two assists in eight games with the Oilers following the trade.