The Florida Panthers start their season Sunday. Meet the Opening Night roster
The Florida Panthers open the 2021 NHL season on Sunday against the Chicago Blackhawks. Puck drop at the BB&T Center is set for 7 p.m.
Here are the 27 players the Panthers are carrying into Opening Night — 22 on the active roster plus another five on their taxi squad.
This list does not include goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, forward Juho Lammikko and defensemen Markus Nutivaara and Noah Juulsen, all of whom have been given a “non-roster” designation to start the season.
Goaltenders
Chris Driedger
2019-2020 stats: 7-2-1 record in 12 starts, 2.05 goals against average, .938 save percentage
Driedger is expected to get the bulk of goaltending duties in Bobrovsky’s absence (however long that is). He showed bright spots in limited action last year.
Sam Montembeault
2019-2020 stats: 5-5-1 record in 14 starts, 3.34 goals allowed average, .890 save percentage
Montembeault, a third-round pick in 2015, has spent time on the Panthers’ roster each of the past two seasons. He could get extended looks early depending on how long Bobrovsky is out.
Forwards
Noel Acciari
2019-2020 stats: 20 goals, 7 assists in 66 games
Acciari is a defensive-minded forward who had a breakthrough offensive season last year. He’ll look to follow it up in his second season with the Panthers.
Aleksander Barkov
2019-2020 stats: 20 goals, 42 assists in 66 games
The Panthers’ captain, Barkov has scored at least 20 goals in each of the past five seasons and will once again center the team’s top forward line and top power play unit.
Brett Connolly
2019-2020 stats: 19 goals, 14 assists in 69 games
Connolly bounced between the Panthers’ second and third forward lines last season. He’s a sharpshooter who wants to rebound after a sluggish finish last year.
Anthony Duclair
2019-2020 stats: 23 goals, 17 assists in 66 games
Duclair is coming off an All-Star season last year and has a chance to build on it by playing on the Panthers’ top forward line.
Vinnie Hinostroza
2019-2020 stats: 5 goals, 17 assists in 68 games
Hinostroza spent three seasons with Quenneville in Chicago to start his career. After Hinostroza spent the last two seasons in Arizona, he’s reunited with his former coach.
Patric Hornqvist
2019-2020 stats: 17 goals, 15 assists in 52 games
The two-time Stanley Cup champion provides a veteran presence to Florida’s forward group and still has a knack for putting the puck in the back of the net.
Jonathan Huberdeau
2019-2020 stats: 23 goals, 55 assists in 69 games
Huberdeau led the Panthers in points last year and has three consecutive seasons with at least 20 goals and 40 assists.
Ryan Lomberg
2019-2020 stats (AHL): 11 goals, 9 assists in 21 games
Lomberg, a hard-hitting, defensive-minded forward, will primarily play on the Panthers’ fourth line.
Eetu Luostarinen
2019-2020 stats (AHL): 8 goals, 17 assists in 49 games
The 22-year-old Finnish center joined the Panthers as part of the Vincent Trocheck trade last February. He’s quickly getting an opportunity at the NHL level after a strong camp.
Owen Tippett
2019-2020 stats (AHL): 19 goals, 21 assists in 46 games
The Panthers’ 2017 first-round pick will get his first extended look at the NHL level.
Frank Vatrano
2019-2020 stats: 16 goals, 18 assists in 69 games
The speedy Vatrano has become a more complete player over his two-plus years with the Panthers, now holding roles on penalty kill and with the team’s second power play unit.
Carter Verhaeghe
2019-2020 stats: 9 goals, 4 assists in 52 games
Verhaeghe was buried on a talented Lightning roster and got limited playing time last year. He’s impressed in camp and has the chance for extended time on Florida’s top line.
Alex Wennberg
2019-2020 stats: 5 goals, 17 assists in 57 games
The six-year veteran spent his entire career with the Columbus Blue Jackets before signing a one-year, $2.25 million deal with the Panthers this offseason. He’ll primarily center Florida’s second forward line.
Defensemen
Aaron Ekblad
2019-2020 stats: 5 goals, 36 goals in 67 games
Ekblad will once again be part of the Panthers’ top defensive pairing and finally should get an extended look on the team’s top power play unit.
Gustav Forsling
2019-2020 stats (AHL): 8 goals, 18 assists in 57 games
Forsling, claimed off waivers a week into training camp, has ties to Quenneville from his time in Chicago and will contend for a regular spot in the Panthers’ third defensive pairing.
Radko Gudas
2019-2020 stats: 2 goals, 13 assists in 63 games
Gudas, who played with the Washington Capitals in 2019-2020, saw his offensive production take a slight dip last season but he finished the year with a career-best plus-15 rating.
Riley Stillman
2019-2020 stats: 0 goals, 5 assists in 34 games
Stillman had a strong camp and showed bright spots last season in his first extended look at the NHL level. At 22 years old, expect more growth.
Anton Stralman
2019-2020 stats: 5 goals, 14 assists in 69 games
One of the Panthers’ more veteran defensemen, Stralman will likely stay in Florida’s second defensive pairing.
MacKenzie Weegar
2019-2020 stats: 7 goals, 11 assists in 45 games
Weegar built great chemistry with Ekblad as Florida’s top defensive pairing last year. Expect that to continue.
Keith Yandle
2019-2020 stats: 5 goals, 40 assists in 69 games
Yandle has played in 866 consecutive games, fourth-most in NHL history and the longest streak among active players, but his role has been minimal in training camp and him being a healthy scratch wouldn’t necessarily be surprising.
Taxi squad
The five players open the season on the Panthers’ taxi squad: goaltender Philippe Desrosiers, defensemen Brady Keeper and Kevin Connauton, and forwards Aleksi Heponiemi and Mason Marchment
