The Panthers have stunned the NHL world. Florida reached the postseason as the lowest seed in the Eastern Conference and with the fewest points of any team in the playoffs.
The road to the Stanley Cup Final looked nearly impossible, but the Panthers have pulled it off. Florida defeated the history-making Bruins in seven games, added another disappointing chapter to the playoff history of the Maple Leafs and swept the Metropolitan-winning Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Now, a matchup against the Golden Knights, the top Western Conference team, in the Stanley Cup Final is the only thing left between the Panthers and their first title in franchise history.
All teams that reach the Stanley Cup Final experience a different process to reaching that stage. Some teams build from within, primarily using the draft to add franchise-altering pieces. Others use creativity through free agency and trades to stock up the roster for playoff runs.
The Panthers have done a little bit of everything. Several players were drafted by the team and developed into standout talents for the team, while other notable players have been acquired from outside the organization.
MORE: Ranking the top 10 players in the Stanley Cup Final
The Sporting News is taking a look at how this 2022-23 Panthers roster was constructed. Here's what you need to know about the makeup of this team.
How 2023 Panthers roster was built
- Draft: 9
- Trade: 8
- Free agent: 14
- Waiver claim: 3
Draft
| Player | Draft | Years with Panthers | 2022-23 stats |
| Aleksander Barkov | 2013, 1-2 | 10 | 23 G, 55 A, 78 PTS |
| Mike Benning | 2020, 4-95 | 1 | NA |
| Grigori Denisenko | 2018, 1-15 | 3 | 0 G, 3 A, 3 PTS |
| Aaron Ekblad | 2014, 1-1 | 9 | 14 G, 24 A, 38 PTS |
| Aleksi Heponiemi | 2017, 2-40 | 3 | 1 G, 2 A, 3 PTS |
| Santtu Kinnunen | 2018, 7-207 | 1 | NA |
| John Ludvig | 2019, 3-69 | 2 | NA |
| Anton Lundell | 2020, 1-12 | 2 | 12 G, 21 A, 33 PTS |
| Matthew Samoskevich | 2021, 1-24 | 1 | NA |
The Panthers have had a few high draft picks over the years, but it was the two in back-to-back years in 2013 and 2014 that loom as the most impactful for the franchise. In 2013, the Panthers selected Aleksander Barkov with the second overall pick. The next year, they took Aaron Ekblad first overall.
The two have been impact players for Florida since they first put on the uniform. Barkov has received votes for the Frank J. Selke Award every season and won it in 2021. Since his age-20 campaign in 2015-16, he has scored at least 20 goals and 30 assists each season. He was named a captain of the team ahead of the 2018-19 season and signed an eight-year, $80 million deal in October 2021.
Like Barkov, Ekblad was an immediate success. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy in his rookie season and has twice been named to All-Star teams. In 2016, he signed an eight-year, $60 million deal to stay in Florida.
Trade
| Player | Acquired From | Panthers traded | Years with Panthers | 2022-23 stats |
| Sam Bennett | Flames | Emil Heineman, draft pick swap | 3 | 16 G, 24 A, 40 PTS |
| Connor Bunnaman | Flyers | Owen Tippett, draft pick swap | 2 | NA |
| Lucas Carlsson | Blackhawks | Brett Connolly, Riley Stillman, Henrik Borgstrom, draft pick | 3 | 0 G, 0 A, 0 PTS |
| Eetu Luostarinen | Hurricanes | Vincent Trocheck | 3 | 17 G, 26 A, 43 PTS |
| Brandon Montour | Sabres | Draft pick | 3 | 16 G, 57 A, 73 PTS |
| Sam Reinhart | Sabres | Devon Levi, draft pick | 2 | 31 G, 36 A, 67 PTS |
| Givani Smith | Red Wings | Michael Del Zotto | 1 | 1 G, 3 A, 4 PTS |
| Matthew Tkachuk | Flames | Jonathan Huberdeau, Mackenzie Weegar, Cole Schwindt, draft pick | 1 | 40 G, 69 A, 109 PTS |
This is really where the Panthers have put in some heavy lifting to the franchise. Five players who tallied at least 40 points in the 2022-23 season were acquired via trades, the most notable of which being Matthew Tkachuk, Brandon Montour, Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett.
Tkachuk was a major acquisition before the season after he refused to sign an extension with the Flames. He was dealt with a conditional 2025 fourth-round pick for Jonathan Huberdeau, Mackenzie Weegar, Cole Schwindt and a lottery-protected first. He signed an eight-year, $76 million extension with the Panthers. Tkachuk responded to the move by scoring a career-high in points with 109 and has poised himself as one of the frontrunners for the Conn Smythe Trophy.
MORE: Redrafting the 2016 NHL Draft
Montour was acquired in a trade for a third-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft before the end of the 2020-21 season. He scored a career-best 37 points in his first full year in Florida before exploding onto the scene in 2022-23, when he had 16 goals and 57 assists.
Reinhart had several productive years in Buffalo, having scored at least 50 points from 2017-20. The Panthers dealt a 2022 first-round pick and Devon Levi to the Sabres in exchange for Reinhart before the 2021-22 season. He immediately posted the best season of his career, scoring 82 points. He followed that up with 67 more in the 2022-23 campaign.
Bennett was acquired from Calgary for the draft rights to Emil Heineman, who had been taken 43rd overall by Florida, following the 2020-21 season. Right after the trade, he signed a four-year, $17.6 million extension with the Panthers. He scored 48 points in the 2021-22 season, his first year with the Panthers, and then added 40 to his line.
Free agent
| Player | Former Team | Original Contract Terms | Years with Panthers | 2022-23 stats |
| Sergei Bobrovsky | Blue Jackets | 7 years, $70 million | 4 | 24-20-3, .901 SV%, 3.07 GAA |
| Nick Cousins | Predators | 2 years, $2.2 million | 1 | 9 G, 18 A, 27 PTS |
| Zac Dalpe | Blue Jackets | 2 years, $1.5 million | 2 | 2 G, 2 A, 4 PTS |
| Anthony Duclair | Senators | 1 year, $1.7 million | 3 | 2 G, 7 A, 9 PTS |
| Evan Fitzpatrick | Blues | 1 year, $750,000 | 2 | NA |
| Radko Gudas | Capitals | 3 years, $7.5 million | 3 | 2 G, 15 A, 17 PTS |
| Matt Kiersted | Undrafted | 2 years, $2.7 million | 3 | 1 G, 3 A, 4 PTS |
| Ryan Lomberg | Flames | 2 years, $1.45 million | 3 | 12 G, 8 A, 20 PTS |
| Alex Lyon | Hurricanes | 1 year, $750,000 | 1 | 9-4-2, .912 SV%, 2.89 GAA |
| Calle Sjalin | Rangers | 2 years, $1.85 million | 2 | NA |
| Eric Staal | Canadiens | 1 year, $750,000 | 1 | 14 G, 15 A, 29 PTS |
| Marc Staal | Red Wings | 1 year, $750,000 | 1 | 3 G, 12 A, 15 PTS |
| Carter Verhaeghe | Lightning | 2 years, $2 million | 3 | 42 G, 31 A, 73 PTS |
| Colin White | Senators | 1 year, $1.2 million | 1 | 8 G, 7 A, 15 PTS |
The Panthers have not often delved into free agency to make major moves. But when two-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky, fresh off a stunning upset over the Presidents Trophy-winning Lightning, hit free agency, the Panthers made the splash of the offseason, inking him to a seven-year, $70 million deal.
Bobrovsky has been inconsistent on a year-to-year basis, having a standout season in 2021-22 between some campaigns in which he had save percentages below .910 and goals-against averages above 2.90. But Bobrovsky has played at an incredibly high level in the playoffs, shaking off his past playoff woes to tally a 2.21 GAA and .935 save percentage, and establishing himself along with Tkachuk as Conn Smythe frontrunners.
MORE: Bobrovsky, Eichel favorites to win Stanley Cup Playoffs MVP
Not all free agent acquisitions have had major impacts, but a pair of smaller signings have had major contributions. Eric Staal rebounded from a season out of the league to score 29 points in 72 games on a one-year, $750,000 deal. Carter Verhaeghe broke out in the COVID-shortened season with 36 points in 43 games, which helped him earn a three-year, $12.5 million extension with Florida. He has set career-highs in points each year, tallying 55 last year and 73 in the 2022-23 campaign.
Waivers
| Player | Former Team | Year Claimed | Years with Panthers | 2022-23 stats |
| Casey Fitzgerald | Sabres | 2023 | 1 | 0 G, 0 A, 0 PTS |
| Gustav Forsling | Hurricanes | 2021 | 3 | 13 G, 28 A, 41 PTS |
| Josh Mahura | Ducks | 2022 | 1 | 4 G, 12 A, 16 PTS |
Waiver claims are typically fliers on players who don't have a clear place on a team. Gustav Forsling had been traded to the Hurricanes from the Blackhawks in a deal that also sent Anton Forsberg to Carolina. Forsling was placed on waivers before the start of the COVID-shortened season and claimed the next day by the Panthers.
He showed promise in his first stint with the Panthers, scoring a career-best 17 points, besting his previous-career-high of 13 from the 2017-18 campaign. After the year, he signed a three-year, $8 million extension with the Panthers. Each season since the extension, he has posted improved numbers. He set a new career-high with 37 in the 2021-22 season and then tallied 41 in the 2022-23 campaign.
