Florida Panthers Florida Panthers Sitting Out this Summer of Huge Contracts. Their Time is Coming George Richards, FHN Publisher Follow Published : August 30, 2026 SHARE Share on Facebook Facebook Share on Twitter Twitter Credit: USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect This has been a summer of gigantic contracts handed out in the NHL, with one player after another getting the designation of the league’s highest paid player. Where does that put the Florida Panthers? On Friday, Colorado star defenseman Cale Makar became the latest to set the record for highest-paid player in the NHL, signing a monster eight-year deal that pays an average of $20.4 million per season. Makar will not be the highest-paid player in the NHL this season as his new contract does not kick in until 2027. So, for this season, Anaheim center Leo Carlsson holds that honor after getting a huge offer sheet from Philadelphia that the Ducks matched. Carlsson’s $18 million will be the biggest AAV in the NHL this season, followed by Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov at $17 million. Three players this summer (Makar, Carlsson, and Macklin Celebrini ) have all signed new contracts worth north of $18 million per season. Minnesota’s Quinn Hughes could be next. The Florida Panthers are certainly watching the numbers being thrown around — although they are a ways away from joining the party. Makar’s AAV is more than twice as much as Florida is paying its highest-paid player. Sasha Barkov signed what remains the largest contract in franchise history in 2021, inking an eight-year deal worth $10 million per season which surpassed Sergei Bobrovsky only due to the extra year. That $10-million mark remains what has been Florida’s contractual ceiling. And, right now, no one will challenge it. But that will probably change soon enough. Florida has done a great job of spreading the wealth and locking down their key players. The Panthers now have 13 of their players signed through the 2029-30 season including Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk ($9.5 million), Sam Reinhart ($8.65m), Sam Bennett ($8m), Carter Verhaeghe and Seth Jones ($7m each). So, who is the next player up? Likely one of their newest. Brady Tkachuk comes to the Panthers from Ottawa with two years left on the contract he signed with the Senators back in 2021 with an AAV of $8.2 million. He will be eligible to sign a new contract with the Panthers next summer, so, this is a big year for Tkachuk with the Panthers for a number of reasons. Obviously he wants to have a great season with the Panthers after working his way out of Ottawa. Florida paid a hefty price to get him, trading Mackie Samoskevich to Seattle for one of the three first-round picks that went back to Ottawa in the deal. There is little doubt the Panthers and Brady Tkachuk will get a deal done. The question is, how much will it cost? Tkachuk will be 29 when his new contract kicks in at the start of the 2028-29 season. He will still be right in the sweet spot of his NHL career. Florida will have plenty of salary cap space in the coming years what with the massive rise which is coming. This year, the Panthers are up against the $104 million limit. That will not be the case moving forward. Next summer, Florida is expected to have around $9 million in cap space with no real major moves to make. The Panthers have all but a handful of depth players signed, including both of their goalies. Going into the 2028-29 season, the salary cap is expected to be around $123 million — and the Panthers have about $40 million to fill things out. Although it is not an unlimited amount of money to dole out, it should be plenty to get Tkachuk signed as well as figure out their goalie situation. So, Brady Tkachuk is going to get a nice payday — likely becoming Florida’s first to make over $10 million per season. Then comes 2030 when Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Anton Lundell , and Jones are all up for new deals. The Brinks truck has not started toward Fort Lauderdale just yet, but it is coming soon enough. ON DECK: FLORIDA PANTHERS OFFSEASON NHL Free Agency: Opened July 1 Panthers Rookie Camp/Tournament: Late August/Early Sept.; Site TBA Panthers Training Camp: Starts Sept. 17; Fort Lauderdale Panthers Preseason (Four Games): Starts Sept. 20 vs. Carolina Hurricanes 2026-27 NHL Season Opener: Florida at Carolina Hurricanes; Sept. 29, 5 p.m. (ESPN) 2026-27 NHL Home Opener: Minnesota Wild at Florida; Oct. 10, 6 p.m. (Scripps) Full 2026-27 Florida Panthers Schedule Related Topics: brady tkachuk cale makar Florida Panthers Florida panthers contracts florida panthers salary cap Kirill Kaprizov matthew tkachuk Quinn hughes sasha aleksander barkov Stay in the know Sign up for our newsletter for the latest Panthers news, analysis, and Florida hockey updates delivered straight to your inbox. Arrives Weekly Subscribe Subscribe
Curated by Taleb Kabbara · Source: floridahockeynow.com