The Florida Panthers made major changes this summer, and while some believe they should be front-runners to win the Stanley Cup, Adam Proteau discusses the risks that could see them come up short in 2026-27.
For the most part in the NHL’s salary cap era, the competitive window teams have to win a Stanley Cup championship closes sooner than the team anticipated.
Whether it’s because of older players not producing as much, or whether it’s the injury bug that takes root and ravages the roster, the end for any particular group of players arrives in spite of that teams’ best-laid plans.
Another example could be coming in the form of the Florida Panthers.
The Panthers achieved something extremely rare when they won back-to-back Cups from 2023-2025, and after a pivotal off-season, some believe they should be considered favorites to win it all again.
However, there’s very real concern about this Panthers team failing this season because of age and injury.
Take a look at the Panthers roster, and you’ll see why age could be a major problem for them. As it stands right now, a whopping 17 players – all seven of Florida’s top defensemen, and 10 forwards – are at least 28 years old, and 14 of their players are at least 30 years old.
Newcomer Brady Tkachuk is 26, but the rest of the lineup is filled with greybeards including Brad Marchand (38), Garnet Hathaway (34), Lars Eller (37), Radko Gudas (36), Dmitri Kulikov (35) and Jacob Markstrom (36).
Markstrom in particular is a huge gamble, as his individual numbers – including an .883 save percentage and 3.07 goals against average in 2025-26 – have gotten worse in each of the past two seasons.
Panthers GM Bill Zito chose not to give star goalie Sergei Bobrovsky the money and term he wound up receiving from the Toronto Maple Leafs, and instead, he’s pushed his chips behind Markstrom, who hasn’t lived up to expectations with the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames or Vancouver Canucks.
Expecting that will now change is a significant bet, and one that could backfire spectacularly.
Meanwhile, the Panthers are still susceptible to injuries. Four of their top-six scorers last season missed at least 18 games, defensemen Seth Jones and Niko Mikkola missed a combined 44 games last year, and the most devastating injury was to captain Aleksander Barkov, who missed the entire year.
The cap is designed to strip away a team’s depth, and that’s now true in Florida. Should anyone of note fall due to injury, the Panthers don’t have the salary cap space to make any more additions. And Florida doesn’t have a single first-round pick in any of the next three drafts.
In some ways, Zito has painted himself into a corner, and the Panthers head into the 2026-27 campaign with no guarantee his strategy will pay off.
The Panthers aren’t the only team facing a possible downturn in their competitive cycle. More recently, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals all have had considerable difficulty going on long playoff runs. The Pens and Capitals have also had trouble just getting into the post-season, let alone being a front-runner for a Cup.
Can the Panthers flip the script and prove their cynics aren’t seeing Zito’s big picture? Or will these heightened expectations be too much for Florida to handle?
Certainly, the Panthers will be up against it in the highly-competitive Atlantic Division, The Atlantic has seven teams with designs on a post-season berth, so there will be at least three teams majorly disappointed next season.
Florida’s core has delivered terrific results during their recent championship run, but Father Time rarely fails to humble athletes. And the Panthers could be the latest example of why Cup wins are so hard to come by.
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