As if the Battle of Florida needed any more fuel, the Florida Panthers added plenty of it on Sunday by acquiring captain Brady Tkachuk from the Ottawa Senators. 

In return, Ottawa received Florida’s two first-round picks in Friday’s NHL Draft — No. 9 overall and the No. 25 pick acquired from the Seattle Kraken earlier in the day in the Mackie Samoskevich trade, along with a top-10 protected first-round pick in 2029 and a second-round pick in 2027.

The Panthers and Lightning have developed one of the NHL’s fiercest rivalries over the past several seasons. Brady’s arrival only adds another layer, especially considering the bad blood that carried over from the USA-Canada clashes at the 4 Nations Face-Off and the Olympics, where Team USA captured the gold medal.

The Lightning are expected to be active leading up to free agency on July 1. On Friday, they traded defenseman Darren Raddysh to Toronto in a sign-and-trade deal, receiving a fifth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Raddysh is coming off a breakout season in Tampa Bay, recording 22 goals and 70 points while finishing plus-21 and averaging 22:42 of ice time per game. He tied for sixth among NHL defensemen with 26 power-play points and led all blueliners with 10 power-play goals, so the Lightning will have an offensive hole to fill. 

The first round of the 2026 NHL Draft is scheduled for June 26 at 7 p.m. EST. Rounds 2 through 7 will take place June 27 beginning at 11 a.m. EST. Tampa Bay's first pick is in the second round (58th overall). They also have the 90th pick, 134th (from Seattle), 154th, 186th, and 218th.

NHL free agency opens on July 1 at 12:00 p.m. EST, when unrestricted free agents (UFAs) are permitted to sign with any team across the league. July 1 also marks the point when Nikita Kucherov, who is entering the final year of his contract, becomes eligible to sign an extension.