After a massive trade for Brady Tkachuk cleaned out the Florida Panthers’ first-round draft picks, as of now, the organization will sit back Friday night during the opening round of the NHL draft. However, there is always the possibility general manager Bill Zito could surprise the Panthers’ fanbase yet again, just as he did Sunday when he united the Tkachuk brothers.
The window for opportunity starts with the first round Friday night at 7 p.m. in Buffalo, New York, and will be streamed on ESPN, ESPN+, Sportsnet and TVA Sports. The second through seventh rounds begin Saturday at 11 a.m. on NHL Network, ESPN+ and Sportsnet.
Before trading for Tkachuk, the Panthers had the No. 9 and No. 25 picks in the draft, acquiring No. 25 earlier Sunday from the Seattle Kraken (previously belonging to the Tampa Bay Lightning) in exchange for forward Mackie Samoskevich. However, now with both of those spent, along with two more picks in future drafts, the Panthers will have to utilize later rounds — barring any big moves to get back into the first round.
They currently hold a pick in every round except the first and third. They acquired the 48th pick from Washington, 98th from Chicago and 217th from Minnesota, and own the 40th, 136th and 168th picks as well.
The Panthers’ first pick is set to be No. 40 — the eighth of the second round — a selection they’ve made four times in their history. The most recent pick at 40 was Aleksi Heponiemi in 2017. His NHL rights are still owned by the Panthers, but he plays in the Swedish Hockey League for the time being.
The No. 48 pick, Florida’s last of the round, is a new one for the franchise. However, three current Panthers were second-round selections, including A.J. Greer (39th), Eetu Luostarinen (42nd) and Jonah Gadjovich (55th).
As the Panthers get into later rounds, there is still plenty of opportunity. On last year’s squad, Gustav Forsling (126th) and Niko Mikkola (127th) were both fifth-round picks in their respective years.
The Panthers also hold picks that saw other teams acquire players such as Craig Smith (98th pick in 2009), who just wrapped up his 14-year NHL career, and two-time Stanley Cup champion Carl Hagelin (168th pick in 2007).
Despite the lack of first- and third-round picks, Florida’s draft positions are still much more favorable than in the past two seasons. In the 2025 draft, the Panthers didn’t select until midway through the fourth round, and in 2025, they had just one second-round pick.
This will mark the fifth year in a row that the Panthers are without a first-round pick in the draft. Their last first-round selection was Samoskevich in 2021. Before then, they held a first-round pick every year except three since the franchise’s first season in the NHL, 1993-94.
As they head into this year’s draft, they do so with only one clear hole in a stacked roster, with some of the greatest depth in the NHL. With goalie Sergei Bobrovsky set to become a free agent on July 1, after his seven-year contract expired, uncertainty clouds who will be in net for Florida in the upcoming season. Any major moves the franchise is still cooking up ahead of the draft will likely revolve around finding a solution to that problem — seemingly the only one the Panthers have ahead of the season.
