Overview

• Florida will open its 2025–26 season at home on Oct. 7 against the Chicago Blackhawks with puck drop set for 5 p.m. ET.
• The season opener will feature a banner-raising ceremony to honor the Panthers’ second straight Stanley Cup title.
• General manager Bill Zito’s front office retained core stars Aleksander Barkov, Sergei Bobrovsky, Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk, and re-signed leading free agents Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand.
• Veteran defenseman Jeff Petry was added to fill the vacancy left by Nate Schmidt, while center Nico Sturm also departed in the offseason.
• The opener headlines ESPN’s tripleheader and Florida enters the campaign as betting favorites with +700 odds to complete a rare NHL three-peat.