Florida Panthers Training Camp Preview: Forwards

Jan 25, 2025; San Jose, California, USA; Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) warms up before the game against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

For a team with such an established core as the Florida Panthers, the projected opening night lineups will lead to lots of curiosity as to how well the forwards will gel.

Aleksander Barkov, obviously, will anchor the top line after missing all of last season with a torn ACL. Sam Reinhart will likely flank to his right side.

Brady Tkachuk, who the Panthers acquired for two first-round picks in 2026 and another in 2029, will play up on the first line. Head coach Paul Maurice acknowledged the speculation that Tkachuk could team up with his brother Matthew and Sam Bennet on the second line, but opted to pair him with Barkov, who excels in facilitating in the attacking end.

"We talk about Sasha Barkov and how good he is," Maurice said at training camp Wednesday, "but he has never played with a big man like (Brady) who can control the puck."

Carter Verhaeghe will likely join Matthew Tkachuk and Bennett. The trio has played a lot of minutes together over the last four years, and have had lots of success. In their Cup-winning 2024-25 season, that line led the team with 3.01 expected goals per 60 minutes.

As for the third line, it will likely be centered by Anton Lundell next to Eetu Luostarinen on the wings. Those two, along with Brad Marchand, were a line that meshed incredibly well during the 2025 postseason.

The silver lining of Barkov being out all of last year is that the Panthers got a taste of what Lundell could provide as a top center. In just 64 games, he tallied a career-high in goals (18) while excelling defensively in five-on-five and the penalty kill.

Marchand, 38, will eventually join that line, but Maurice confirmed he will miss the start of the season with an unspecified injury. Marchand underwent surgery over the offseason, causing him to miss former Boston Bruins teammate Zdeno Chara’s charity event in Slovakia. Maurice did not seem too concerned at training camp and said Marchand would be back “early in the season.”

The Panthers fourth line is much less defined than their top-9, but they will have no shortage of competent skaters to choose from.

Cole Schwindt, Lars Eller, Garnet Hathaway, Sandis Vilmanis, Cole Schwindt, and Jonah Gadjovich will all vie for spots.

Schwindt scored six goals in 15 games after being claimed off waivers last March. Eller, 37, won the Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals in 2018. Vilmanis was a benefactor to the Panthers injury luck last year, as he was able to log 19 games and 10:24 of average ice time in his debut season.

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