The Stanley Cup champions are falling down the rankings and getting ready for a tough end to the season.
The Florida Panthers have eight games left in their regular season. However, on Tuesday, before they played the Ottawa Senators at home, the team announced that they are giving up on this season.
In a morning press conference before the game, coach Paul Maurice said that eight of his regular players are done for the year.
Maurice shared that forwards Brad Marchand, Sam Reinhart, Aleksander Barkov, Anton Lundell, Evan Rodrigues, and Jonah Gadjovich, along with defensemen Nikko Mikkola and Uvis Balinskis, will not be playing again this season.
This means that the current champions will be using a team made up mostly of players from the AHL for their remaining games. Right now, they are in 27th place in the NHL standings with a record of 36 wins, 35 losses, and 3 overtime losses, totaling 75 points in 74 games.
The Panthers are seemingly calling it a wrap on the 2025-26 season ✌️
Paul Maurice says Marchand, Reinhart, Barkov, Lundell, Mikkola, Rodrigues, Gadjovich and Balinskis are all unlikely to play again this year (@JamesonCoop) pic.twitter.com/jX8puCPRGN
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) March 31, 2026
But on Tuesday night, just hours after the team said they are sidelining most of their main players for the season, they jumped to a 3-0 lead only 10 minutes into the game against the Ottawa Senators, who are trying to make the playoffs!
The same day the Panthers announce they’re shutting down the majority of their core for the season, they go up 3-0 just 10 MINUTES IN on a playoff-chasing Senators team 🤯😬 pic.twitter.com/7p4JeV1R2N
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) March 31, 2026
In the third period of that game, defenseman Aaron Ekblad blocked a shot with his hand and left the ice looking very hurt, unable to hold his stick. He could be out for a while, and possibly for the rest of the season.
The Panthers might keep dropping in the standings until the end of the season. This could help them get a better pick in the NHL Draft coming up in June, or they could still cause problems for other teams like they did against Ottawa last night.
Ekblad hurting after blocking a shot off his hand
— George Richards (@GeorgeRichards) April 1, 2026
Who knows what will happen!
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