2024 Stanley Cup Champions
Jonah Gadjovich Could Get Expanded Role with Florida Panthers
It would be an understatement to say that Jonah Gadjovich and the Florida Panthers have had an eventful year.
Last July, still recovering from an injury sustained in the previous season, Gadjovich signed an AHL deal with the Charlotte Checkers.
Less than a year later, Gadjovich was not only with the Panthers but also had a contract with the team that ran through 2026.
Gadjovich is also a Stanley Cup champion, not to mention the father of twins.
Following Florida’s 2-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the Final, Jonah and his wife Allison placed the two newborns in the bowl of the Stanley Cup while the celebration went on around them.
It has certainly been one heck of a ride.
“This is what we all play for,” Gadjovich said during the Stanley Cup Final. “It has been a long year, a hard year, and we have faced a lot of adversity. But we made it here.”
Gadjovich, 25, only played in 39 games with the Panthers and did not appear in the postseason but his name is now on the same Stanley Cup his twins were photographed in.
The Panthers appealed to the NHL to hammer Gadjovich’s name into the Cup despite not reaching the 41-game threshold.
The injury that kept him out of the Florida lineup for the first five weeks of the season—not to mention two upper-body injuries sustained later on—helped get that request approved.
In a show of how close-knit the Panthers were last season when Gadjovich joined the team in New York after his twins were born, Niko Mikkola gave him the ceremonial puck to plant onto their victory board following the Game 5 win.
“I am very grateful,” Gadjovich said. “My wife is healthy, my babies are healthy and I love them so much. … I was just sitting there with my head down, waiting to hear who gets the puck. It was really special. Made me feel real good, made me feel like I was really part of the group. It goes to show how tight we are here. We are brothers here, and I really mean that. That’s a reason why we have had success.’’
This coming season, Gadjovich should see an increased role with the Panthers.
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After signing that initial AHL contract, Gadjovich was not healthy enough to participate in training camp.
Instead, he rehabbed with Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad daily and impressed the Panthers enough for them to cancel that deal with the Checkers and sign him to a one-year NHL deal.
In March, he signed a two-year extension.
Florida will have a much different-looking fourth line next season, one Gadjovich could feature prominently on.
The Panthers brought in Tomas Nosek, Jesper Boqvist, and A.J. Greer to replace Kevin Stenlund, Ryan Lomberg, Steven Lorentz, and Kyle Okposo.
Gadjovich should factor into the rotation this year.
He certainly knows the system and knows just how to play it.
“For a physical role player, he is exceptionally clean,” coach Paul Maurice said.
“Both hands on the ice, he hits hard, but he gets low, he’s a very, very clean player, and he’s willing. And that makes everybody else relax.
“We play an aggressive, physical style, and sometimes our games get heated. A lot of times, it’s not us, right? But we’re going to come out, we’re going to finish our checks, and they know it going out, so they get wired up for that kind of game, and it gets hot. And it’s good to have Gadjovich there because he can handle it.”
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UP NEXT FOR THE FLORIDA PANTHERS
- NHL Free Agency: Opened July 1
- Florida Panthers Training Camp, Fort Lauderdale: Mid-September
- Florida Panthers Preseason: Sept. 22-Oct. 5
- Florida Panthers Opening Night/Banner Unveiling: Oct. 8 vs. Bruins
