George Richards, FHN Publisher
The Florida Panthers now know where they will pick in the 2026 NHL Draft starting June 26 in Buffalo — although we certainly are not sure if they will keep their first-round selection.
On Tuesday, the Panthers not only did not win the NHL Draft Lottery but ended up dropping to No. 9 on the selection board after the San Jose Sharks moved up from ninth to second. The Toronto Maple Leafs went from fifth to the top overall pick.
It is probably pretty safe to say that Toronto and San Jose will use the picks.
But the Panthers?
With a top-2 pick, the Panthers would have been able to pick a player who had a chance to immediately help them in their quest for a third Stanley Cup championship.
That is not the case at No. 9.
While there have been some pretty good players taken in that slot over the years — Hall of Famers Rod Brind’Amour, Brian Leetch, and Cam Neely headline the group — there have been a lot of players who had to take a longer road to the NHL.
With immediate help not forthcoming, what should the Panthers do with this pick?
There has been plenty of speculation that Bill Zito will use the selection as trade capital — after all, he has traded every first-round pick the Panthers have had since taking Mackie Samoskevich 24th overall back in 2021.
This year’s pick only belongs to the Panthers because it landed in the top 10; it had already been traded to Chicago.
This will be, barring a trade, Florida’s only first-round pick until 2029.
Chicago will take next year’s selection, with Boston getting Florida’s first-rounder in 2028 as part of the Brad Marchand deal.
But do not be surprised if the Panthers actually use this selection.
Florida’s amateur scouting has been very strong this decade with the Panthers finding some gems with whatever draft picks they have had.
Samoskevich, for instance, is going into his third full-time NHL season after a standout career at the University of Michigan.
Of course, the Panthers are always looking to improve their current roster and there will certainly be some pretty good players on the trade market that Zito & Co. will have interest in.
If Florida had won one of the top two picks in the draft, odds are they were making that selection.
But No. 9?
One has to think it is in play.
Hey, with a couple of second round picks, perhaps Zito could use No. 9 to move up on draft day and get a player they really like.
It has been a while since the Panthers have had an interesting first day of the NHL draft.
Perhaps one is coming.
ON DECK: FLORIDA PANTHERS OFFSEASON
- NHL Draft: June 26-27; KeyBank Center, Buffalo
- NHL Free Agency: Opens July 1
- Panthers Development Camp: Late June/Early July; IcePlex, Fort Lauderdale
- Panthers Rookie Camp/Tournament: Late August/Early Sept.; Site TBA
- Panthers Training Camp: Early/Mid September; Fort Lauderdale
- 2026-27 NHL Season Opens: Late September; Site, Opponent TBA