George Richards, FHN Publisher
July 8, 2026
The Florida Panthers brought back a couple of their former players this offseason — but only one will be able to wear the number they did the last time they played here.
Goalie Jacob Markstrom only wore No. 25 for a single season — and not a full one at that — while with the Panthers.
Yet, that number is available and Markstrom took it.
In 2023 when Dmitry Kulikov returned to the Panthers, he reclaimed the No. 7 he once wore after Radko Gudas left it behind when he went off to Anaheim.
Well, Gudas is back — and Kulikov is still here.
So, Gudas got to pick a new number.
Alex Petrovic is also back with the Panthers for the first time since 2019, and the No. 6 he once wore was snapped up — by Gudas.
Donovan Sebrango does not count as a new player since he was here last season. Only he gets a new number as well.
Why?
The No. 6 he wore last season is no longer available.
Gudas!
FLORIDA PANTHERS No. 6
- Who Wears It Now: D Radko Gudas
- Who Wore It First: Peter Andersson (1994)
- Who Wore It Last: Donovan Sebrango (2026)
- Who Wore It Best: Jason Wooley
- Who Wore No. 6: Andersson, Greg Smyth, Wooley, Jeff Norton, Peter Ratchuk, Dan Boyle, Andreas Lilja, Noah Welch, Magnus Johansson, Ville Koistinen, Dennis Wideman, Ryan Whitney, Alexander Petrovic, Chris Wideman, Anton Stralman, Colin White, Mike Reilly, Jaycob Megna, Sebrango
- Breaking It Down: Megna wore No. 6 and was part of a Stanley Cup championship in 2025 — but Wooley played a huge role in Florida going to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time back in 1996. Wooley was also part of the infamous trade in which the Panthers sent Wooley and Stu Barnes to Pittsburgh for Chris Wells and helped facilitate the breakup of the Miami-era Panthers. Gudas wore No. 7 when he was here from 2021-23, but that was/is Dmitry Kulikov’s number, so, ‘The Butcher’ took Sebrango’s digit.
FLORIDA PANTHERS No. 8
- Who Wears It Now: F Brady Tkachuk
- Who Wore It First: Dallas Eakins (1994)
- Who Wore It Last: Nico Sturm (2025)
- Who Wore It Best: Peter Worrell
- Who Wore No. 8: Eakins, Magnus Svensson, Craig Martin, Jaroslav Spacek, Worrell, Val Bure, Joel Kwiatkowski, Tim Kennedy, Wojtek Wolski, Dylan McIlrath, Jayce Hawryluk, Matt Kiersted, Ben Chiarot, Kyle Okposo, Sturm
- Breaking It Down: Worrell started wearing No. 28 for the Panthers, but took over No. 8 in 2000. During this time, Worrell was one of the most popular players on the team — a fourth-line forward who was not afraid to mix things up. Worrell, who still works for the organization and has done great work growing the game in South Florida, ranks second on the team’s all-time list in penalty minutes with 1,375. Paul Laus is the leader with 1,702.
FLORIDA PANTHERS No. 20
- Who Wears It Now: C Lars Eller
- Who Wore It First: C Brian Skrudland (1993)
- Who Wore It Last: Mike Benning (2026)
- Who Wore It Best: Skrudland
- Who Wore No. 20: Skrudland, Val Bure, Craig MacDonald, Josh Olseon, Kamil Piros, Joel Kwiatkowski, Ed Belfour, Richard Zednik, Ryan Carter, Sean Bergenheim, Reto Berra, Aleksi Heponiemi, Jesse Puljujarvi, Benning
- Breaking It Down: There have been some memorable characters in Panthers history to don this number — Val Bure, Eddie Belfour, Richard Zednik, Sean Bergenheim, Reto Berra — but the original was Brian Skrudland. Florida’s first captain, ‘Skrewy’ was certainly an original and helped set the tone for an expansion team that punched way above its weight. It is not a coincidence that the Panthers did not issue No. 20 for a few years after Skrudland left.
FLORIDA PANTHERS No. 21
- Who Wears It Now: F Garnet Hathaway
- Who Wore It First: Tom Fitzgerald (1993)
- Who Wore It Last: Nick Cousins (2024)
- Who Wore It Best: Vincent Trocheck
- Who Wore No. 21: Fitzgerald, Mark Parrish, Denis Shvidki, Alexei Semenov, Cory Murphy, Chris Higgins, Krys Barch, Trocheck, Alex Wennberg, Zac Dalpe, Cousins
- Breaking It Down: This is really a two-man race between Fitzgerald — an original Panther whose son Casey is a Florida defenseman with a two-way contract — and Trocheck. Fitzgerald scored 18 goals with the Panthers in their expansion season, his most in three-plus seasons here. Trocheck was one of Florida’s young guns in the mid-2010s who was one of the team’s leading scorers during his time with the Panthers.
FLORIDA PANTHERS No. 25
- Who Wears It Now: G Jacob Markstrom
- Who Wore It First: Geoff Smith (1993)
- Who Wore It Last: Nolan Foote (2026)
- Who Wore It Best: Viktor Kozlov
- Who Wore No. 25: Smith, Kozlov, Joe Nieuwendyk, Jerred Smithson, Markstrom, Henrik Haapala, Derick Brassard, Brady Keeper, Mackie Samoskevich, Foote
- Breaking It Down: This is a tough one since Nieuwendyk ended his Hall of Fame career with the Panthers wearing that number — but Kozlov certainly had more of an impact on the Panthers in parts of seven seasons. Markstrom, funny enough, got the No. 25 in his final season with the Panthers in 2013 and will take it right back.
FLORIDA PANTHERS No. 36
- Who Wears It Now: D Alex Petrovic
- Who Wore It First: Joey Tetarenko (2001)
- Who Wore It Last: Patrick Giles (2025)
- Who Wore It Best: Jussi Jokinen
- Who Wore No. 36: Tetarenko, Dmitry Yushkevich, Kyle Rossiter, Mark Cullen, Jokinen, Giles
- Breaking It Down: The forgotten Jokinen of Panthers lore, Jussi was part of a playoff team with the Panthers in 2016 and gave them a strong couple of seasons capped by a 60-point performance in 2015-16. This will be Petrovic’s third number with the Panthers; he started with No. 72 (which may end up being retired here) before going to No. 6 (Gudas apparently beat him out for it).
FLORIDA PANTHERS No. 40
- Who Wears It Now: G Akira Schmid
- Who Wore It First: Steve Washburn (1996)
- Who Wore It Last: Daniil Tarasov (2026)
- Who Wore It Best: Tarasov
- Who Wore No. 40: Washburn, Eric Boguniecki, Vaclav Nedorost, Greg Jacina, Janis Sprukts, Petteri Lindbohm, Tarasov
- Breaking It Down: Slim pickings for the best to wear this number in Panthers history, but Tarasov did have a pretty good season and, well, that will have to do. The Panthers will save a few bucks on goalie jerseys here, right? Just take off the nameplate and go.
FLORIDA PANTHERS No. 73
- Who Wears It Now: D Donovan Sebrango
- Who Wore It First: Bracken Kearns (2012)
- Who Wore It Last: Dryden Hunt (2020)
- Who Wore It Best: Brandon Pirri
- Who Wore No. 73: Kearns, Pirri, Hunt
- Breaking It Down: Again, not much to choose from here — and it is Pirri is a rout. Pirri scored 22 goals during the 2014-15 season but fell out of favor with the Doug Cifu faction of the front office and was traded to Anaheim at the deadline in 2016. He played parts of five more NHL seasons. Sebrango, it should be noted, wore No. 6 last season.
ON DECK: FLORIDA PANTHERS OFFSEASON
- NHL Free Agency: Opened June 1
- Panthers Rookie Camp/Tournament: Late August/Early Sept.; Site TBA
- Panthers Training Camp: Early/Mid September; Fort Lauderdale
- Panthers Preseason (Four Games): Starts Sept. 20 vs. Carolina Hurricanes
- 2026-27 NHL Season Opens: Late September; Site, Opponent TBA