FORT LAUDERDALE — The Florida Panthers traded three first-round draft picks to the Ottawa Senators for captain Brady Tkachuk on Sunday, a blockbuster move that leaves the franchise without a first-round selection until 2030 but deepens a roster that has reached the Stanley Cup Final three times and won the championship twice.
The deal, first reported by Florida Hockey Now, sends one of the picks acquired earlier Sunday in a separate trade involving forward Mackie Samoskevich. The 2029 first-rounder headed to Ottawa is top-10 protected. Florida had entered Sunday with two first-round picks in the 2026 NHL Draft, which opens Friday at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. By the end of the day, the Panthers had none.
In Brady Tkachuk, the Panthers add a high-end offensive forward with an edge. He and brother Matthew Tkachuk are the only players in the NHL since 2019 with 400 points and 500 penalty minutes. Brady Tkachuk is eligible for a contract extension next summer, which would make him the 12th Panthers player signed through at least the 2029-30 season. Florida already has 11 players locked up through that window, including Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Gus Forsling, Aaron Ekblad, and Brad Marchand.
General manager Bill Zito has made trading future draft capital for proven talent a defining strategy. The Panthers have not selected in the first round since taking Samoskevich 25th overall in 2021. Since then, Florida has shipped first-round picks to Philadelphia for Claude Giroux, Montreal for Ben Chiarot, Calgary for Matthew Tkachuk, Chicago for Seth Jones, Boston for Marchand, and now Ottawa for Brady Tkachuk.
The trade intensifies questions about the Panthers’ goaltending situation. Sergei Bobrovsky is an unrestricted free agent, and Florida Hockey Now reported the club can realistically afford only $5 million to $6 million annually for a starting goalie. Marchand’s deal — $31.5 million over six seasons for a $5.5 million cap hit — set a template the Panthers may try to replicate. If Bobrovsky seeks roughly $42 million, a seven-year deal at $6 million per season could reach that number, though the Panthers would risk paying starter money for a goalie whose elite years may be limited. Bobrovsky has already earned $70 million during his time in South Florida.
Captain Sasha Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Anton Lundell, and Jones could all become free agents in 2030, making that year a potential inflection point for the franchise. For now, the Panthers are betting heavily on the present.
NHL free agency opens July 1, and the Panthers’ development camp is scheduled for late June or early July at IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale. Training camp follows in early to mid-September, with the 2026-27 season opening in late September.