FORT LAUDERDALE — The Florida Panthers, two-time defending Stanley Cup champions who missed the playoffs by 15 points last season, report to training camp Sept. 17 in Fort Lauderdale with the best odds in the NHL to win it all in 2027.
The Panthers’ fall from back-to-back titles in 2024 and 2025 to a postseason absence — their first since 2019 — was driven largely by injuries to their core. Matthew Tkachuk, Sasha Barkov, Seth Jones, Sam Reinhart and Brad Marchand all missed significant stretches of the 2025-26 season, Florida Hockey Now reported. Florida’s last game was an 8-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on April 15, a result that capped a three-game winning streak but came far too late to salvage the year.
FanDuel Sportsbook lists the Panthers as the odds-on Stanley Cup favorite at plus-650, ahead of the Colorado Avalanche and the Carolina Hurricanes, both at plus-750. Carolina enters the season as the newly crowned Stanley Cup champion and will host Florida in the regular-season opener Sept. 29 in Raleigh at 5 p.m. on ESPN.
The Panthers made the postseason a franchise-record six straight times before last season’s collapse, including three trips to the Stanley Cup Final. That run began after the 2019 offseason, when the organization overhauled its roster and coaching staff. The lengthy summer that followed this past season — the club’s longest in seven years — gave the front office time to retool, with NHL free agency opening July 1.
Florida is expected to enter camp relatively healthy, with one notable exception: Marchand is expected to miss time at the start of the season after undergoing surgery in August, according to Florida Hockey Now. Rookie camp is estimated to begin Sept. 13 in Fort Lauderdale, four days before the full squad reports. The Panthers play their first preseason game Sept. 20 against the Hurricanes.
The home opener is scheduled for Oct. 10 against the Minnesota Wild at 6 p.m.