FORT LAUDERDALE - Florida Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling enters his 10th NHL season as one of the league’s most statistically dominant blueliners, with a +161 plus/minus rating over six seasons in South Florida and a Season Opener set for Tuesday in Raleigh against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Forsling, a native of Linkoping, Sweden, has posted an expected goals for percentage above 50% at 5-on-5 in every season since the Panthers claimed him off waivers from Carolina in January 2021, including a career-best 56.75% in 2023-24. Only Colorado’s Devon Toews, at +215, has a better plus/minus among defensemen since 2020-21.

“We’ve done the hardest work,” Forsling said after Friday’s practice at Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale. “Today was a quick, fast practice. I think everyone pushed themselves, and we had a high tempo out there, a lot of skating. It was a lot of fun to speed things up.”

Head coach Paul Maurice credited Forsling’s fitness as the engine behind his effectiveness late in games and in overtime. “He is elite at closing gaps off the rush, his transition game,” Maurice said. “You watch that late in the game [on Tuesday at Carolina]. You saw it in overtime. He can just push at the end of games. He can get into holes that other people can’t because he’s so fit. I think he’s going to be able to maintain that for a lot of years in his career. He’s going to play until he doesn’t want to play anymore because he’s just such a strong skater and he maximizes his fitness every year.”

Forsling, a multi-time winner of the organization’s annual “most fit” award, said the Panthers’ longer-than-usual offseason following three straight Stanley Cup Final appearances - including back-to-back championships in 2024 and 2025 - gave him room to train smarter. “You can push yourself a little harder,” he said. “You got a longer block, so you can space it out a little bit and get some rest in between too. You don’t have to push yourself too hard every week, but you can be a little smarter with your training. I feel like I was a little smarter. You had a lot of time to get stronger and faster.”

Forsling enters only the third year of the eight-year contract extension he signed with Florida in March 2024. He has recorded 220 points - 59 goals and 161 assists - in 557 career games, adding 23 postseason points on 8 goals and 15 assists across 84 playoff games.

He is again paired with Aaron Ekblad, Florida’s shutdown duo during both Cup runs. Together, Forsling and Ekblad carry a combined 55.36 CF% and 54.67 GF% at 5-on-5 over the past three seasons. During the back-to-back championships, the Panthers outscored opponents 33-26 in goals and out-shot them 355-296 at 5-on-5 when the pair was on the ice.

“We know exactly how our game works out there and it’s so easy,” Forsling said of his chemistry with Ekblad. “Like you said, we’ve played so many games now together that we know where we are on the ice. We talk a lot on the ice, too, which is a big key.”

Forsling, who has already played the two-game preseason maximum for veterans, said his goal heading into Tuesday’s opener is straightforward. “That’s the recipe,” he said. “Keep pushing and getting better.”