The Florida Panthers sent shockwaves across the NHL on Sunday when they acquired Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk.
Adding Tkachuk to Florida’s already deep and skilled roster puts them squarely back into place as one of the league’s elite teams and Stanley Cup contenders.
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There is still one glaring hole on the roster that needs to be filled, though, and it comes at perhaps the most important position in hockey.
Of course, we’re talking about the goaltender.
At the moment, the Panthers do not have any NHL goalies signed for the 2026-27 season.
That will change in the coming days and weeks, but after acquiring Tkachuk, it puts Florida in a more precarious spot in terms of the amount of money they have to spend on their goaltending.
According to PuckPedia, Florida has just over $7 million in cap space to work with.
With longtime Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and the two sides reportedly far apart on contract negotiations, Florida General Manager Bill Zito may have to look outside the organization to fill the team’s need.
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The good thing for Zito is that he’s got an ace up his sleeve: Florida’s Goaltending Excellence Department.
Headed by Roberto Luongo, Florida’s goalie guild has helped the team find several solid tendies who have either played well in the team’s systems or turned into a valuable trade asset, including Alex Lyon, Anthony Stolarz, Devon Levi, Vitek Vanecek and Daniil Tarasov.
They also targeted Brandon Bussi last summer, but the Panthers lost him to the Carolina Hurricanes after trying to sneak him to AHL Charlotte on waivers.
So what will Zito and his goalie experts choose to do with the team’s need between the pipes and relatively limited resources?
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It’s been widely reported that a pair of high-end netminders may be available by trade: the Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck and St. Louis Blues’ Jordan Binnington.
Hellebuyck’s contract pays him an average annual value (AAV) of $8.5 million through 2030-31 and Binnington makes a $6 million AAV, though he’s entering the final year of his deal.
After using their first-round picks to acquire Tkachuk, it’s unlikely the Panthers would be willing to part with the kind of NHL-level assts it would take to pry Hellebuyck away from Winnipeg.
Depending on the price, Binnington may be a possibility, though Florida would likely need to shed some additional salary in order to leave room for any addition depth adds or call-ups, and/or have St. Louis retain some of his salary.
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Another potential trade target that would be more in-line with a team looking for a bargain in goal could be Devin Cooley of the Calgary Flames.
In addition to being Calgary’s nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy last season, the 29-year-old enjoyed his longest stretch in the NHL of his career, posting a 2.69 goals against average and .909 save percentage for a Flames team that wasn’t particularly good defensively.
Cooley also features the kind of size (6-foot-5, 192 pounds) and agility that Florida has appeared to target when shopping for goalies, and he makes a very reasonable $1.35 million AAV through the 2027-28 season.
There is also the likelihood that the Panthers take a good look at this year’s class of expiring contracts, with several interesting names set to hit free agency, including the aforementioned Vanecek and Tarasov.
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Don’t be surprised to see Florida take a good look at another familiar name who will be looking for a new contract on July 1 in former Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Stuart Skinner.
Aside from his playoff experience and reputation as a positionally sound goaltender who moves well laterally for someone with his size (6-foot-4, 215 pounds), Skinner would also likely come on the inexpensive side.
If Florida’s goalie guild signs off on Skinner or Cooley or any other goaltender’s ability to perform, the way they had previously with Vanecek and Tarasov, it would make sense that a Panthers team operating at full strength would be comfortable with either of those gentlemen stopping pucks for the Cats.
It would also allow Zito and his staff some additional financial flexibility under the cap, which is never a bad thing.
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We’ll see how things play out over the next week, as the NHL Draft is set for Friday and Saturday in Buffalo, and free agency set to open four days later on July 1.
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Photo caption: Nov 22, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner (74) defends his net against Florida Panthers left wing Brad Marchand (63) during the third period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
