Insider Thinks Panthers Might Do Something Surprising With Their First-Round Pick

Monday, April 13, 2026 ,
Florida Panthers logo on jersey.

Florida is missing the playoffs for the first time after back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, and the offseason ahead is already shaping up to be a busy one.

Elliotte Friedman added an interesting wrinkle on the 32 Thoughts podcast this week, musing about what the Panthers might actually do with their 2026 first-round pick. 

"If it ends up being 1 or 2, I don't know that you're trading it," Friedman said, "but if it ends up in that next little area, I dunno, just watch." 

That's not a definitive report, but Friedman doesn't float those kinds of comments without having some reason to. For a team that needs to retool quickly around a returning Aleksander Barkov, a pick sitting outside the top two could become a very valuable trade chip.

The Seth Jones Condition That Makes This More Complicated

There's an additional layer to the Panthers' first-round pick that only became fully public recently. 

When Florida acquired Seth Jones from the Chicago Blackhawks at the 2025 trade deadline, the deal included a conditional 2026 first-round pick going back to Chicago. 

The pick carries top-10 protection, meaning if Florida's pick lands in the top 10, Chicago instead receives Florida's 2027 first-round pick.

That seems likely to happen, as the Panthers are currently seventh last in the league with two games to play.

So the Panthers essentially have two versions of their pick depending on where they fall in the lottery: a potentially high pick that stays in Florida's hands if they land in the top 10, or a mid-to-late first that goes to Chicago as agreed. 

That's the pick Friedman is specifically curious about, the one that lands outside the top 10 and could, in his words, be worth watching. 

If Florida is sitting at 11 to 14, the pick is Chicago's, so any trade involving it gets significantly more complicated and would require Chicago's cooperation. 

If they fall inside the top 10, the pick stays with Florida and the 2027 first goes to the Blackhawks instead.

What Florida Is Working With This Offseason

The Panthers project to have around $13.1 million in cap space heading into the summer, which gives Bill Zito some room to maneuver but not unlimited flexibility. 

Barkov is coming back from a torn ACL and is expected to play. Tkachuk, Kulikov, and Marchand should all be healthy after dealing with injury-related absences this season. The bigger question is Sergei Bobrovsky, who becomes a free agent July 1 and had a rough season by any metric, ranking among the worst goaltenders in the league in Goals Saved Above Average. 

His future anywhere, let alone in Florida, is unclear. On the front office side, assistant GM Sunny Mehta is already being linked to GM openings around the league, New Jersey specifically, which could cost Zito one of his key lieutenants. 

Florida clearly believes they can compete again in 2026-27 with their core healthy, but getting back into that conversation may require some creative roster work, and if Friedman is right that the pick is one of the tools being looked at, this year's Draft will be one worth following closely.

Photo Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images

Go To: NFL Rumors | NBA Rumors | MLB Rumors