Sunrise, Florida — Anton Lundell and the Florida Panthers have agreed to a six-year, $30 million contract, assuring that the Stanley Cup champions’ top eight scorers return to defend their title.
Lundell was a restricted-free agent. He recorded 13 goals and 22 assists in 78 games for the Panthers during the regular season, and his playoff performance was even better, with 17 points in 24 games on his path to the Cup.
The final of those 17 playoff points came in the form of an assist to Carter Verhaeghe’s opening goal in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, which Florida won 2-1 to win the franchise’s first championship.
“Anton has matured into a dependable multirole center for our club, who seized his opportunity from his first day in North America,” said Bill Zito, Panthers president of hockey operations and general manager. “His commitment to improvement and cerebral approach to the game earned him the profound respect of his teammates and coaches, and we are excited to see him continue to grow and succeed with the Panthers.”
The 22-year-old Finnish center has spent three seasons with the Panthers, who selected him with the 12th overall pick in the 2020 draft. In 216 appearances, he has scored 43 goals and assisted 69 times.
The Panthers now have even more of their core locked up for years to come, with Lundell, captain Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, and Gustav Forsling all signed until at least the 2029-30 season.
On Wednesday, the Panthers agreed to a one-year contract with defenseman Nate Schmidt. The 32-year-old veteran has previously played for four NHL teams, most notably Winnipeg, where he spent some time under Florida coach Paul Maurice.”Nate is a veteran puck-moving defenseman who we expect to seamlessly integrate with our style of play,” Zito told reporters. “We are excited to welcome him to our club in 2024-25.”
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