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Dmitry Kulikov

Panthers’ Dmitry Kulikov Out Five Months Following Shoulder Surgery

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Oct. 15: Florida’s doctors have determined surgery is required for Kulikov’s injury. It was actual a labral tear in his shoulder, not a wrist issue, per the team’s Jameson Olive. The procedure carries a recovery time of five months, head coach Paul Maurice told Sean Shapiro of DLLS Sports. The team ended up recalling Björnfot from AHL Charlotte a few days after Kulikov’s IR placement, and it’s now clear he won’t be heading back to the minors anytime soon while he and Balinskis fill Kulikov’s shoes for what will be the vast majority of the regular season. A five-month return timeline puts Kulikov back in Florida’s lineup in mid-March, shortly after the trade deadline.

Oct. 11: The Panthers have placed defenseman Dmitry Kulikov on injured reserve due to an apparent right wrist injury, via Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. The team hasn’t made any comment on his status, so his return is unknown. They haven’t made a corresponding transaction, either.

Kulikov left Thursday’s game against the Flyers midway through the second period and did not return. He left the ice holding his right wrist after it got crunched while trying to check Philadelphia winger Bobby Brink against the wall in the neutral zone. The IR placement is backdated to then, meaning he’ll be eligible for activation on Oct. 16. Florida plays the Devils that night, but Kulikov has been automatically ruled out for three games in the interim.

It’s yet another blow to a skater corps that’s been decimated early in the season. The Cats survived preseason injury scares for Aaron Ekblad and Anton Lundell but didn’t avoid LTIR placements for Aleksander Barkov (ACL and MCL tear), Tomas Nosek (knee), and Matthew Tkachuk (adductor) to open the season. The defense started fully healthy to help compensate for the loss of forward depth, but they’ve now lost half of their veteran third pairing with Jeff Petry for at least a few games, if not more.

Uvis Balinskis will step into Kulikov’s spot as the lefty on that bottom pairing alongside Petry. Balinskis is a quality option to pull from the press box. He spent most of last season as Nate Schmidt’s partner until the acquisition of Seth Jones near the trade deadline pushed him down the depth chart and out of the regular playoff lineup. That wasn’t before the 29-year-old Latvian made 76 appearances in the regular season, posting a 4-14–18 scoring line with a -7 rating in 14:51 of ice time per game. Florida signed the 6’0″ lefty as an undrafted free agent in 2023, and he played in only 26 NHL games the year prior.

As for Kulikov, the 17-year veteran looks on track to continue posting stable results in a depth role for Florida. He only had a -1 rating and one hit through one-and-a-half games but posted good possession results on his unit with Petry, controlling 60% of expected goals, per MoneyPuck. Florida has also outattempted opponents 17-16 with Kulikov on the ice at even strength so far.

Kulikov will be 35 in a few weeks. The first-round pick by the Panthers back in 2009 isn’t the minute-muncher he was during his first stint in Florida, but he’s been a strong support piece and frequent penalty killer since returning to the club in free agency in 2023. He’s beginning Year 2 of a four-year, $4.6MM deal he signed last summer.

The IR placement leaves Florida with an open roster spot but doesn’t change their cap picture. The Panthers have $2.27MM remaining in their LTIR pool, though, more than enough to make a corresponding recall from AHL Charlotte. Atop their minor-league depth chart, particularly among lefties, is former Kings first-rounder Tobias Björnfot.

Atlantic Notes: Kulikov, Lindholm, Batherson, Ratzlaff

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Late last night, the Florida Panthers quietly moved defenseman Dmitry Kulikov to the injured reserve. Unfortunately, although the team hasn’t commented on his status, reporting from George Richards of Florida Hockey Now indicates that it could be a long-term absence for their bottom-pairing blueliner.

The injury occurred during the Panthers’ win over the Philadelphia Flyers, their second game of the season. After attempting to hit Flyers forward Bobby Brink partway through the second period, Kulikov left the game after appearing to hurt his right wrist.

Passing along a note from head coach Paul Maurice, Richards’ report suggests that surgery is on the table for Kulikov, and that the team would make a more concrete decision this evening. Since the IR placement is retroactive to Thursday night, Kulikov is eligible to return from the IR on October 16th. However, if he requires surgery to repair his wrist, he’ll be out significantly longer.

Other notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • Another defenseman in the Atlantic will be sidelined, though not as long as Kulikov. According to Steve Conroy of The Boston Herald, Boston Bruins blueliner Hampus Lindholm is considered day-to-day with an undisclosed ailment. Lindholm left the team’s overtime win against the Chicago Blackhawks after having only skated in 4:26 of the action.
  • In more positive injury news, the Ottawa Senators could be getting a major boost to their forward core. Although he was ruled out for the team’s recent game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, forward Drake Batherson alluded to a return tonight or Monday in an interview with Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Citizen. Remarkably, the Senators’ first game of the year was the first Batherson has missed since the 2021-22 campaign, playing in 246 consecutive regular-season contests for Ottawa.
  • In an update unrelated to injuries, the Buffalo Sabres have shifted around some of their organizational goaltending depth. According to a team announcement, the Sabres have reassigned netminder Scott Ratzlaff to the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen. Ratzlaff, 20, who was selected with the 141st overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, spent last season with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, managing a 23-19-4 record in 49 games with a .910 SV%.

Florida Panthers Injury Updates

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It’s challenging to think of a team that has dealt with more injuries over the last few weeks than the Florida Panthers. Two weeks ago, the Panthers were the top team in the Atlantic Division. Unfortunately, injuries have limited Florida to a 1-4-1 record in their last six games, watching the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning pass them in the standings.

However, there may be light at the end of the tunnel. Speaking to reporters this morning, head coach Paul Maurice commented on the status of nearly every injured member of the typical roster. First, Colby Guy of The Palm Beach Post reports that captain Aleksander Barkov will return to the lineup for Florida’s important matchup against Toronto tomorrow night. He had missed the Panthers’ past three contests with an upper-body injury.

Barkov’s importance in Florida’s lineup can’t be understated. As one of the premier two-way forwards of this era, Barkov helps the Panthers keep the puck out of their net just as much as he helps them put pucks in their opponent’s net. Since beginning his career during the 2013-14 season, Florida has a 60-63-16 record during the regular season when Barkov isn’t in the lineup.

Guy later reported that trade deadline acquisition Nico Sturm should also return on Wednesday, with defenseman Dmitry Kulikov expected back toward the end of the week. Shortly thereafter, TSN’s Mark Masters shared that Sam Reinhart and Gustav Forsling are also expected back in the lineup on Wednesday.

By the end of the week, Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk, and Aaron Ekblad will be the only regular players who haven’t returned to the lineup. It appears that Bennett will not play in another regular season game for the Panthers.

Senior digital content manager for the team Jameson Olive shared that Bennett’s next game for Florida will be Game One of their Round One matchup, primarily for precautionary reasons. The physical middleman is dealing with an upper-body injury, and the Panthers want him to be as close to 100% as possible for what is bound to be a hotly contested opening round of the playoffs.

Florida has five games left in their regular season schedule, and it will be a challenge to overcome the difficulties they have faced in recent weeks. Currently, they are four points behind the Lightning and six points behind the Maple Leafs in the Atlantic Division. They risk losing home-ice advantage for their Stanley Cup defense. Still, with one game against Toronto and one game against Tampa Bay sandwiched between relatively easier matchups against the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres, the Panthers could control their destiny for their opening-round matchup.

Florida Panthers’ Injury Updates: Tkachuk, Kulikov, Barkov, Sturm

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As the Florida Panthers gear up for a repeat run at the Stanley Cup, head coach Paul Maurice provide injury updates today on several key players, per team reporter Jameson Olive. Maurice noted that Matthew Tkachuk is still “a ways away” from returning from injured reserve after sustaining an injury in the 4 Nations Face-Off back in February. The team remains hopeful Tkachuk will be available for the playoffs. In 52 games on the season, Tkachuk has registered 22 goals and 57 points to go along with 84 hits. Now in his third full season with the Panthers, he has produced 265 points in 211 career regular season games with Florida, but was never more valuable than last season’s run to the Stanley Cup, where he produced 22 points in 24 games. The fan favorite’s return to the lineup will be a key to their back-to-back cup aspirations.

Maurice said the return of defender Dmitry Kulikov could come as early as next week. The 6’1, 212 Kulikov has been out since March 18 with an upper-body injury. The team announced on March 31 that he would be traveling with the club on their four-game road trip but would not appear in any of those contests. Kulikov has registered four goals, 13 points and a plus-13 rating on the season. Maurice added that veteran center Aleksander Barkov would have a similar return timeline as Kulikov. Barkov was injured in Tuesday night’s contest against the Montreal Canadiens and was subsequently kept out against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. While he was also ruled out of this weekend’s games, based on Maurice’s update today, his injury does not appear to be serious or something that is expected to linger. Barkov has registered 19 goals and 67 points in 64 games on the season. By lighting the lamp one more time this season, Barkov would secure his 10th career 20-plus goal season. And just like Tkachuk, Barkov scored 22 points during last season’s playoffs.

Finally, Maurice also discussed center Nico Sturm’s expected return from an upper-body injury, noting that Sturm could return as early as the start of next week. Sturm, who was traded by the San Jose Sharks to the Panthers in March, has registered 14 points in 58 games on the season. He sustained his injury Tuesday against Montreal.

Morning Notes: Kulikov, Gaucher, Backlund

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Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice believes that defenseman Dmitry Kulikov could return to the lineup during the last week of the NHL regular season (as per Panthers Senior Digital Content Manager Jameson Olive). Kulikov is sidelined with an upper-body injury that has kept him out of the last three games, but he could return just in time for the playoffs.

The 34-year-old isn’t the producer he once was but has averaged 19:17 of ice time per game this season in 68 games. The 16-year NHL veteran has tallied four goals and nine assists this season along with a +13 plus/minus. However, he has struggled with the puck, committing 72 turnovers which eclipses his career high by nearly 20.

In other morning notes:

  • Anaheim Ducks AHL affiliate the San Diego Gulls, tweeted that forward Nathan Gaucher had successful shoulder surgery and will miss the rest of the 2024-25 season as he will need a 4-6 month recovery. Gaucher was the Ducks first-round pick in 2022 (22nd overall)  and had a labral tear in his left shoulder that could cause him to miss the start of next season while he recovers. The 21-year-old hasn’t found his offensive game in the AHL to this point in his young career, producing just eight goals and 11 assists this season in 56 AHL games. While the start to his professional career has been disappointing, Gaucher is just two years removed from representing Team Canada at the World Juniors and certainly possesses the physical gifts to make it as a top-nine NHL forward.
  • The Calgary Flames received some good news on the injury front last night as captain Mikael Backlund returned to the lineup after missing six games with an upper-body injury (as per Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg). The 36-year-old had last played on March 12th against Vancouver and should give an added boost to the Flames as they try and chase down a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Backlund is in his 17th NHL season and still provides solid two-way play for Calgary, even if his offensive numbers aren’t what they used to be. Backlund has just 11 goals and 13 assists this season in 65 games, but his deployment has been skewed towards the defensive side of the game this season, which makes sense given that he has received Selke Trophy consideration in seven of the last eight years.

Panthers’ Dmitry Kulikov Out Week-To-Week

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Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov is out week-to-week with the upper-body injury he sustained in Sunday’s outing against the Islanders, head coach Paul Maurice said today (via the team’s Jameson Olive). He’s not expected to miss the remainder of the regular season, however.

Kulikov left the game in the first period after awkwardly twisting while trying to hit Islanders winger Anthony Duclair in the neutral zone. He was favoring his right forearm as he left the ice.

A trip to IR doesn’t seem likely at this stage of the season with no roster limits in effect, but he should be expected to miss Florida’s five remaining games in March at the very least. The Panthers’ final game of the regular season is a potentially key playoff positioning matchup against the Lightning on April 15, so his return timeline is likely in the two-to-three-week range rather than the one-month area.

Nonetheless, the injury couldn’t come at a worse time for Florida. They’re already without top right-shot rearguard Aaron Ekblad for the rest of the regular season and two playoff games after he was suspended for using performance-enhancing substances, and their odds of winning the Atlantic Division have slipped to 48% after back-to-back losses to the Canadiens and Islanders over the weekend. Florida also has a more difficult remaining schedule (.554) than their competitors for the crown, the Lightning (.543) and Maple Leafs (.535), per Tankathon.

Kulikov is no stranger to injuries, only managing 70-plus games six times in his 16-year NHL career. He’d been mostly healthy since rejoining the Cats for his second stint in South Florida in the summer of 2023, though, only missing one game due to injury and another two due to suspension.

The 34-year-old played a bottom-pairing role in last season’s Stanley Cup win, but he’s seen his minutes elevated this year after the club lost Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Montour to unrestricted free agency. Averaging over 19 minutes per night, the stay-at-home Kulikov has 4-9–13 with a +13 rating in 68 games. He ranks third on the team with 70 blocked shots and leads Florida defenders with 110 hits. He inked a four-year, $4.6MM extension last summer that will likely see him finish his career in Sunrise.

Nate Schmidt elevated into Kulikov’s second-pairing role alongside Niko Mikkola in practice today, per Olive. Tobias Björnfot will draw into the lineup tomorrow against the Blue Jackets after being recalled yesterday. There’s now even more pressure on Seth Jones, who has just one assist and a minus-four rating in seven games since being acquired from the Blackhawks, to improve his play with two key defensemen sidelined.

Panthers Re-Sign Dmitry Kulikov To Four-Year Extension

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The Florida Panthers have re-signed defenseman Dmitry Kulikov to a four-year, $4.6MM contract extension, per Bob McKenzie of TSN (Twitter link). The deal carries an annual cap hit of $1.15MM.

Kulikov had a storybook return to the Panthers organization this season. He scored just one goal and 20 points in 76 games, adding 63 penalty minutes, and a +15.  He didn’t add any scoring in the postseason, though he still appeared in 22 of the team’s 24 postseason games. And still, Kulikov concluded the year by lifting the Stanley Cup with the club that drafted him 15 years ago.

Florida was Kulikov’s home for the first seven years of his career, stepping into the NHL immediately after being drafted 14th overall in the 2009 NHL Draft. He was drafted following a QMJHL championship-winning season with the Drummondville Voltigeurs and carried his impactful lineup role into the pros, scoring 16 points in 68 games as a rookie. Kulikov found a stout role as a defensive defender early in his career that he hasn’t let go of since, even as he’s gone on to play 948 career games with eight different clubs.

That consistent impact is beginning to slow down as Kulikov approaches 34, with his role now much more centered around the bottom pairing. But it’s a role that he nonetheless serves well, and one that he’ll return to with Florida next season – especially following the departure of Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who has chosen to test free agency.

Sam Carrick Fined By Department Of Player Safety

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The Department of Player Safety issued their only punishment from Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals, fining Edmonton Oilers’ forward Sam Carrick a total of $2,213.54, the maximum allowable, for slashing Florida Panthers’ defenseman Dmitry Kulikov. Elliotte Friedman of TSN followed up the report by announcing the league would not pass down any additional discipline.

The play in question occurred near the end of Game 2 after Kulikov delivered a hard hit to Carrick. Afterward, Carrick slashed Kulikov in what is best described as his ’nether region’, resulting in a two-minute minor penalty for slashing, and a 10-minute game misconduct. Since Carrick was ejected from the game, teammate Evander Kane served his two-minute penalty.

Expectedly, the Department of Player Safety will expand its leniency throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs. Still, it is surprising that this will be the only supplemental discipline from Game 2. Aside from Carrick, defenseman Vincent Desharnais and forward Warren Foegele were ejected from the Oilers bench, with forward Leon Draisaitl delivering a controversial hit to Aleksander Barkov.

Nevertheless, the Oilers organization should view the lack of punishment as a silver lining to their Game 2 loss, as they will not be forced to lose any players for a pivotal Game 3. Managing only one goal through the first six periods of the Stanley Cup Final, Edmonton will need all hands on deck to get back into this series.

Game 1 Notes: Panthers, Oettinger, Henrique, Lindgren

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When they take on the New York Rangers tonight in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Florida Panthers will have a fully healthy roster. Earlier today, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reported that Sam Bennett, Dmitry Kulikov, and Niko Mikkola skated at practice this morning, and the trio would be in the lineup this evening.

Bennett, who has seemingly become one of the more controversial players in this year’s postseason, has already had to sit out five games with a hand injury. In Game 2 of the team’s Round One series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Bennett took a slapshot off the hand from teammate Brandon Montour, and would not play again until Game 3 against the Boston Bruins. Likely still dealing with some nagging pain from the injury, it is not expected to keep Bennett out of the action moving forward.

Unlike Bennett, there were no formal announcements of injuries for either Kulikov or Mikkola, although the latter left Florida’s bench with about three minutes remaining in Game 6 against the Bruins. With both players confirmed to be in the lineup for Game 1 tonight, a completely healthy defensive core for the Panthers should give the Rangers quite a bit of trouble in generating offense.

Other Game 1 notes:

  • On the other side of the bracket, the Dallas Stars may be dealing with some trouble in the net ahead of Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Edmonton Oilers, as goaltender Jake Oettinger left practice early today with an illness (Article Link). The team is expecting Oettinger to be healthy and ready for the opening matchup tomorrow night, but it could certainly complicate matters in the crease. In this year’s playoff against the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche, Oettinger has started in all 13 games for the Stars, producing a solid .918 save percentage and 2.08 goals against average.
  • Staying in the Western Conference Finals, the Oilers are not expecting back forward Adam Henrique until at least Game 3 (X Link). Dealing with an undisclosed injury, Henrique only managed to play in Game 2 of Edmonton’s Round Two series against the Vancouver Canucks, and has not returned to the ice since. Now that the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs have shrunk to only four teams, the Oilers will need all the help they can get up front to take down the Stars.
  • Moving back to New York, Dan Rosen of the NHL is reporting that defenseman Ryan Lindgren will enter into the lineup for Game 1. Although he has not missed a game this postseason, Lindgren did not skate with the team during Sunday’s optional skate and missed the team’s practices on Monday and Tuesday due to maintenance. Nevertheless, it appears that Lindgren will be good to go for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals this evening.

Panthers Interested In Extending Dmitry Kulikov

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The Panthers hope to extend pending UFA defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in his latest “32 Thoughts” column. Kulikov, a first-round pick of the Cats in 2009, signed a one-year, $1MM deal last summer to begin his second stint in South Florida after suiting up for six different clubs over the past four seasons.

The 33-year-old Russian had surgery last summer to address back problems that had plagued him since 2016-17. He played only 47 games that campaign, his first and only one as a member of the Sabres after they acquired him from the Panthers the previous offseason.

His results as a high-end depth shutdown option have been wildly up and down since. He’s had a few effective campaigns – namely, his 2021-22 season with the Wild when he put up 24 points in 80 games and a career-high +23 rating while averaging 18:12 per game with markedly positive possession quality numbers. But he followed that up with a stinker last year, albeit on a Ducks squad that was one of the worst defensive teams in recent memory. He failed to secure a full-time job with the Penguins after a deadline deal, though and didn’t post positive possession metrics in easy minutes when in the lineup.

That placed him on the open market this summer after completing the two-year, $4.5MM contract he signed with the Wild in free agency in 2021, which saw him dealt twice despite carrying modified trade protection. Florida picked him up on the cheap to help address their early-season depth issues, with Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour set to miss some time from offseason shoulder surgeries. Kulikov, along with Oliver Ekman-Larsson, has been one of the best signings of the bunch, beating out Uvis Balinskis, Josh Mahura and Mike Reilly for a spot in the lineup when everyone returned to full health.

He’s dressing in the Panthers’ Game 1 lineup today in a third-pairing role alongside Ekman-Larsson after skating in 76 regular-season games, only his second season with more than 70 appearances since 2016. Despite his lengthy injury history, an extension in Florida would put him in line to cross the 1,000 games plateau as a Panther next season – he sits at 948 entering the summer.

Kulikov was quite effective in his bottom-pairing role, posting a goal and 20 points with a +15 rating while averaging 16:31 per game. He finished third on the club in blocked shots (84) and fifth in hits (145), all the while posting a 54.0 CF% at even strength – a career-high – and a 54.1 xGF%. However, he wasn’t used in his traditional shutdown role. Kulikov instead acted as an anchor for Ekman-Larsson for most of the year, deployed in offensive situations at even strength more often than not. That certainly contributed to his increase in shot attempt control, although that shouldn’t be interpreted as diminishing his value.

After again establishing himself as an everyday player, he’s likely in line for a small raise. But at age 33, don’t expect more than a two-year term on a potential extension. The Panthers have $20.7MM in projected cap space next season with a roster size of 13, meaning they can afford an average of around $2MM on the deals they sign this summer for their NHL roster. They have more than a few higher-priority UFAs to sort out before Kulikov, though, including breakout sniper Sam Reinhart and Montour. Young center Anton Lundell is also in line for a raise on his $925K cap hit as an RFA.

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