Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Eetu Luostarinen

Luostarinen, Lundell Set To Play Game 1 For Panthers

at CDT | by 15 Comments

Forwards Eetu Luostarinen and Anton Lundell missed Saturday’s practice for the Florida Panthers, but coach Paul Maurice said afterward that both are expected to play in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers, per George Richards of NHL.com. Maurice did, however, note that forward A.J. Greer’s availability may be in question.

“I think the only question mark is Greer. We will list him as day-to-day. The other guys are fine. They’ll be back on the ice tomorrow when we do a little bit of an optional,” Maurice said.

Greer and Luostarinen were both injured in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Hurricanes. There was no explanation given for Lundell’s absence from practice, but he played a key role in closing out the Hurricanes, scoring a goal in the Panthers’ 5–3 win in Game 5, while also winning 62 percent of his faceoffs. Lundell put up a career-high 45 points in the regular season and has added five goals and 12 points during the playoffs.

In his first season with the team, Greer has made a significant impact despite averaging just 9:36 of ice time per game. He appeared in 81 regular-season games, posting 17 points while leading the team with 222 hits. The physical forward has added two goals and three points during the playoffs.

Luostarinen has elevated his game in the playoffs, recording 13 points in 18 games after tallying just 24 points in 80 regular-season games. His availability for Game 1 is a major boost for the Panthers, especially given that he ranks second on the team this postseason in hits (71) and leads all forwards with 19 blocked shots.

Florida Panthers Reassign Justin Sourdif

at CDT | by 3 Comments

Feb. 26: It’ll only be a one-and-done for Sourdif. The Panthers announced they’ve reassigned Sourdif to AHL Charlotte meaning Luostarinen should be expected back in the lineup tomorrow evening. Still, it was a productive stay for Sourdif at the NHL level, scoring his first NHL goal last night against the Nashville Predators.

Feb. 24: The Florida Panthers have added some bottom-six forward depth before their game tomorrow night against the Nashville Predators. Florida announced they’ve recalled Justin Sourdif from their AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, who last played in the NHL on October 21, 2023.

Although forward Matthew Tkachuk is dealing with a longer-term injury from the 4 Nations Face-Off, Sourdif won’t replace him on the active roster. He’ll be replacing center Eetu Luostarinen, who’s eagerly awaiting the birth of a new child.

There’s no typical or agreed-upon timeline for a player on paternity leave, so the length of the recall is entirely up for question. At the very least, Sourdif will feature in one game for the absent Luostarinen and could reasonably play in one or two more.

Still, given the Panthers’ depth up front, and the team’s remarkable ability to stay healthy this season (outside of the recent injury to Tkachuk), Sourdif shouldn’t expect a stay on the roster longer than a week. He’s become increasingly valuable to the Checkers’ offensive schematics and they’ll want that to continue.

Since officially joining the Panthers organization for the 2022-23 season, Sourdif spent the year in AHL Charlotte scoring seven goals and 24 points in 48 games. It wasn’t impressive production by any stretch of the imagination but Sourdif still finished 10th on the team in scoring and first amongst rookie skaters.

He improved last season scoring 12 goals and 38 points in 58 games. Sourdif also skated in the first three NHL contests of his career although failing to find the scoresheet. The Richmond, British Columbia hasn’t matched his point totals from years past but his point-per-game average has increased scoring 11 goals and 22 points in 29 games this season.

Cup Final Notes: Suspensions, Barkov, Nurse, Ekblad, Luostarinen

at CDT | by 31 Comments

Don’t expect supplemental discipline to be announced today for a pair of Oilers forwards that laid controversial hits in last night’s Game 2 loss. Leon Draisaitl’s check to the head of Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov that knocked him out of the game will go unpunished past the two-minute minor assessed on the play, TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports. Warren Foegele also won’t receive a suspension for his knee-on-knee hit on Eetu Luostarinen that got him tossed from the game in the first period, per ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski.

That’s good news for an Edmonton squad that needs to battle back from a 2-0 series deficit as the series shifts to their ice later this week. The Oilers became the first team since the Penguins in 2008 to score one goal or less in the first two games of a Stanley Cup Final. While they were dominant but stymied by Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky in their Game 1 loss, Game 2 saw Florida’s defense limit the Oilers to 19 shots on goal and no high-danger chances at even strength. Draisaitl, in particular, would be a huge loss – he’s second on the club in playoff goals (10) and points (28) in 20 games.

Other updates from the Cup Final:

  • While Draisaitl will be available for Game 3, Barkov is a question mark. Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said today that his first-line center isn’t feeling any worse this morning after taking the German forward’s elbow to his jaw area but will undergo further evaluation tomorrow (via Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards). The team hasn’t confirmed the nature of Barkov’s injury, but speculation indicates he’s likely in concussion protocol. Barkov, 28, is tied for the team lead in postseason scoring with 19 points in 19 games and has averaged 21:31 per game, second to Sam Reinhart among Florida forwards.
  • Speaking to reporters via Zoom this morning, Oilers bench boss Kris Knoblauch had no update on the status of defenseman Darnell Nurse (per NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika). The much-maligned blue liner missed significant chunks of last night’s loss after taking an awkward hit from Panthers winger Evan Rodrigues late in the first period (video link). Nurse has just three assists and a -15 rating in 20 postseason contests thus far, and his potential absence for Game 3 would make way for Cody Ceci to re-enter the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the first time as an Oiler in Game 2.
  • Luostarinen and defenseman Aaron Ekblad both missed chunks of Game 2 with respective lower-body injuries, but they’ll be good to go moving forward, Maurice confirmed this morning (via the team’s Jameson Olive). Luostarinen wasn’t able to put any weight on his left leg while being helped off the ice after his collision with Foegele but managed to return before the end of the period. Ekblad, meanwhile, twisted his ankle awkwardly after getting tangled up with Oilers star Connor McDavid but still logged nearly 23 minutes of action in last night’s win.

Florida Panthers Extend Eetu Luostarinen

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Florida Panthers have announced a three-year contract extension with forward Eetu Luostarinen, which carries a $3MM AAV according to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. The deal pays the soon-to-be-25-year-old Luostarinen through the 2026-2027 season, covering his two remaining years of RFA eligibility as well as buying out one UFA year. CapFriendly reports Luostarinen will earn $1MM in base salary in all three seasons, supplemented by a $2.5MM signing bonus in 2024-25, a $2MM signing bonus in 2025-26, and a $1.5MM signing bonus in 2026-27.

Panthers GM Bill Zito offered the following statement regarding the signing:

Eetu is a dynamic two-way center whose speed and strength allow him to excel on any line. His consistency and dependability are a great asset to our forward group, and we are excited about what he can continue to bring to our lineup in the coming seasons.

Although Luostarinen finished the season injured and didn’t quite have the impact during the Panthers’ miracle run to the Stanley Cup Final he’d likely hoped to have, his 2022-23 season was undoubtedly his best as a professional hockey player, even going back to his productive days in Liiga in his native Finland.

Luostarinen arrived in Florida as part of the trade that sent Vincent Trocheck to the Carolina Hurricanes.

At the time, he was a 2017 second-round pick whose rangy six-foot-three frame and productivity in Liiga for KalPa suggested legitimate NHL upside, only he had struggled to make a consistent impact in his first season in North America.

As recently as last season, Luostarinen’s 26 points stood as a career-high for any season in North America.

This past year, though, Luostarinen finally put together all his tools at the NHL level and scored 17 goals and 43 points in 82 games. As Zito alluded to, Luostarinen’s combination of size and speed, as well as his versatility to be able to be used throughout the lineup made him an important player for the Panthers. He really clicked under first-year head coach Paul Maurice, and with this contract extension is likely to be a staple on a Panthers scoring line moving forward.

Luostarinen will make $1.5MM against the cap next season before this contract kicks in, and while the team might have struggled to afford this AAV next season, the cap’s expected rise could make things a bit easier for 2024-25.

Assuming Luostarinen can be relied upon to at the very least match his production from last season, this signing is a savvy bet from Zito. $3MM is already an affordable price to pay for 17 goals and 43 points of production, but if Luostarinen takes another step in his game this deal is a candidate to provide significant surplus value.

Seeing as the Panthers are intent on competing for a Stanley Cup in the next few seasons, getting Luostarinen locked up at this manageable price tag is a nice bit of business by the team’s front office.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. 

Aaron Ekblad Will Have Shoulder Surgery

at CDT | by 2 Comments

For the second straight day, the Florida Panthers announced a member of their defense corps will undergo shoulder surgery. Aaron Ekblad will have a procedure done after sustaining two separate shoulder dislocations during the team’s playoff run, he told reporters including Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press today.

Ekblad’s recovery time will stretch into next season’s training camp. It’s unclear whether he’ll be ready for the start of the 2023-24 regular season.

One of his shoulder dislocations occurred during the Eastern Conference Final, Ekblad said. He didn’t register a point at even strength in the team’s four-game sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes and averaged 21 minutes per game – not including Game 1’s four-overtime win.

As head coach Paul Maurice said yesterday, Ekblad broke his foot during Game 2 of the team’s first-round win against the Boston Bruins. Ekblad said today he didn’t find out about the injury until the downtime between the second and third rounds.

That second-round series on a broken foot against the Toronto Maple Leafs was Ekblad’s best of the postseason. The 27-year-old defender clicked at a point per game against Toronto after failing to get on the scoresheet in six games against the Bruins.

Maurice added more clarity to Florida’s injury report today, too, saying forward Eetu Luostarinen’s absence in the Stanley Cup Final was due to a broken tibia sustained in the series-clinching Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final. Unlike Ekblad and Brandon Montour, Luostarinen will not require off-season surgery.

Luostarinen skated multiple times during Panthers practices after the injury and attempted to return. The 2017 second-round pick of the Hurricanes had a breakout season for Florida in 2022-23, averaging nearly 16 minutes per game in the regular season and scoring 17 goals and 43 points while playing in all 82 games. He added five points in 16 playoff games while seeing an uptick in ice time.

Panthers Notes: Hornqvist, Luostarinen, Gaber

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

While Panthers winger Patric Hornqvist hasn’t played since early December before being shut down with post-concussion symptoms, the veteran told reporters including Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription link) that isn’t ruling out trying to play next season.  Instead, he’ll think about it during the summer and decide after that time.  Hornqvist is participating in some on-ice activities with the team but won’t be back in this series while he also sits in on coaching meetings.  The 36-year-old is a veteran of 901 career NHL appearances over 15 seasons and is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer when his five-year, $26.5MM contract comes to an end.  It seems that it will take a while yet before he decides if he’ll try to play a 16th campaign.

More from Florida:

  • Panthers head coach Paul Maurice confirmed to reporters including Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press (Twitter link) that forward Eetu Luostarinen will once again be out of the lineup tonight in the fourth game of the Stanley Cup Final. The 24-year-old is dealing with a lower-body injury that he suffered last round against Carolina and has five points in 16 postseason appearances with all of his production coming in the opening round versus Boston.
  • One of the top college free agents will be attending Florida’s development camp next summer as Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal reports (Twitter link) that forward Riese Gaber will be in camp with the Panthers. The 23-year-old had 20 goals with the University of North Dakota this season but hasn’t signed an NHL deal yet and is expected to return for his senior year in 2023-24.  If things go well at camp for Gaber, Florida could get a leg up on other teams looking to sign him in college free agency in 2024.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top