The 2025/26 NHL season was one of the best in recent memory, and in the end, it came down to the Carolina Hurricanes winning their second Stanley Cup, cruising through the Eastern Conference in the process.
Many believed that their early opponents were some of the easiest in recent NHL memory, and while that may be the case, they earned that Stanley Cup with a hard fought win over the Vegas Golden Knights. Perhaps the reason some feel this way is that they avoided the Florida Panthers, the team that missed the post-season altogether due to their injuries after back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2024 and 2025.
Florida Panthers Reloading for 2026/27
GettyRadko Gudas with the Anaheim Ducks.
The Panthers now have Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov back to full health, and if the team can be at 100% when the 2026/27 regular season begins, they’ll no doubt be a top contender to win their third Stanley Cup in four years.
Already this summer, they’ve added one of the biggest names available in the NHL, acquiring Brady Tkachuk in exchange for multiple draft picks, three of which were first-round selections including No. 9 and 25 in 2026. That’s added physicality to a team that already had Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk and some big bodies on the fourth line, but still, many believe that they would be adding to that physicality at some point throughout the off-season.
Radko Gudas Could Return to the Florida Panthers
On Monday, they confirmed that exact thought process, as the team announced a trade of UFA signing rights, dealing AJ Greer’s rights to the Anaheim Ducks for former Panthers blue liner and recent Anaheim Ducks captain, Radko Gudas.
This obviously doesn’t mean that Greer will sign in Anaheim and it certainly doesn’t mean that Gudas will be signing with the Panthers, but given their hole on the right-side third pairing plus their need for physicality behind Aaron Ekblad and Seth Jones, the fit is perfect. Beyond that, Gudas played three seasons with the Panthers between 2020 and 2023, and according to all reports, he was very well liked as a gritty, physical threat on their blue line.
Recently, the Panthers have become an absolute destination, and with the arrival of Brady Tkachuk to join a forward group of Brad Marchand, Barkov, Tkachuk, Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart, this was already a team that was expected to get back into contention in 2026/27.
Obviously, the team have to fill out their goaltending spot, as they are no longer as safe as they have been in recent years without Sergei Bobrovsky, but given what we’ve seen from the front office, there’s no doubt they’ll pull another rabbit out of their hat. If they can lock up Gudas, that adds yet another threat and another layer to this team, and given how wide open the East is after this past season, it’s safe to say that with Gudas on this blue line, the Panthers may be the deepest and most well balanced team in the National Hockey League.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Top Stanley Cup Contender Acquires the Signing Rights to Radko Gudas appeared first on HEAVY.