Four Restricted Free Agents The Panthers Should Re-Sign This Off-Season

After a season filled with injuries and no playoff appearance, the Florida Panthers enter the 2026 off-season looking to recharge and come back healthier.

Their front office has taken a hit, and could continue to lose key figures. Assistant GM Sunny Mehta is now with the New Jersey Devils, and he’s brought along director of hockey operations Braden Birch. Furthermore, AGM Brett Peterson has garnered interest around the NHL, and reports indicate that director of player personnel Bryan McCabe could be on the move to the Devils or the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Despite that, GM Bill Zito will have his hands full with the Panthers’ goaltending situation and with decisions on several pending restricted free agents. Outside of Sergei Bobrovsky and A.J. Greer, the Panthers’ UFA class is rather small, but their RFA class features players they’ll likely hope to keep around.

The first step is tendering qualifying offers to these RFAs. Typically, the deadline to do so is 5 p.m. EST on June 30.

With all that covered, we’ll take a look at which four RFAs the Panthers should extend this off-season.

Besides Anton Lundell, no other Panthers player under the age of 25 has more experience than Mackie Samoskevich. His rookie season in 2024-25 was impressive, posting 15 goals and 31 points in 72 games in limited ice time.

In 2025-26, expectations for the 23-year-old grew, and he failed to live up to them. With injuries to Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk to start the season, Samoskevich has the opportunity to move up the line and produce alongside skilled Panthers forwards.

He struggled greatly, and his shooting percentage was a disaster. He finished the season with 12 goals and 32 points in 77 games.

Heading into the 2026-27 season, the Panthers appear to still have plenty of faith in the speedy winger, but time is running out. While Samoskevich can still turn into a strong NHL winger with the Panthers organization, he could be used as a major trade piece for a goaltender if needed.

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Outside of Sandis Vilmanis, no AHL call-up was as impressive as Mike Benning was late in the season.

The 24-year-old finished the AHL campaign with eight goals and 31 points in 57 games, while also adding two goals and six points in 18 games. While in the NHL, Benning showed he could handle big minutes, as he recorded three games of ice time over 20 minutes.

Although the Panthers’ blueline for next season appears full, Benning, alongside the next names on this list, will likely compete to be the seventh defenseman. Benning might be on the smaller side, but his skating and puckhandling make up for those deficiencies.

Panthers’ Mike Benning Shines Against Oilers; Adds Appreciated Offense From Blueline With two assists against the Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers rookie defenseman Mike Benning continues to shine and prove his worth to the organization at the NHL level.

Donovan Sebrango was a waiver wire pickup for the Panthers during the 2025-26 season, and he proved to be effective. Sebrango skated in 40 games with the Panthers this past season and showed he can be relied on as a third-pairing defender when needed.

Sebrango doesn’t bring the possible offense Benning brings, but he stands 6-foot-2 and isn’t afraid to throw his weight around.

The 24-year-old is a safe option the Panthers would like to keep around.

Donovan Sebrango Is Looking Like Another Panthers Waiver Claim Gem Donovan Sebrango picked up his first two points of his NHL career last night as the Florida Panthers defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2.

Tobias Bjornfot remains an interesting case. Drafted 22nd overall by the Los Angeles Kings in 2019, Bjornfot has recorded 153 games of NHL experience and has done an adequate job in the NHL, especially with the Panthers, but has never been able to lock down a full-time role.

This past season, Bjornfot skated in 19 NHL games with the Panthers, and that number would have likely been higher if he hadn’t suffered an injury later in the season.

Like Sebrango, Bjornfot is a steady option on the third pairing, and at 25 years old, he’s experienced enough to understand his role.

In addition to Samoskevich, Benning, Sebrango, and Bjornfot, the Panthers have Wilmer Skoog, Ben Steeves, Mikulas Horvoka, Evan Nause, and Cooper Black listed as RFAs.

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