There are going to be some new faces wearing Florida Panthers sweaters next season, as well as some familiar faces wearing different numbers on those sweaters.
We’ve already learned the numbers that a pair of new Panthers, Brady Tkachuk and Jacob Markstrom, would be wearing.
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Tkachuk will wear No. 8 for Florida while Markstrom will continue wearing the No. 25 that he’s worn everywhere he’s played during his NHL career.
There have been 15 players who have worn No. 8 for Florida, with the most recent being Nico Sturm in 2025 and Kyle Okposo the year before, and the most notable including Peter Worrell and Valeri Bure.
Having already worn No. 25 for the Panthers during his first tour with the team, Markstrom is part of a group that includes Viktor Kozlov, Joe Nieuwendyk and most recently, Mackie Samoskevich and Nolan Foote.
On Tuesday, the Panthers revealed a few more new number selections that fans will be seeing when the Cats hit the ice next season.
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Defenseman Radko Gudas will wear No. 6 for the first time in his NHL career, taking the number that had previously been worn by Donovan Sebrango.
Notable No. 6’s for Florida include Jason Wooley, Dan Boyle, Ryan Whitney of Spittin’ Chicklets and Alex Petrovic.
Yes, the same Petrovic who Florida just re-signed and announced that he’ll be wearing No. 36.
He becomes only the seventh Panthers player to wear No. 36, joining the likes of Jussi Jokinen, Joey Tetarenko and most recently, Patrick Giles.
As for the aforementioned Sebrango, who kindly gave up his No. 6 to Gudas, the Panthers say he’ll now be wearing No. 73.
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Sebrango will be only the fourth Florida player to ever wear No. 73, joining Bracken Kearns, Brandon Pirri and Dryden Hunt.
As for the new faces in Pantherland, we’ll start with the two who come in sequential order and likely will see time on the same forward line.
They are No. 20 Lars Eller and No. 21 Garnet Hathaway.
Eller joins a group of 14 players who have won No. 20 for Florida, including original captain Brian Skrudland, Valeri Bure (he wore two numbers during his three years with the Cats), Ed Belfour, Richard Zednik, Sean Bergenheim and most recently, Michael Benning.
There have also been some notable Panthers to wear Hathaway’s No. 21, such as Tom Fitzgerald, Denis Shvidki, Vincent Trocheck and Nick Cousins.
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Finally, we get to another one of Florida’s new goaltenders.
Acquired in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights, netminder Akira Schmid will wear No. 40 for the Panthers.
It’s the same number Daniil Tarasov wore last season, and one that has been worn seven total times in team history by names like Steve Washburn, Eric Boguniecki and Janis Sprukts.
Now that we’re getting all the new and returning players squared away with their jersey numbers, the next thing to look out for will be the schedule for the upcoming season.
That will be released on July 16, with Opening Night matchups coming out the evening before on July 15.
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Stay tuned.
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