The Florida Panthers have announced the signing of Finnish center Eetu Luostarinen to a three-year contract extension through the 2026-27 season.
According to Daily Faceoff insider Frank Seravalli, the contract extension is valued at a $3 million AAV for the next three years. Due to the fact Luostarinen had one year left on a two-year, $3 million deal that was going to expire at the end of the 2023-24 season, it was crucial for the Panthers to lock up the 24-year-old center to this deal.
The young center showed a jump in scoring proficiency for the Panthers this past season. He scored 17 goals and put up 26 assists for 43 points in 82 games played.
He carried over some of that scoring touch to the playoffs and played an integral role for the Panthers throughout their Stanley Cup run this past postseason. The young forward put forth two goals and three assists in 16 games. Unfortunately, an injury kept Luostarinen out of the Stanley Cup Final which proved to be a big loss for the Panthers in their series against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Luostarinen was initially drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. The center found his way to the Panthers as apart of the blockbuster return for Vincent Trocheck.
Since joining the Panthers, Luostarinen has shown steady improvement in his game. This has been demonstrated through the center’s increase in production over the last few seasons. In 2020-21 Luostarinen scored a total of eight points. In 2021-22, the forward notched 26 points. With the center scoring 43 points this past season in 2022-23 it’s evident there has been steady development present within Luostarinen’s game.
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