Panthers, Eetu Luostarinen Finalizing Eight-Year Extension

July 1st: According to the team over at PuckPedia, the extension between the Panthers and Luostarinen is expected to be an eight-year, $40MM ($5MM AAV) agreement. The new deal will keep the Finnish forward in Sunrise through the 2034-35 season, when he’ll be 36 years old.

June 30th: According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, the Florida Panthers are nearing an extension with forward Eetu Luostarinen, which could be signed as early as tomorrow. Luostarinen will enter the 2026-27 season with one year and $3MM remaining on his three-year, $9MM contract.

Although he doesn’t have as much name recognition as some other players on the team, Luostarinen has become an important part of the Panthers’ machine. Luostarinen, 27, was originally drafted with the 42nd overall pick of the 2017 NHL Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes and traded to Florida in the 2020 trade that sent Vincent Trocheck to Raleigh.

Simply put, Luostarinen wasn’t in the Hurricanes’ system long enough to make any impact. He suited up in eight games for Carolina during the 2019-20 season, while scoring eight goals and 25 points in 44 games for their AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers.

In his first few games with the Panthers, Luostarinen looked out of place. He finished the 2020-21 season with three goals and eight points in 44 games with a -11 rating, averaging 13:08 of ice time. He had decent faceoff numbers and possession metrics, but he certainly didn’t look like the player he would become in a few years.

Luostarinen has put his 2020-21 campaign behind him. Throughout the past five years with the Panthers, Luostarinen has registered 58 goals and 153 points in 395 games with a +37 rating, good for 12 goals and 32 points on an 82-game average. His 42.8% faceoff percentage leaves much to be desired, but Florida isn’t using him down the middle as much as they used to.

Additionally, Luostarinen has become more physical, now averaging well over 100 hits a season. That’s fairly typical output for a bottom-six forward, especially on the Panthers, but it’s fairly atypical production from a Finnish-born player.

Even outside of his consistency in the regular season, Luostarinen has more than earned his keep in the postseason. During the 2024-25 playoffs, the last time the Panthers won the Stanley Cup, Luostarinen scored five goals and 19 points in 23 games with a +11 rating, averaging 15:23 of ice time per game.

Assuming they’re able to lock him into a reasonable salary, Luostarinen will be an important piece for Florida to retain as they look to get back into the hunt this next season.