2017–18 Florida Panthers season

The 2017–18 Florida Panthers season was the 24th season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on June 14, 1993. The Panthers missed the playoffs for the second straight season for the first time since the 2013–14 season and the 2014–15 season, despite recording 96 points, tied with the 2014–15 Boston Bruins, 2018–19 Montreal Canadiens, and 2024–25 Calgary Flames for the most by a team to miss the playoffs.

Standings

Schedule and results

Preseason The preseason schedule was released on June 9, 2017. 2017 preseason game log: 4–1–1 (Home: 2–0–0; Road: 2–1–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Recap 1 September 19 Florida 5–3 Nashville Sateri — 1–0–0 Recap 2 September 19 Florida 2–3 Nashville OT Montembeault — 1–0–1 Recap 3 September 24 Florida 4–2 Tampa Bay Reimer 12,911 2–0–1 Recap 4 September 26 Tampa Bay 2–4 Florida Luongo 8,242 3–0–1 Recap 5 September 28 Tampa Bay 2–5 Florida Reimer 13,279 4–0–1 Recap 6 September 29 Florida 1–3 Montreal Luongo 21,288 4–1–1 Recap

Regular season The regular season schedule was published on June 22, 2017. 2017–18 game log October: 4–6–1 (Home: 3–2–1; Road: 1–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 6 Florida 3–5 Tampa Bay Luongo 19,092 0–1–0 0 Recap 2 October 7 Tampa Bay 4–5 Florida Reimer 16,871 1–1–0 2 Recap 3 October 12 St. Louis 2–5 Florida Luongo 10,846 2–1–0 4 Recap 4 October 14 Florida 3–4 Pittsburgh Reimer 18,582 2–2–0 4 Recap 5 October 17 Florida 1–5 Philadelphia Luongo 19,145 2–3–0 4 Recap 6 October 20 Pittsburgh 4–3 Florida Reimer 15,756 2–4–0 4 Recap 7 October 21 Florida 4–1 Washington Reimer 18,506 3–4–0 6 Recap 8 October 24 Florida 1–5 Montreal Reimer 21,302 3–5–0 6 Recap 9 October 26 Anaheim 3–8 Florida Reimer 10,545 4–5–0 8 Recap 10 October 28 Detroit 3–2 Florida SO Reimer 13,085 4–5–1 9 Recap 11 October 30 Tampa Bay 8–5 Florida Niemi 9,493 4–6–1 9 Recap November: 6–6–1 (Home: 2–2–1; Road: 4–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 12 November 2 Columbus 7–3 Florida Reimer 9,311 4–7–1 9 Recap 13 November 4 NY Rangers 5–4 Florida OT Luongo 15,036 4–7–2 10 Recap 14 November 7 Florida 1–3 Carolina Luongo 8,828 4–8–2 10 Recap 15 November 10 Florida 4–1 Buffalo Luongo 17,812 5–8–2 12 Recap 16 November 11 Florida 1–2 New Jersey Reimer 16,514 5–9–2 12 Recap 17 November 14 Dallas 3–4 Florida SO Luongo 10,928 6–9–2 14 Recap 18 November 16 Florida 2–0 San Jose Luongo 16,411 7–9–2 16 Recap 19 November 18 Florida 0–4 Los Angeles Reimer 18,230 7–10–2 16 Recap 20 November 19 Florida 2–3 Anaheim Luongo 17,174 7–11–2 16 Recap 21 November 22 Toronto 1–2 Florida SO Luongo 15,256 8–11–2 18 Recap 22 November 25 Chicago 4–1 Florida Luongo 14,302 8–12–2 18 Recap 23 November 27 Florida 3–2 New Jersey Luongo 13,184 9–12–2 20 Recap 24 November 28 Florida 5–4 NY Rangers Reimer 17,376 10–12–2 22 Recap December: 7–4–3 (Home: 5–2–1; Road: 2–2–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 25 December 1 San Jose 2–1 Florida Luongo 12,323 10–13–2 22 Recap 26 December 2 Florida 2–3 Carolina OT Reimer 14,246 10–13–3 23 Recap 27 December 4 NY Islanders 5–4 Florida SO Reimer 11,210 10–13–4 24 Recap 28 December 7 Winnipeg 4–6 Florida Reimer 10,768 11–13–4 26 Recap 29 December 9 Colorado 7–3 Florida Reimer 13,821 11–14–4 26 Recap 30 December 11 Florida 2–1 Detroit OT Reimer 19,515 12–14–4 28 Recap 31 December 12 Florida 2–3 Chicago OT Reimer 21,795 12–14–5 29 Recap 32 December 14 Florida 1–2 Colorado Reimer 13,096 12–15–5 29 Recap 33 December 17 Florida 2–5 Vegas Reimer 17,593 12–16–5 29 Recap 34 December 19 Florida 3–2 Arizona Reimer 10,203 13–16–5 31 Recap 35 December 22 Minnesota 2–4 Florida Reimer 13,259 14–16–5 33 Recap 36 December 23 Ottawa 0–1 Florida Reimer 13,694 15–16–5 35 Recap 37 December 28 Philadelphia 2–3 Florida Reimer 17,083 16–16–5 37 Recap 38 December 30 Montreal 0–2 Florida Reimer 18,013 17–16–5 39 Recap January: 3–6–1 (Home: 1–2–0; Road: 2–4–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 39 January 2 Florida 1–5 Minnesota Reimer 19,029 17–17–5 39 Recap — January 4 Florida — Boston Postponed due to the effects of the January 2018 nor'easter, rescheduled to April 8 40 January 5 Florida 2–4 Detroit Reimer 19,515 17–18–5 39 Recap 41 January 7 Florida 2–3 Columbus SO Reimer 16,535 17–18–6 40 Recap 42 January 9 Florida 7–4 St. Louis Reimer 18,783 18–18–6 42 Recap 43 January 12 Calgary 4–2 Florida Reimer 14,519 18–19–6 42 Recap 44 January 19 Vegas 3–4 Florida OT Reimer 17,468 19–19–6 44 Recap 45 January 20 Florida 3–4 Nashville Sateri 17,441 19–20–6 44 Recap 46 January 23 Florida 1–6 Dallas Sateri 17,987 19–21–6 44 Recap 47 January 25 Washington 4–2 Florida Sateri 14,033 19–22–6 44 Recap 48 January 30 Florida 4–1 NY Islanders Sateri 10,423 20–22–6 46 Recap February: 9–3–0 (Home: 5–1–0; Road: 4–2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 49 February 1 Florida 4–2 Buffalo Sateri 16,707 21–22–6 48 Recap 50 February 3 Detroit 2–3 Florida Sateri 17,987 22–22–6 50 Recap 51 February 6 Vancouver 1–3 Florida Sateri 10,758 23–22–6 52 Recap 52 February 9 Los Angeles 3–1 Florida Sateri 14,099 23–23–6 52 Recap 53 February 12 Florida 7–5 Edmonton Reimer 18,347 24–23–6 54 Recap 54 February 14 Florida 4–3 Vancouver Reimer 17,412 25–23–6 56 Recap 55 February 17 Florida 6–3 Calgary Luongo 19,289 26–23–6 58 Recap 56 February 18 Florida 2–7 Winnipeg Reimer 15,321 26–24–6 58 Recap 57 February 20 Florida 0–1 Toronto Luongo 18,961 26–25–6 58 Recap 58 February 22 Washington 2–3 Florida Luongo 15,312 27–25–6 60 Recap 59 February 24 Pittsburgh 5–6 Florida Luongo 17,581 28–25–6 62 Recap 60 February 27 Toronto 2–3 Florida OT Luongo 14,265 29–25–6 64 Recap March: 10–5–2 (Home: 7–2–0; Road: 3–3–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 61 March 1 New Jersey 2–3 Florida Luongo 10,846 30–25–6 66 Recap 62 March 2 Buffalo 1–4 Florida Reimer 12,759 31–25–6 68 Recap 63 March 4 Philadelphia 1–4 Florida Luongo 14,428 32–25–6 70 Recap 64 March 6 Florida 4–5 Tampa Bay OT Luongo 19,092 32–25–7 71 Recap 65 March 8 Montreal 0–5 Florida Luongo 14,901 33–25–7 73 Recap 66 March 10 NY Rangers 3–4 Florida SO Luongo 16,712 34–25–7 75 Recap 67 March 12 Ottawa 5–3 Florida Luongo 11,585 34–26–7 75 Recap 68 March 15 Boston 0–3 Florida Reimer 16,067 35–26–7 77 Recap 69 March 17 Edmonton 4–2 Florida Luongo 14,192 35–27–7 77 Recap 70 March 19 Florida 2–0 Montreal Luongo 21,302 36–27–7 79 Recap 71 March 20 Florida 7–2 Ottawa Reimer 14,434 37–27–7 81 Recap 72 March 22 Florida 0–4 Columbus Luongo 16,919 37–28–7 81 Recap 73 March 24 Arizona 2–4 Florida Reimer 14,905 38–28–7 83 Recap 74 March 26 Florida 3–0 NY Islanders Reimer 10,951 39–28–7 85 Recap 75 March 28 Florida 3–4 Toronto Luongo 18,893 39–29–7 85 Recap 76 March 29 Florida 2–3 Ottawa OT Reimer 15,095 39–29–8 86 Recap 77 March 31 Florida 1–5 Boston Reimer 17,565 39–30–8 86 Recap April: 5–0–0 (Home: 4–0–0; Road: 1–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 78 April 2 Carolina 2–3 Florida Luongo 10,619 40–30–8 88 Recap 79 April 3 Nashville 1–2 Florida Luongo 12,147 41–30–8 90 Recap 80 April 5 Boston 2–3 Florida Luongo 14,860 42–30–8 92 Recap 81 April 7 Buffalo 3–4 Florida Reimer 16,254 43–30–8 94 Recap 82 April 8 Florida 4–2 Boston Reimer 17,565 44–30–8 96 RecapLegend:

Player statistics As of April 9, 2018

Skaters

Regular season Player 79 27 51 78 9 14 82 31 44 75 −9 54 82 27 42 69 −2 32 74 28 37 65 10 8 82 8 48 56 7 35 82 19 30 49 5 41 82 16 22 38 9 71 76 13 16 29 −5 33 68 9 19 28 11 30 81 10 17 27 −1 61 76 11 13 24 6 24 51 11 11 22 4 6 82 3 13 16 −8 20 42 5 9 14 −7 16 75 3 11 14 −9 31 67 2 11 13 −2 98 44 4 8 12 −6 19 75 3 6 9 −13 212 † 16 5 3 8 6 12 60 2 6 8 5 32 26 3 1 4 2 7 38 3 1 4 −10 25 4 1 0 1 −1 0 7 1 0 1 −6 0 5 0 1 1 0 0 11 0 1 1 −5 2 8 0 0 0 −2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

Goaltenders Regular season Player 44 42 2,411:25 22 14 6 120 2.99 1373 .913 4 0 1 4 35 33 1,965:58 18 11 2 81 2.47 1143 .929 3 0 2 0 9 7 492:36 4 4 0 24 2.92 271 .911 0 0 0 0 †‡ 2 0 58:42 0 1 0 5 5.11 39 .872 0 0 0 0 †Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Panthers. Statistics reflect time with the Panthers only. ‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Statistics reflect time with the Panthers only. Bold denotes season record.

Transactions The Panthers have been involved in the following transactions during the 2017–18 season.

Trades Date Details Ref To Vegas Golden KnightsReilly Smith To Florida Panthers4th-round pick in 2018 To Dallas StarsReece Scarlett To Florida PanthersLudvig Bystrom To Edmonton OilersFuture considerations To Florida PanthersGregory Chase To Boston Bruins3rd-round pick in 2018 To Florida PanthersFrank Vatrano To San Jose Sharks2nd-round pick in 20194th-round pick in 20185th-round pick in 2018 To Florida PanthersMike Hoffman7th-round pick in 2018

Free agents acquired Date Player Former team Contract terms(in U.S. dollars) Ref Connor Brickley Vegas Golden Knights 1-year, $750,000 Evgenii Dadonov SKA St. Petersburg 3-year, $12 million Micheal Haley San Jose Sharks 2-year, $1.65 million Harri Sateri Vityaz Podolsk 1-year, $750,000 Curtis Valk Utica Comets 1-year, $682,500 entry-level contract Radim Vrbata Arizona Coyotes 1-year, $2.5 million Alexandre Grenier Vancouver Canucks 1-year, $725,000 Edward Wittchow Springfield Thunderbirds 1-year, $670,000 Anthony Greco Springfield Thunderbirds 1-year, $660,000 Patrick Bajkov Everett Silvertips 3-year, $2.775 million entry-level contract Bogdan Kiselevich CSKA Moscow 1-year, $650,000

Free agents lost Date Player New team Contract terms(in U.S. dollars) Ref Tim Bozon EHC Kloten 1-year Adam Wilcox Buffalo Sabres 1-year Brent Regner Dallas Stars 1-year Kyle Rau Minnesota Wild 1-year, $700,000 Paul Thompson Vegas Golden Knights 1-year, $650,000 Michael Sgarbossa Winnipeg Jets 1-year, $650,000 Brody Sutter Manitoba Moose 1-year Jussi Jokinen Edmonton Oilers 1-year, $1.1 million Colin Stevens Wheeling Nailers 1-year Sam Brittain San Antonio Rampage Unknown Thomas Vanek Vancouver Canucks 1-year, $900,000 Graham Black University of Calgary Unknown Jaromir Jagr Calgary Flames 1-year, $1 million Jakub Kindl HC Plzeň Unknown

Claimed via waivers Player Previous team Date Ref Antti Niemi Pittsburgh Penguins

Lost via waivers Player New team Date Ref Antti Niemi Montreal Canadiens

Lost via retirement Date Player Ref

Player signings Date Player Contract terms(in U.S. dollars) Ref Chase Balisy 1-year, $650,000 Reece Scarlett 1-year, $675,000 Alex Petrovic 1-year, $1.85 million Sebastian Repo 3-year, $2.775 million entry-level contract Mark Pysyk 3-year, $8.2 million Owen Tippett 3-year, $4.975 million entry-level contract MacKenzie Weegar 1-year, $675,000 Mike Matheson 8-year, $39 million contract extension Jonathan Ang 3-year, $2.775 million entry-level contract Colton Sceviour 3-year, $3.6 million contract extension Riley Stillman 3-year, $2.7 million entry-level contract Henrik Borgstrom 3-year, $4.475 million entry-level contract Josh Brown 2-year, $1.35 million contract extension Ludvig Byström 1-year, $650,000 contract extension

Draft picks

Below are the Florida Panthers' selections at the 2017 NHL entry draft, which was held on June 23 and 24, 2017 at the United Center in Chicago.

Round # Player Pos Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League) 1 10 Owen Tippett RW Mississauga Steelheads (OHL) 2 40 Aleksi Heponiemi C Swift Current Broncos (WHL) 3 661 Max Gildon D U.S. NTDP (USHL) 5 133 Tyler Inamoto D U.S. NTDP (USHL) 6 1842 Sebastian Repo C Tappara (Liiga) Draft notes: