Sunrise, Fla. – Florida Panthers President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Zito announced today that the club has agreed to an eight-year contract extension with forward Etu Luostarinen beginning in the 2027-28 season.
“We are thrilled that Etu, a key component to our two Stanley Cups, will continue his career with the Panthers,” Zito said. “He is a consummate professional who is committed to making a difference on both ends of the ice, and his work on the penalty kill with even strength is critical to the team’s success in South Florida.
Luostarinen, 27, appeared in 73 games for the University of Florida in 2025-2026, scoring 33 points (11-22-33), the second-most points in a single season of his career, and led all Florida forwards with 139 minutes, 53 seconds of total shorthanded time on the ice and 57 blocked shots. He averaged a career-high 16 minutes, 34 seconds per game on the ice and ranked fifth in Florida with 121 hits.
The 6-foot-3, 191-pound native of Silinjarvi, Finland, has played in 447 NHL games between the Panthers (2020-21-2025-26) and Carolina Hurricanes (2019-20), posting 162 points (61-101-162) and a plus-24 rating. Since the 2020-21 season, he has led all Florida forwards in shorthanded time on ice (947:53), ranks third on the team in penalties drawn in that span (101), and leads the Panthers with a plus-36 penalty rating.
In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Luostarinen appeared in 73 games for the Panthers, scoring 34 points (10 wins, 24 losses, 34 draws). In the 2023-24 postseason, he scored 8 points in 24 games (2-6-8), helping Florida win its first Stanley Cup, and in the 2024-25 Stanley Cup, he set career highs with 5 goals, 14 assists, and 19 points in 23 games. He holds the franchise record for most points in a playoff road game with four points (1-3-4) in Game 5 of the first round at Tampa Bay on April 30, 2025.
On the international stage, Luostarinen won a bronze medal representing his country at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, where he recorded four assists in six games. He also won a gold medal with Finland at the 2019 IIHF World Championship, and played for Finland at the 2025 Four Nations Championship.
Outside of his career in North America, Luostarinen spent parts of four Kalpa (Liga) seasons (2016-17 to 2018-19 and 2020-21) in Finland. He played in 158 games and scored 78 points (29 wins, 49 losses, and 78 draws). Luostarinen won the Spengler Cup with Kalpa in 2018.
Luostarinen was originally selected by Carolina in the second round (42nd overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft and was acquired by Florida on February 24, 2020.
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