The Florida Panthers are looking to win the Stanley Cup for a third straight year, but are also working on building a long-term dynasty. The team just took another step towards that goal, extending defenseman Niko Mikkola to an eight-year, $40 million contract. At an AAV of $5 million per season, the Panthers and Mikkola both got a solid deal.
Mikkola was the No. 127 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft by the St. Louis Blues. He got his first NHL action in 2019-20, playing in five games with one assist before the season was postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Finn would become a regular player for the Blues by the 2022-23 season, but was traded during the season to the New York Rangers. After finishing his contract in New York, he signed a three-year deal with the Florida Panthers ahead of the 2023-24 campaign. His current contract runs through this upcoming season, and the extension kicks in during the 2026-27 campaign.
Niko Mikkola contract grade
For the blue liner, this is a solid contract. It starts with ice time for Mikkola, the ultimate vote of confidence from a team. He had never averaged over 19 minutes on the ice per game with a club. Even when playing in 81 of 82 games between the Blues and Rangers in the 2022-23 season, he averaged a career high, at the time, of 17:25 per game. That is commensurate with a third rotation defender. Further, his average ice time increased with the Rangers to 18:42 per game, and that was the first season he played over 55 games in a year.
Since then, the Finn has played in 158 of 164 regular-season games, seeing over 20 minutes of ice time per game. He has also played in 46 playoff games, and this past playoff run was on the ice 20:12 per game.
Not only does he have the confidence of the staff, but he has also played much better in Florida. He has had his two best seasons in terms of goals and assists in his time with the Panthers. His advanced statistics show major improvement as well. This is not just on the offensive end on the ice, where he just set a career high in individual point percentage, but also his defensive statistics are all at career highs.
Mikkola is also getting a nice raise in this contract. His AAV is just $2.5 million this year. He was projected to be worth between $5 and $5.5 million based on recent play. Regardless, the defender doubled his pay. He has also been able to lift the Stanley Cup twice and could be on his way to doing it a third time.
Mikkola now has a chance to win multiple more championships. He is also playing for a team he has been successful with. Further, he is getting paid double what he was making. The rearguard may have gotten more on the open market with another solid year, but this is still a great contract for him.
Niko Mikkola contract grade: A-
Florida Panthers contract grade
This is also a solid deal for the Panthers. The salary fits well with the salary cap going into next season. With this deal, the Panthers are still projected to have $18 million in salary cap space in the summer of 2026. The team will need to use some of that on bringing back Mackie Samoskevich and Sergei Bobrovsky. Those are the two major needs for the team next summer. Meanwhile, the core of the team is under contract.
With this deal, all four of the top defenders on the roster are under contract through the 2029-30 campaign. This includes Seth Jones, Aaron Ekblad, and Gustav Forsling joining Mikkola. Further, Dmitry Kulikov is under contract through the 2027-28 season. This is a defense that was sixth in the NHL in goals against last season. It was also third in the Eastern Conference. Mikkola is also part of one of the penalty kill units. Those ranked top ten in the NHL the past two seasons.
Further, the core of the team is under contract long-term. This contract gives the Panthers a remarkable 11 players under contract through 2029-30. Only Eetu Luostarinen is currently projected on one of the top two lines, and not under contract through 2029-30. Finally, there are not a lot of long-term contracts on currently aging players. Only Brad Marchand is currently over the age of 31 and under contract for more than three seasons — although Seth Jones will turn 31 on October 3.
At some point, this roster is going to age. Players such as Aleksander Barkov and Seth Jones will be over 34 years old when their respective contracts end. Mikkola will be 38 years old when his contract concludes. This deal could be an issue in eight years. Regardless, the signing continues to keep the window open for the Panthers to create a dynasty. At less than five percent of the salary cap, this was a solid move for the team.
Panthers contract grade: B+
