The Florida Panthers have agreed to an eight-year, $46 million extension for defenseman Gustav Forsling, according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff.

This locks in Gustav Forsling with the Panthers for a long time. He is a key defender for the Panthers next to his partner on the blue line in Aaron Ekblad. Forsling and Aaron Ekblad are the top pairing for the Panthers.

Forsling originally came into the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2016-2017, and stayed with them for two more seasons. After three seasons with the Blackhawks, Forsling moved to the Panthers for the 2020-2021 season, and has been there ever since.

Last season, Forsling reached a career high in points with 41, according to NHL.com. He sits with 31 points this season, nine of them being goals and 22 of them being assists. With 20 games left in the season, it will be interesting to see if Forsling can surpass his career high.

Regardless, it will take a weight off of Forsling's shoulders to know that he is locked in with the Panthers for the long haul. That can only benefit them down the stretch this season and heading into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where Florida should be one of the top contenders after getting to the Final last season.

After completing the extension, the Panthers will try to further strengthen their lineup ahead of Friday's NHL Trade Deadline. It will be interesting to see if the Panthers have one more splash up their sleeve after acquiring Vladimir Tarasenko earlier in the week from the Ottawa Senators.