The Florida Panthers signed veteran forward Lars Eller, 37, to a one-year contract on Wednesday, July 1, to add depth to their offense just over a week after trading Brady Tkachuk.

“Lars to Las Olas,” wrote the Panthers in a post on their official X account to confirm the signing of Eller.

As far as the contract of Eller is concerned for the 2026-27 season of the NHL, it has a salary cap hit of $850k, as per Puckpedia.com. It also has performance bonuses of $250k, including 50k each for games played: 20, 30, 40, 50, and for winning the Stanley Cup.

With that, the total value of Eller’s contract with the Panthers adds up to a maximum of $1.1 million.

“Lars [Eller] is a dependable and diligent veteran forward whose selfless style of play matches our team philosophy,” said Bill Zito, the Panthers President of Hockey Operations and General Manager, about him, as per their own website. “A Stanley Cup champion, he has had success at all levels of hockey, and we’re excited for him to join the Panthers.”

Notably, before joining the Panthers in free agency, Eller was a part of the Ottawa Senators during the last season of the NHL.

The Dane was on a one-year, $1.25 million contract with the Senators for the 2025-26 season, in which he made 68 appearances for 15 points (5G / 10A). He also played four Stanley Cup Playoff games, contributing no points against the Hurricanes, who swept his team in the first round of the Eastern Conference.

On the same day, just a few short hours earlier, the Panthers had also announced the signing of forward Cole Schwindt after the NHL Free Agency opened.

Before the Senators, Eller had quite an elongated and journeyman-like career in the NHL.

How has Lars Eller fared in the NHL over the years?

Eller was selected by the St. Louis Blues as the No. 13 pick in the first round of the 2007 NHL Draft. He made his NHL debut with the Blues on November 5, 2009, against the Calgary Flames, and played just seven games for them in the 2009-10 season.

Eller went on to compete in 1,184 regular-season games, scoring 439 points (193G / 246A) for six teams across 17 seasons of the NHL. It included the Blues, Montreal Canadiens, Washington Capitals, Colorado Avalanche, Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Ottawa Senators.

In his 116 appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he recorded 50 points (15G / 35A) for four out of those six teams, excluding the Blues and Penguins, according to NHL.com.

His biggest claim to fame in the NHL came in 2018 with the Capitals when they won the Stanley Cup title in five games against the Vegas Golden Knights. Eller scored the Cup-winning goal in Game 5 of the final, securing a 4-3 victory on the night.

He has also played for Denmark in the Winter Olympics, during the recent 2026 edition in Milano Cortina, and on multiple occasions at the IIHF World Championship.

Will Lars Eller prove to be a big part of the Florida Panthers in the 2026-27 season of the NHL? Tell us your views in the comments section.

Read more at NHL Fan Central.

Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar