SUNRISE, Fla.– Florida Panthers President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Bill Zito announced today that the club has agreed to terms with forward Luke Kunin on a one-year contract.

“Luke is a physical and highly competitive forward who possesses excellent leadership abilities and strong character,” said Zito.

Kunin, 27, produced 18 points (11-7-18) in 63 games with the San Jose Sharks in 2024-25 before being acquired by the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he suited up in 12 contests. At the time he was acquired by Columbus, he was leading San Jose forwards with 163 hits and serving as an alternate captain.

The 6-foot, 197-pound native of Chesterfield, Mo., has skated in 434 NHL games between Columbus, San Jose (2022-23 to 2024-25), the Nashville Predators (2020-21 to 2021-22) and Minnesota Wild (2017-18 to 2019-20), amassing 142 points (73-69-142). He led San Jose forwards with 165 hits in 2023-24 and ranked second among Nashville’s forward group with 223 hits in 2021-22.

Prior to his NHL experience, Kunin played two seasons at the University of Wisconsin (Big-10), logging 70 points over 69 NCAA games with the Badgers from 2015-16 to 2016-17. He served as captain during his sophomore year, leading the team with 22 goals and 38 points in 35 games, and paced the team with 19 goals over 34 games in his freshman campaign.

On the international stage, Kunin earned gold representing the United States at the 2014 U17 World Hockey Challenge, the 2015 IIHF U18 World Junior Championship and 2017 IIHF U20 World Junior Championship. He served as captain for the U.S. at the 2017 WJC, where he posted four points (2-2-4) over seven tournament games, and at the 2015 U18 WJC, scoring six goals (6-0-6) in seven contests.

Kunin was originally selected in the first round (15th overall) by the Minnesota Wild in the 2016 NHL Draft.

The Florida Panthers are back-to-back 2024 & 2025 Stanley Cup Champions! Fans interested in purchasing a Partial Plan for the 2025-26 season can click here, visit FloridaPanthers.com/tickets or by calling PUCK line (954.835.PUCK).