The Florida Panthers have made yet another trade, this time trading for tough guy winger Garnett Hathaway from the Philadelphia Flyers.
According to NHL insider Frank Seravalli, the deal is done, and looks as follows:
“Trade details:
To #FlaPanthers:
RW Garnet Hathaway
2026 PHI 6th Round Pick
To #Flyers:
2026 FLA 5th Round Pick
2027 FLA 4th Round Pick”
To #FlaPanthers: RW Garnet Hathaway 2026 PHI 6th Round Pick
To #Flyers: 2026 FLA 5th Round Pick 2027 FLA 4th Round Pick
As part of the trade, the Flyers also retained 50% of Hathaway’s salary for next season, bringing his cap hit down to $1.2 million for Florida.
According to NHL insider Pierre LeBrun, Hathaway will be A.J. Greer’s replacement, as he intends to test free agency on July 1.
“Hathaway at a reduced $1.2 million cap hit becomes the replacement for A.J. Greer who is going to market Wednesday. Tidy piece of business for Florida again,” LeBrun wrote on X.
Panthers Add Muscle With Garnett Hathaway
The 34-year-old Hathaway is a big winger who brings muscle and grit to the bottom of the Panthers‘ lineup, plus he can chip in with the occasional goal.
At 6’2″ and 212 lbs, he is a huge winger who checks hard and can fight. He is also a native of Naples, Florida, so he is coming home in this trade.
In his NHL career, Hathaway has played for the Calgary Flames, the Washington Capitals, the Boston Bruins, and the Flyers. He has played in 672 regular-season games, scoring 76 goals and 163 points while adding 739 penalty minutes. He has also played in 39 playoff games.
With the Panthers, look for Hathaway to play on the team’s fourth line and take on an enforcer role for the team as he looks to protect Florida’s star players. In his NHL career, Hathaway has had 51 career fights, so he is not scared of dropping the gloves.
Panthers Looking to Make Another Stanley Cup Run
This past season, the Panthers had a tough year as they missed the playoffs after winning the Stanley Cup the prior two seasons and making it to the finals three years in a row. Having captain Aleksander Barkov miss the entire season didn’t help, and star winger Matthew Tkachuk also missed considerable time with injury. Plus, goalie Sergei Bobrovsky had a down year.
But the team has made big changes so far this offseason to get back into the playoff mix and make another Stanley Cup run next year, including picking up Brady Tkachuk in a blockbuster trade from the Ottawa Senators.
It’s clear that Panthers general manager Bill Zito believes in his team and their ability to make another Stanley Cup run, and they are loading up this offseason to do just that.
While adding Hathaway doesn’t necessarily move the needle, it’s still a very solid move for the Panthers, as they are bringing in a tough winger with grit who can score a few goals here and there.
Other teams are going to be gunning for the Panthers’ big star players, so having someone like Hathaway on the roster who is not afraid to drop the gloves could turn out to be a very smart trade.
Panthers Pick Up Tough Guy Winger From Flyers