Panthers ink promising defenseman to 2-year contract extension

Uvis Balinskis has stepped up on the Florida Panthers’ blue line amid a slew of injuries in 2025-26 — and he was rewarded for it on Friday. Player and club agreed to a two-year, $1.75 million contract extension that will keep the Latvian defenseman in town through the end of the 2027-28 campaign.

The pact was first announced by Balinskis’ agent, Dan Milstein, and later confirmed by Panthers general manager Bill Zito.

“Uvis has proven his ability to be a dependable NHL blueliner on a consistent basis,” Zito said in the official release, per NHL.com. “He possesses a relentless work ethic, and we are excited that he will continue his career with the Panthers.”

The 29-year-old was set to become an unrestricted free agent after the season. Originally signed by Florida as an undrafted free agent in April of 2023, he played five games in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs en route to his first NHL championship — scoring a goal in the process.

Balinskis has gotten a larger role following injuries to Dmitry Kulikov and Seth Jones; he’s currently playing on the second pair with Niko Mikkola. He’s managed a goal and eight points over 36 games with the Panthers in 2025-26.

Overall, the left-shot D-man has chipped in 29 points over 138 regular-season contests. He’ll play for Team Latvia at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, which begins on Feb. 11.

Panthers struggling mightily with injuries

Although Balinskis has been a bright spot on the blue line, the Panthers are riddled with injuries throughout the lineup. Along with Jones and Kulikov, Florida remains without Brad Marchand and Matthew Tkachuk up front. Neither will play against the Carolina Hurricanes on the road on Friday night.

The Cats had lost four of five games before righting the ship to the tune of back-to-back victories over the Ottawa Senators and red hot Buffalo Sabres. Paul Maurice’s team beat the Sens 3-2 at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Saturday, before edging out the Sabres 4-3 in Western New York on Monday night.

Now 24-18-3, the Panthers are second last in the Atlantic Division, ahead of only the Senators. But the Eastern Conference playoff picture is crowded, and almost every team is still in the running in the middle of January. The back-to-back defending champs are just five points shy of the final wildcard berth in the East, but they need to leapfrog four other teams to get back in postseason positioning.

Things will get easier once Jones, Kulikov, Tkachuk and Marchand are in the lineup, but it’s critical that this roster continues to bank points even in their absence.

Florida will look to make it three consecutive wins in a rematch of the 2025 East Final in Raleigh; puck is set to drop on Panthers-Hurricanes just past 7:00 p.m. ET from Lenovo Center.

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