Panthers Pulse: Niko Mikkola Proved to be Absolute Steal for the Florida Panthers

Niko Mikkola joined the Florida Panthers on a three-year contract worth $2.5 million last offseason - and it already looks like an absolute steal.

Photo by Anthony Calderale

Leading up to the beginning of training camp, Pucks and Palms will be previewing each of the key pieces of the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers in a series called ‘Panthers Pulse’ heading into the 2024-25 season. Niko Mikkola is next.

2023-24 Stats: three goals, 17 points, 82 GP (Playoffs: two goals, four points, 24 GP)

After a mass exodus on the blueline following their run to the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, the Florida Panthers brought in the largely unproven Niko Mikkola to fill in a gaping hole on the second pairing.

He could not have done a better job of proving himself in Year 1 in South Florida.

The Panthers took a bet on the 6-foot-5 defenseman, signing him to a three-year deal worth $2.5 million per year despite only having played 171 NHL games across four NHL seasons.

It paid off in spades.

Mikkola stepped in and became a stabilizing force on Florida’s bottom two pairings, becoming a physical force in the defensive end with a long reach and a sneaky bit of speed to cover a ton of ground.

He led the Panthers in hits (198) while setting career-high marks in assists (14) and points (17).

Mikkola doesn’t light up the scoresheet — or occasionally he does, like when he had a two-goal outing against the Edmonton Oilers — but he perfectly fits Florida’s defense-first, physical style.

It’s also worth noting he also came through against the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final, too, tying up Game 2 at 1-1 midway through the second period with a big slap shot off of a drop pass from Anton Lundell. That stood as a huge goal as the Panthers walked away with a 4-1 victory in that game.

Mikkola will be leaned on even more with partner Brandon Montour now headed to the Seattle Kraken.

He is now Florida’s bonafide No. 3 defensemen — a proven, talented No. 3 — who is going to hold a lot more responsibility going forward.

Mikkola probably won’t fill his old partner’s role on the power play — that job is likely going to Aaron Ekblad, Gustav Forsling or Adam Boqvist — but this means he will likely be deployed more often on the penalty kill or take an extra shift at 5-on-5 if one of those first two names ends up on PP1.

He can handle it.

Mikkola already logged the second-most shorthanded time-on-ice last year from a Florida defenseman, just behind Forsling, and logged 20:07 of time-on-ice per game. Montour led the team with 23:27 with the two members of the shutdown pair not too far behind.

And at a $2.5 million annual price tag? That contract will end up joining the list of great deals Bill Zito has signed to build a Stanley Cup Champion.

Up Next in Panthers Pulse: Nate Schmidt

Previously: Matthew Tkachuk, Gustav Forsling, Sam Bennett, Evan Rodrigues, Eetu Luostarinen, Uvis Balinskis, Anton Lundell, Sergei Bobrovsky, Spencer Knight, Aleksander Barkov, Adam Boqvist, A.J. Greer, Sam Reinhart