Rantanen was acquired in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche on Friday for forwards Jack Drury and Martin Necas, along with a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Hall was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks for a third-round pick in the 2025 Draft.
Florida stumbled out of the gate on Saturday in San Jose, but once they snapped into form it was off to the races
After missing each of the last seven games, top-pair defenseman Aaron Ekblad will return to the blue line for the Florida Panthers when they face-off against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Saturday.
A crucial piece on the blue line, Ekblad, despite missing time due to his injury, still leads Florida’s defensemen in both assists (18) and points (20). He also ranks third in hits (59) and blocked shots (56), while averaging a team-leading 23:32 of ice time per contest.
Cody Ceci and Will Smith scored for the Sharks (14-32-6), who have lost six straight and nine of ten. Alexandar Georgiev allowed four goals on 15 shots before being pulled early in the second period for Yaroslav Askarov, who stopped 14 of 17 shots in relief.
The Panthers, who have won four of their last six, erased an early one-goal deficit with six unanswered goals to coast past the host San Jose Sharks.
The Cats have traveled north and will face the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Saturday night. It will be the second and final meeting between Florida and San Jose this season after the two battled down in Sunrise back in early December.
San Jose Sharks, after being flattened by the Florida Panthers, face Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday
Florida had scored at least six goals in nine of their first 33 games this season, but Saturday was the first such instance in the past 17 games.
The San Jose Sharks are currently the bottom-ranked team in the entire NHL with a 15-32-6 record. With not much more room to fall, it seems pretty likely the Sh
At the forefront of the Sharks’ rebuild is Macklin Celebrini, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. The 18-year-old center is having a Calder Trophy-type season; he leads all rookies in goals (16) and is second in points (36) in 41 games. Celebrini missed 12 games because of a lower-body injury sustained in his debut on Oct. 10.
Never a huge goal-scorer, Granlund is on pace to hit 20 for the third time in his 13-year career and the first since 2017-18 with Minnesota. But the 32-year-old has been a point producer with the Sharks. He’s leading the team with 44 points in 51 contests after a scoring a team-high 60 points in 69 games last season.