SUNRISE, Fla. – Florida Panthers President of Hockey Ops. & General Manager Bill Zitoannounced today that the club has agreed to terms with defenseman Dmitry Kulikov on a four-year contract extension through the 2027-28 season.
“Dmitry’s stout defensive play and strong physicality were crucial to winning our first Stanley Cup,” said Zito. “We are excited that he will be a Florida Panther for years to come.”
Kulikov, 33, skated in 76 games with Florida this season, posting 20 points (1-19-20) and a plus-15 rating. His 19 assists this season were his most since his 2014-15 campaign with Florida. In the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Kulikov recorded 56 hits and two assists.
The 6-foot-1, 201-pound native of Lipetsk, Russia was originally drafted by Florida in the first round (14th overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft and has appeared in 948 career NHL games between Florida (2009-10 to 2015-16 and 2023-24), Buffalo (2016-17), Winnipeg (2017-18 to 2019-20), New Jersey (2020-21), Edmonton (2020-21), Minnesota (2021-22) and Anaheim (2022-23). The 15-season NHL veteran has amassed 234 career points (46-188-234).
On the international stage, Kulikov has represented Russia in several tournaments, including the IIHF Under-18 World Championships where he won gold in 2007 and silver in 2008. He also won bronze at the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship and competed at the IIHF World Championships in 2010, 2011 and 2015 and the World Cup of Hockey in 2016.
In 2008-09, Kulikov won a QMJHL Championship and was named the QMJHL Rookie of the Year and QMJHL Defenseman of the Year with the Drummondville Voltigeurs. Kulikov previously had spent seven seasons with Florida (2009-10 through 2015-16), earning 138 points (28-110-138) during that span.
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