SUNRISE, Fla.– Florida Panthers President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Bill Zito announced today that the club has agreed to terms with defenseman Niko Mikkola on an eight-year contract extension commencing in the 2026-27 season.
“Niko has proven himself to be a dependable defenseman who uses his speed and physicality to impact both ends of the ice,” said Zito. “He was an indispensable piece of our past two championship campaigns, and we are thrilled that Niko will be continuing his career with the Florida Panthers.”
Mikkola, 29, skated in 76 regular season games with Florida in the 2024-25 season, producing career-highs in goals (6), assists (16), points (22) and plus-minus rating (plus-12). He led all Florida blueliners with 137 hits. His 88 blocked shots in the regular season ranked second among Panthers skaters.
In the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Mikkola amassed six points (3-3-6) over 22 games, including scoring the game-winning goal in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final vs. Carolina. He set career playoff-highs in time on ice (20:13), goals (3), assists (3) and points (6).
The 6-foot-6, 204-pound native of Kiiminki, Finland has appeared in 328 regular season games between the Florida Panthers (2023-24 to 2024-25), New York Rangers (2022-23) and St. Louis Blues (2019-20 to 2022-23), recording 62 points (14-48-62), 649 hits and 438 blocked shots.
On the international stage, Mikkola skated in three games for Finland at the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face Off, producing an assist. He also captured gold with Finland at the 2019 IIHF World Championship, where he was named a World Championship Top Three Player on Team Finland. Mikkola also won gold for Finland in the 2016 IIHF U20 World Junior Championship.
Originally selected in the fifth round (127th overall) by the St. Louis Blues in the 2015 NHL Draft, Mikkola played three seasons for KalPa (2014-15 to 2017-18) and one season for Tappara (2017-18) in Finland’s Liiga. He won the Liiga Silver Medal with KalPa following the 2016-17 season and with Tappara the following season.
The Florida Panthers are back-to-back 2024 & 2025 Stanley Cup Champions! Fans interested in purchasing a Partial Plan for the 2025-26 season can click here, visit FloridaPanthers.com/tickets or by calling PUCK line (954.835.PUCK).
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