The NHL defending champions will be down yet another important piece from their back-to-back Stanley Cup runs, as forward Eetu Luostarinen is set to miss multiple weeks of action with a new, and rather bizarre, injury.
Coach Paul Maurice told reporters Wednesday that Luostarinen suffered burns due to an accident sustained while barbecuing. As such, the team is considering the Finland native to be “week to week.” Maurice didn’t go too much into detail about the nature of Luostarinen’s injury, only that he sustained burns.
In 18 games this season, Luostarinen has 10 points, including three goals. He played a key role in their Stanley Cup title last season when he registered 19 points in 23 playoff games. The 2025-26 season is his sixth year playing for Florida, and he has 138 points over 384 career games with the franchise.
Luostarinen’s is the latest non-hockey related injuries sustained by an NHL players this week. Devils star Jack Hughes is set to miss as much as eight weeks after cutting his finger on glass in what was described as a “freak accident” while attending a team dinner.
The Panthers are already without a pair of key forwards in Aleksander Barkov, who is out for the season with a torn ACL, and Matthew Tkachuk, who is set to miss extended time after undergoing offseason surgery to repair a torn adductor muscle, as well as sports hernia surgery.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as NHL Player ‘Week to Week’ After Sustaining Burns in Barbecue Accident.
