Nathan Bastian is getting a look in Florida.
The Panthers have brought the 28-year-old forward to 2026 training camp on a professional tryout basis, the team announced Tuesday evening. Bastian is one of the names on Florida’s full camp roster, and the veteran right wing will wear No. 11 with the Panthers.
Because he has already played more than 100 NHL games, Bastian will be eligible to appear in only two of Florida’s four preseason games.
Bastian spent the 2025-26 season in the Dallas Stars organization, where he appeared in 36 NHL games and posted seven points, including six goals and one assist. He also skated in four AHL games for the Texas Stars, producing two goals and three points.
A Kitchener, Ont. native, Bastian was a second-round pick of the New Jersey Devils, taken No. 41 overall in the 2016 NHL Draft. He played his junior hockey with the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads before beginning his pro career with the AHL’s Binghamton Devils in 2017-18.
His first NHL action came with New Jersey in 2018-19, when he scored three goals in his first seven games. He became a more regular part of the Devils’ lineup during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, finishing with three goals and 10 points in 41 games.
That stretch was followed by a move to Seattle, as the Kraken selected Bastian from New Jersey in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. His time there was short-lived: after 12 mostly quiet games to open the 2021-22 season, he returned to the Devils on waivers.
Bastian then spent four more seasons in New Jersey, including playoff runs of 12 games in 2023 and five more in 2025. After the 2024-25 season, the Devils let him depart for Dallas as a free agent.
In Other News...
Devils Just Sent A Clear Message About Fixing Their Pipeline
The Devils have added two familiar names to the organizations developmental side, bringing in Bryan McCabe as assistant general manager of the Utica Comets and Jessica Campbell as manager of player development. It is the kind of move that says as much about where the franchise wants to sharpen its edges as it does about the two hires themselves, with New Jersey leaning into people who have worked directly in player growth and development pathways.
McCabe arrives after spending time with the Florida Panthers in a range of player development roles, while Campbell comes over from the Seattle Kraken, where she worked as an assistant coach with the NHL club and its AHL affiliate. For a team that has made no secret of wanting a stronger pipeline, the hires add experience at both the prospect and organizational levels, and they give the Devils another layer of support as they try to turn more internal talent into usable NHL depth. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Moved Fast On Luke Evangelista For A Reason
The Devils did not wait around once Luke Evangelista arrived from Nashville, moving quickly to lock in the winger on a five-year deal worth $7.25 million before the old collective bargaining rules gave way to a tighter framework. New Jersey paid draft-pick capital to get Evangelista in the first place, then followed it up with a contract structure that was built to fit the window they had left.
That urgency matters because the deal was heavily front-loaded, with a significant share of the money delivered in bonuses, and it was completed just before the deadline that limits those kinds of structures under the new CBA. For the Devils, it was a clear sign they saw a chance to secure Evangelista on their terms and preferred not to leave the process to a future set of rules. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Rookies Just Gave Camp One More Tough Decision
The Devils wrapped up their Rookie Showcase with a 4-3 shootout win over the Islanders, and for a group of prospects trying to make an impression, the timing could hardly be better. Shane Lachance, Ben Steeves and Cam Squires all found the net, while Seamus Casey added another encouraging showing on the back end and Jakub Malek helped seal the victory with a strong performance in the shootout.
For New Jersey, the showcase did what it was supposed to do: it gave the organization one more look at players who are pushing for attention before training camp opens. The results will not settle every question, but they did add to the sense that several rookies made a legitimate case for more serious consideration as the Devils begin sorting through a crowded group of hopefuls. [Read more 🡒]