The Florida Panthers have reached an agreement with defenseman Uvis Balinskis on a two-year contract extension, which will begin in the 2026-27 NHL season. The announcement was made by Bill Zito, President of Hockey Operations and General Manager for the Panthers.
“Uvis has proven his ability to be a dependable NHL blueliner on a consistent basis,” said Zito. “He possesses a relentless work ethic and we are excited that he will continue his career with the Panthers.”
Balinskis, 29, has played in 36 games for the Panthers during the 2025-26 season, recording eight points (one goal and seven assists) and maintaining a plus-one rating while averaging nearly 15 minutes of ice time per game. In the previous season, he set personal bests in games played (76), goals (4), assists (14), and total points (18). During the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Balinskis appeared in five games and scored once in Game 1 of the second round against Toronto.
With this achievement, Balinskis became only the third Latvian-born player to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup, following Sandis Ozolinsh and Teddy Blueger.
Throughout his NHL career, all with Florida, Balinskis has participated in 138 games and tallied 29 points. Before joining the Panthers, he played for teams including Liberec White Tigers and HC Litvinov in the Czech Extraliga. In total, he accumulated 75 points over 140 games in that league. He also spent parts of five seasons playing for Dinamo Riga in the Kontinental Hockey League.
Balinskis was recognized as the Best Defenseman in the Czech Extraliga during the 2022-23 season after leading all defensemen there in both goals and points.
Internationally, Balinskis represented Latvia at several IIHF World Championships as well as at the Olympic Winter Games. At the 2023 IIHF World Championship, he helped Latvia secure its first-ever medal at that level by contributing two assists across ten tournament games.
He is set to join Latvia’s roster for the upcoming Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 along with fellow Panther Sandis Vilmanis.
The Panthers have won consecutive Stanley Cup championships in 2024 and 2025. Single-game tickets are available through SeatGeek.com or FloridaPanthers.com/tickets.