It appears National Hockey League players need to be more cautious while at the dining room table or preparing food. Last week, New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes severely cut his finger on a glass and is out long term. The estimated time of recovery is six to eight weeks.
Now, Panthers center Eetu Luostarinen of Siilinjarvi, Finland is gone long term too. He suffered a severe burn from a barbecue accident and is out week-to-week.
Luostarinen in 2025-26
This season, Luostarinen has three goals and seven assists for 10 points in 18 games. He is a +3 with eight penalty minutes, one power-play point, one shorthanded point, 32 shots on goal, eight faceoff wins, 18 blocked shots, 42 hits, three takeaways, and 12 giveaways.
The shorthanded point came in a 5-2 Panthers win over the Los Angeles Kings on November 6. Luostarinen set up fellow Finn Anton Lundell of Espoo, Finland at 8:41 of the third period. At the time, the Panthers went up 5-2.
Not the first barbecue injury in sports
In December of 2012, ESPN’s Hannah Storm suffered severe second degree burns during a propane gas grill accident at her home in Connecticut. Storm had burns to her chest, hands, face, neck, and lost her eyebrows, eyelashes and half of her hair. Storm, who is married to Dan Hicks, the famous golf broadcaster on NBC, stated the gas on the grill “exploded in a fire ball.” What was remarkable, is that Storm only missed three weeks of work, and was back in action for ESPN’s New Year’s Day College Football coverage.
Another Panthers injury
In addition to Luostarinen, the Panthers announced that right winger Cole Schwindt of Kitchener, Ontario will be out two to three months with a broken arm. Schwindt suffered the injury when he collided with Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky while chasing for a puck on Monday. Florida went on to beat the Vancouver Canucks 8-5.
This is Schwindt’s second time with the Panthers. He was initially with Florida in the 2021-22 season before being traded to the Calgary Flames in the blockbuster deal involving Jonathan Hubderdeau, Mackenzie Weegar and Matthew Tkachuk on July 22, 2022. Schwindt has since been claimed off waivers twice (once by the Vegas Golden Knights on October 7, 2024, and the second time by the Panthers on October 3). In 10 games this season, Schwindt has two goals. He scored in a 3-0 Panthers win over the Golden Knights on October 25 and in a 6-3 Panthers win over the Capitals on November 13.
