The Florida Panthers have made their offseason strategy crystal clear: preserve the core and chase NHL history.
After securing their second straight Stanley Cup in June, general manager Bill Zito re-signed key free agents and retained the nucleus of a team that has already reached three consecutive finals. Only three NHL franchises, the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens and New York Islanders, have ever earned three straight Cups, with the Islanders last doing so in 1983.
Defenseman Aaron Ekblad agreed to an eight-year, $48.8 million extension on June 30. In a July 2 media availability, he expressed his loyalty to all of South Florida, adding that “I’ve said it plenty of times over the last year that Florida, for us, my wife and I, is home. It means the world to me. Nineteen years is a long time, especially with one franchise.
Florida also brought back center Sam Bennett, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most outstanding player of the NHL playoffs, on an eight-year, $64 million deal, and veteran winger Brad Marchand on a six-year, $31.5 million contract.
Despite the tight salary cap, Zito gave full credit to his players for making it work.
“It wasn’t me. It was those guys,” Zito said in his free agency media availability at the team’s training center in Ft. Lauderdale. “This is 100 percent those men wanting to be part of something they created. I think this is a great example of what it means to them.”
The team finalized its offseason moves by re-signing 22-year-old forward Mackie Samoskevich to a one-year, $775,000 contract. He played in 72 games during his rookie season, finishing with 15 goals and 31 points. Though he was scratched late in the playoffs, Samoskevich has high hopes for his place on the team moving forward.
“I have to learn some things, and I think that will be good for me down the road,” he said in his free agency media availability. “As much as I would like to be part of this on the ice, it is going to make me better.”
With his return, the Panthers now bring back 14 of their top 15 forwards and six of seven defensemen from the Stanley Cup Final roster. The lone departure was defenseman Nate Schmidt, who signed with the Utah Mammoth. Florida filled that gap by adding veteran Jeff Petry.
According to PuckPedia, the team is currently about $3.75 million over the NHL’s salary cap. However, offseason regulations allow clubs to exceed the cap by up to 10%, giving Florida flexibility heading into training camp.
The only remaining question mark is the health of forward Matthew Tkachuk. If he undergoes surgery and misses time early in the season, players like Samoskevich could step into larger roles. If Tkachuk is out for a longer period, the team could place him on “Long Term Injured Reserve,” which would create additional cap space for Zito.
With Ekblad, Bennett, Marchand, Sergei Bobrovsky, Carter Verhaeghe, Gustav Forsling and Anton Lundell all signed through at least 2027, the Panthers haven’t just kept their Cup-winning team together, they’ve built a long-term contender poised to make NHL history.
