FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Bill Zito looked exhausted Tuesday. The Florida Panthers’ hockey operations president and general manager was trying to schedule a fishing trip. He was trying to figure out how the next few weeks will work. He needed a nap, desperately.
The good news: He can finally get a bit of a break.
The Panthers are running — skating? — it back next season, with all 12 of the forwards that they used in the clinching game of the Stanley Cup Final under contract for 2025-26 and in many cases long beyond.
The final moves came Tuesday, when the signings of Brad Marchand and Tomas Nosek became officially official as Florida prepares to try and win a third consecutive title next season.
And with that, Zito and the Panthers pulled off a stunning haul: They went into free agency trying to figure out who among the trio of Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Marchand could fit under the salary cap for next season — and kept them all.
It begged the obvious question Tuesday: How did he do this?
“I didn’t. It was those guys,” Zito said. “There’s no gray area whatsoever. This is 100% those guys wanting to be part of something that they created. We kind of wax poetic about the team and the community that they’ve become. And I think this is a great example of what it means to them. It’s 100% those men who made that decision that they all wanted to continue to try to win together.”
Bennett took an eight-year deal worth $64 million, Ekblad took an eight-year deal worth $48.6 million and Marchand took a six-year deal worth about $32 million. And much in the same way that Zito — who has 10 players, most of the team’s biggest names, under contract through at least 2030 — didn’t want credit, Ekblad deferred the credit for all of this happening as well.
“It speaks a lot about the organization and everything that they do for us and how bad guys want to play here,” Ekblad said. “Our practice rink, our game rink, the hotels that we stay in on the road, the food that we eat … the organization does everything for us. It’s easy to want to stay here. And then the culture of winning is just a huge draw to guys, right? It’s the most important thing. It’s why we play the game. And we’ve all been taken care of extremely well.”
Bennett, Ekblad and Marchand all could have commanded more on the open market; the NHL’s free agency period opened at noon Eastern on Tuesday, or about an hour after Zito met with reporters inside the Panthers’ theater at their new practice facility. They chose to stay for less and try to win more.
It’s a simple formula.
“It was always Florida,” said Ekblad, who is now in position to potentially spend the entirety of what could be a nearly two-decade career with the Panthers. “I don’t think you guys understand. Florida is home now.”
Before that nap, Zito had a couple more things to monitor. The Panthers still had a couple pursuits in free agency to tend to, but the core is built and in place for years to come.
And that means, when he finally gets to sleep, Zito will sleep well.
“I think they see the players having fun, and enjoying hockey, and they know how hard they work,” Zito said. “I think they want to be part of that.”