The Florida Panthers aren’t just reloading—they’re rewriting the modern NHL playbook.
While other teams spent the opening day of free agency scrambling to plug holes or overpaying for need, the reigning back-to-back champions pulled off the ultimate flex. GM Bill Zito didn’t just keep the band together—he doubled down on a dynasty. Sam Bennett. Brad Marchand. Aaron Ekblad. All three are back in the fold. All three committed to something bigger than a paycheck.
Most executives would’ve been thrilled to retain two of those names. Zito kept all three and did it without blowing up the cap sheet.
The Panthers Dynasty Blueprint
The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun put it bluntly: Florida is building something special. And the players know it. Fresh off winning the Conn Smythe, Bennett didn’t even entertain the open market. Ekblad took a team-friendly deal after years of battling through injuries. And Marchand, who seemed like a pure rental when he arrived from Boston, embraced the Panthers’ locker room so thoroughly that a six-year extension made sense.
Marchand, 37, could’ve cashed in elsewhere. So could Ekblad. Teams like Toronto, Detroit, and Utah were circling. But they stayed. In Sunrise, there’s a belief—a structure—and a team-first culture that players want to be a part of.
As Zito told The Athletic, “This is the team I like to play for; these are my brothers on this team.”
‘Boom, Boom, Boom’
Zito doesn’t do splashy press conferences or dramatic leaks. He gets it done. The Panthers rapidly extended Marchand, Bennett, and Ekblad, re-signing them before rivals could even get a foot in the door. And it wasn’t just about names—it was about value.
Marchand’s six-year deal spreads out his payout to reduce the cap hit. Ekblad’s eight-year contract reached $6.1 million AAV—well below what a top-pairing defenseman could command in free agency. Bennett, the playoff warrior, stayed on a deal that reflects his postseason impact more than his regular-season stats. It was clever cap maneuvering paired with rare buy-in from veteran stars.
A Front Office Masterclass
The Panthers lost Brandon Montour, Radko Gudas, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson in recent offseasons—and replaced them seamlessly. This week, Jeff Petry stepped in to fill the Nate Schmidt role. The Panthers paid Schmidt just $800,000 last year, got a deep playoff run out of him, and watched him cash in elsewhere. They’ve created a revolving door of plug-and-play veterans that works.
Behind it all is Zito and his front office, who’ve built a roster with staying power, not just star power. Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Gustav Forsling, and now Ekblad and Bennett form a spine that can contend for years.
The Cap Cloud? Overblown
Critics have pointed to Florida’s cap crunch. Yes, they’re a couple of million over with only 21 players. But Zito’s track record of finding value on the margins means they’ll sort it out. And as he told The Athletic, he’s not interested in narratives about tax breaks or cap gymnastics.
“I worry about our room, our ownership, and our fans,” Zito said. “I don’t really care what anybody thinks.”
Bottom Line
The Panthers aren’t talking about windows. They’re talking about chances. They’ve won two Cups, and with a locked-in core and a room full of believers, they see no reason to stop now.
Three-peat?
“Why not?” Zito said.
At this point, betting against Florida seems foolish.
Panthers Lock In Their Core and Chase History: ‘Why Not a Three-Peat?’