Bill Zito's latest magic: Bolstering Panthers' core with Bennett, Ekblad, Marchand deals

Miami Herald

21 hours ago

Bill Zito might not have played in the NHL, but the Florida Panthers' president of hockey operations and general manager pulled off one of the more improbable front office hat tricks possible over the past few days.
With just $19 million in cap space available, Zito managed to re-sign all three of Florida's primary pending free agents in center Sam Bennett, defenseman Aaron Ekblad and winger Brad Marchand.
Bennett and Ekblad each received eight-year deals, while Marchand is signed for six years.
And why stop there? Zito also inked fourth-line center Tomas Nosek to a one-year extension Tuesday.
But don't look to Zito to take any sort of credit for what just happened.
'I didn't [do it]. It was those guys,' Zito said. 'There's no gray area whatsoever. ... It's those guys wanting to be part of something they created. We kind of wax poetic about the team and the community they've become, and I think this is a great example of what it means to them. And it's 100 percent those men who made that decision that they all wanted to continue to try it together.'
That's fair. But it was also Zito getting Florida to this point — to being back-to-back Stanley Cup champions and to having a clear window for contention for years to come — that has players wanting to stay.
The players recognize that. It's why Florida has been able to retain so much top-end talent for, in most cases, significantly less than what they would likely get on the open market.
'BZ is the man with the plan, right?' Ekblad said. 'That's why they brought him in. He has an idea of the way things should be run and what needs to be done to win and how guys need to be treated and treated fairly. Total and utmost respect for his ability to do his job but also continue to be a good person in the process. We as players appreciate that. Can't say enough great things about what he's done, both as a GM and as a person — and I know the second part as a person probably means more to him than being a good GM. It's a true testament to everything he's done for us.'
As a result, the Panthers' future is in good hands. They have 10 core players all signed for at least the next five years at deals that will help the team continue to build in years to come. The group:
▪ Ekblad, Bennett and forward Carter Verhaeghe signed through the 2032-33 season. Bennett has an annual cap hit of $8 million, Verhaeghe $7 million and Ekblad $6.1 million.
▪ Forward Sam Reinhart and defenseman Gustav Forsling signed through the 2031-32 season. Reinhart's annual cap hit is $8.63 million and Forsling's is $5.75 million.
▪ Marchand is signed through the 2030-31 season with a $5.25 million annual cap hit.
▪ And forwards Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Anton Lundell plus defenseman Seth Jones are signed through the 2029-30 season. Barkov's cap hit is $10 million, Tkachuk's $9.5 million, Jones $7 million and Lundell $5 million.
Combined, that's 10 integral players for an annual cap hit of $72.23 million each of the next five years, which starting in the 2026-27 season will be less than 70 percent of the league's salary cap.
'You hate to use the word content, but [I'm] content in the moment where, OK, we've got this core and they're solid,' Zito said. 'Are people going to get hurt? Yeah. Can we address that? Yeah. How do we get back and how do we allow for some of the other players and the other assets, if they're ready, to get in? It's this constant — and I think almost any GM would tell you the same — it's a constant cycle of thoughts in your head, in the middle of the night, when you're driving, when you're distracted. 'What about this? What about that? What about this?' It doesn't really change. It's just maybe more comforting to know we have some pretty good players who are going to be here for a while — and good people — so as we add moving to the future, I feel pretty confident that this group can absorb them and get the most out of them.'
Now, there are still some hurdles to work through before the season begins and a quest for a third consecutive Stanley Cup begins. Florida currently is $2.175 million over the salary cap, and that's before factoring in a contract for restricted free agent forward Mackie Samoskevich.
Florida is able to be up to 10 percent above the $95.5 million cap during the offseason but needs to be cap compliant by the start of the season. The Panthers can get there either by trading away players currently on the roster or by utilizing long-term injured reserve once the season begins.
They have time to figure all that out. And they have a front office leader in Zito to figure it out.
He's worked wonders already getting Florida to this point.
The past three days of fortifying the roster is just the latest example, even if he doesn't want to take credit for it.
'I don't want to spoil the Hollywood part of it, but I believe in all of them,' Zito said. 'If you're around it all the time, you feel it, you know it, and you know that this is a special group of people. It's a special environment, and these three guys in particular understand and value and appreciate the opportunity, even though they're significant contributors to it on their own. I think that they're aware that they make the group better, and the group makes them better.'