The Florida Panthers have their sights firmly set on rectifying last year's Stanley Cup Final loss and bringing a championship to South Beach for the first time ever. But once the best-of-7 series with the Edmonton Oilers reaches its conclusion, it'll be mere days before free agent frenzy kicks off. And Brandon Montour — a crucial piece of this club who is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 — is still without a new contract.
General manager Bill Zito is going to have some very difficult decisions to make this summer, which will obviously be a lot easier if the Cats are able to outduel Connor McDavid and Canada's last remaining club in the NHL championship.
Still, as the team has a whopping 12 UFA's, there simply won't be enough money to go around. And with Sam Reinhart needing a huge raise after a career season that has continued into the playoffs, one insider believes the Stanley Cup Final could be the end of the road for Montour in Florida.
“Interesting that [Gustav] Forsling leaped ahead of Montour this season on Zito's signing priority list,” wrote Sportsnet's Luke Fox. “Perhaps because Montour began the season injured. More likely because his current cap hit of $3.5 million should double soon, and we may be watching his final shifts for Florida.”
Forsling, who has become a household name during a true superstar postseason, was locked up to an eight-year, $46 million contract extension earlier this season. That's already looking like an absolute bargain, especially with the salary cap set to rise.
But it does raise more questions about Montour's future prospects in the sunny state. There's certainly a chance Zito finds money to pay both Montour and Reinhart this summer — especially if the Panthers win the Stanley Cup.
Montour focused on Stanley Cup run, not worried about contract
Montour, at least, is confident a new deal will sort itself out in the offseason.
“It's fine. I think that's gonna come when it comes. I've played enough in this league to know the contract is going to be there, no matter what,” Montour said in May, per Fox.
“We're focused on the big trophy at the end. That's the main thing. I haven't put too much thought into it, to be honest, and all sides communicated really well all season. Now we're at a point where we're close to the end here and focused on that. The rest takes care of itself in the summer.”
The 30-year-old D-man has been great for the Panthers over the last two years, especially last season when he broke out to the tune of a 73-point campaign and followed it up with another 13 points in 21 playoff contests.
Montour has been a key piece of the last two iterations of this Florida roster, but whether or not it'll earn him a new contract from the GM of the Year finalist is up in the air.
But Zito made it clear he's going to do everything he can to keep as much of this roster together as possible.
“After the season, we’ll look back at it. We have made a lot of progress, and we have a lot of work still to do,” he told the Miami Herald in May. “We’re gonna do everything we can to keep the best team and best players.”
Game 1 of the second straight Stanley Cup Final in Sunrise goes Saturday night.
Follow Us
Subscribe