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The Florida Panthers will be going for the three-peat in 2025-26 and are coming off another solid offseason. While it has been a near-perfect stretch for the defending champs, their focus is on accomplishing a feat not done since the 1980s: going to four straight Stanley Cup Finals and winning three in a row. The New York Islanders won four in a row from 1980 through 1983, and went to five straight, losing in 1984.
It's been a strong offseason for general manager Bill Zito and the Panthers. Against the odds and with cap constraints, the team was still able to make multiple moves and keep the team together. In all, they brought back all ten of the top-scoring players from the postseason and the top 13 scorers from the regular season. They lost very little in the offseason, with Nico Sturm heading to the Minnesota Wild, and Vitek Vanecek and Nate Schmidt heading to Utah Mammoth.
As the team prepares to open the season on October 7 against the Chicago Blackhawks and Connor Bedard, they still need to make more moves.
The perfect offseason
The summer and NHL Free Agency could not have gone better for the Panthers. They may have given a slightly long contract to Florida veteran Brad Marchand, but the fact that they were able to bring him back was a major move. He was great on the third line in the playoffs and brings the club three full lines of scoring potential in the 2025-26 season. The mid-season acquisition has averaged over 60 points per year in the last five seasons. He will be 43 years old when his contract ends, but the risk of having dead cap space is well worth it to bring back leadership and one of the best scoring options from their latest Stanley Cup run.
Marchand was not even the best re-signing the Panthers made. They also brought back one of their top defenders, as the Panthers are retaining Aaron Ekblad. It was an eight-year deal for the defenseman worth a total of $48.8 million. The team got a discount on one of the cornerstones of the franchise at the peak of their career. He took a discount from $7.5 million AAV down to $6.1 million. He is one of the top two blue liners on the team, being paid the amount of a third or fourth defender.
Then, Florida was also able to return Sam Bennett. The Canadian forward was not a star when playing for the Calgary Flames, but has become one in South Florida. The two-time Stanley Cup Champion signed an eight-year deal with Florida and will be part of the future for the long haul. Now, Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk will continue to play together and hopefully lead the team to another Stanley Cup. The Conn Smythe winner could have gotten more on the open market after finding the back of the net 15 times while adding seven helpers in the playoffs. Still, he returns to Florida.
The Panthers need to trade Evan Rodrigues
The front office made some big-time moves. Still, they are now in a difficult cap situation. The team has some re-signings and is bringing in a limited number of players. Still, the franchise finds itself nearly $4 million over the salary cap. They have returned Mackie Samoskevich on a $775,000 contract. This was expected to be the next major hurdle they needed to overcome. There are some lower level players who can be moved, such as Jeff Petry and Tomas Nosek. Still, this will not bring the savings the team needs.
With the return of Marchand, the Panthers need to trade Evan Rodrigues. He is due $3 million this year. Moving him will not totally solve the problem, but it would go a long way toward fixing the team's salary cap situation. The forward was once an undrafted player joining the Buffalo Sabres. He has also spent time with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Colorado Avalanche, and now the Panthers. The Canadian saw a decrease in production in 2024-25, as he had his lowest assist total since 2020-21. Further, it was also his lowest point total since 2020-21 as well.
Evan Rodrigues did have a solid postseason. The former Sabre had two goals and 13 assists in the playoffs, placing him ninth on the team in playoff points. Still, his role declined overall. With the addition of Marchand, his presence was not the same on the third line. The Panthers can kick the can down the road with Rodrigues. Tkachuk is expected to miss the first half of the Panthers' season, meaning they can put him on long-term IR and not count against the cap.
Still, while Florida may not want to move Evan Rodrigues now, they will need to become cap compliant, and he is the most expendable piece. Now is the best time to move him to capitalize on teams that missed out in free agency. It has been a perfect offseason for the champ. Now, the Panthers need to find moves to comply with the salary cap, and moving their forward is the best-case scenario.
