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The Florida Panthers are coming off winning their second straight Stanley Cup. It was also their third straight appearance in the Stanley Cup Final. Even with all the success, it was going to be a difficult summer for general manager Bill Zito. The club was tight on cap space and still will need to make moves to get under the salary cap.
Regardless, they made some wonderful moves this summer, but one stands out as the perfect move.
While the squad was tight on salary cap space, they amazingly did not lose much. Backup goaltender Vitek Vanecek would move on to the Utah Mammoth, and defenseman Nate Schmidt would join him. Meanwhile, Nico Sturm went to the Minnesota Wild, as did Matt Kiersted. The front office has built an unbelievable franchise, though. They have made it to the playoffs six straight seasons. Their run of greatness began in 2022-23. In the first round that year, they would face the Boston Bruins, who broke the NHL record for wins in a season. Down 3-1, they would come back and eliminate the Bruins in seven games. From there, they would win eight of the next nine games to reach the Cup Final before falling to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games.
Since then, this strong core of players has captured back-to-back Stanley Cups, beating the Edmonton Oilers in both 2024 and 202. Now, the franchise will look to make it a three peat in 2025-26.
The Panthers had a busy and excellent summer
The team opened the summer with a trade, bringing in Daniil Tarasov from the Columbus Blue Jackets to be the new backup goaltender behind Sergei Bobrovsky. While Tarasov struggled with the Jackets, he should be a solid backup for the Panthers with a strong defense in front of him. On defense, they also signed Jeff Petry. This was another solid move for the team, bringing in a veteran defender who fits the playstyle of the roster at a cost of just $775,000.
The Cats also returned a fourth-line player, re-signing Mackie Samoskevich to a one-year deal. He chipped in 15 goals while adding 16 helpers in 72 games last year, and should continue to improve as a player. The team also made some major moves. After trading for Brad Marchand at the deadline, there was speculation that he would not be able to return to the team after hoisting the Cup for a second time in his career. The team was able to re-sign Marchand on a six-year, $32 million deal. While he will be 43 years old when the contract ends, locking up the forward was a major move for the front office.
The team would not be done there. They also locked up Aaron Ekblad to an eight-year deal worth $48.8 million. They were able to retain their star defender, and at a discount as well. This deal will most likely keep the blue liner in Sunrise for the rest of his career and keep one of their top defenders in front of Bobrovsky for another run at the Cup. It was not the best move the team made, though.
The return of Sam Bennett to Florida was the perfect move
Sam Bennett was the fourth overall pick of the Calgary Flames in 2014. He would play one game in the regular season and 11 playoff games with the Flames in 2014-15, before becoming a mainstay on the roster in 2015-16. The Canadian-born forward was not a star with the Flames. His best season was just 18 goals in 2015-16, and that would also be the year he had his most points, amassing 36 total points.
The forward would then be traded to the Panthers in April 2021. In four full seasons with the Cats, he has been amazing. Bennett has found the back of the net 16 or more times in all four campaigns, while having 40 or more points. His value would skyrocket in this playoff run. He scored 15 times while adding seven assists in the playoff runs. This includes chipping in five goals against the Oilers on the way to winning Conn Smythe honors.
There was concern that Bennett would be too expensive to retain with the tight salary cap situation. But Zito worked some magic, and the two-time Stanley Cup champion would get an eight-year deal worth $64 million from Florida. This was an amazing move for the team. Not only does it bring back a playoff hero, but it also allows Matthew Tkachuk and Bennett to continue to play together, a duo that has been electric over recent years. While this was an expensive contract, it was a perfect move for the franchise.
Can the Panthers make it 3 in a row in 2025-26?
A team has not been to the Stanley Cup Final four years in a row since 1980-83, when the New York Islanders achieved that feat. That is also the last time a team has won three Cups in a row, as they won four straight. Florida should feel good about their chances this year, though. According to the odds from FanDuel, they are second in odds to represent the Eastern Conference in the Finals, just behind the Carolina Hurricanes. They are also tied with the Hurricanes as favorites to win it all.
The team also brought back a ton. Six different players had 20 or more points in the playoffs in this last run. All of them are back. Five more players had between 10 and 20 points, and only Schmidt is gone from that group. They also still have a stud in Bobrovsky between the pipes. While it will be difficult to make it back to the top of the mountain for a third consecutive year, this team is built to do so.
