The Florida Panthers are in the midst of one of the shortest offseasons in National Hockey League history after defeating the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final on June 24. But that won't matter too much to the franchise after the team brought a first-ever championship to South Beach.
Still, even with a maiden title and their names etched on Lord Stanley, general manager Bill Zito and the front office didn't have too much time to celebrate — literally. The 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas took place just days after Game 7 at Amerant Bank Arena, with free agent frenzy a mere 72 hours after Round 1. It's been a whirlwind offseason for many clubs, but none more so than the Panthers and Oilers, who had to quickly transition from a gruelling postseason to trying to shape the roster for 2024-25 and beyond.
And with a ton of pending free agents, it was inevitable that the Panthers would lose a lot of players this summer. That's exactly what's happened, with many important pieces of the championship team moving on, including Brandon Montour, Vladimir Tarasenko and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. There were other departures, but those were the key ones.
At the same time, Zito was able to lock up two forwards who will be part of the equation in Florida for a very long time. It's hard to argue that this roster got better on and around July 1, but it's one that should still be competing for Stanley Cups after making back-to-back appearances in 2023 and 2024. And no matter what happens in the future, the 2023-24 Panthers will forever be remembered in hockey lore.
Sam Reinhart's contract was phenomenal work by Panthers front office
What a coming out party it was for Sam Reinhart in 2023-24; the former No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 NHL draft exploded for a career-high 57 goals (!) and 94 points over a full 82-game slate, adding another 10 goals and 16 points in the postseason. You can't say enough about what this player has done for the team and city since being traded from the Buffalo Sabres — the team that drafted him — in 2021.
And Zito did masterful work with this contract, locking up the sniper at a below-market rate in the form of an eight-year, $69 million pact. Reinhart didn't want to go anywhere, the Cats didn't want him leaving, and this is a phenomenal deal for all involved. Reinhart gets security and comfort in South Beach, while the Panthers get a proven goal scorer on an ultra team-friendly deal.
And let's not forget former first-round pick Anton Lundell, who has emerged into one of the better 3C's in the NHL and also earned himself a nice raise. The Finn was awesome in the playoffs, scoring 17 points in just 24 games and getting signed to a six-year, $30 million deal of his own.
Getting Reinhart locked up at under market value is absolutely huge for this franchise, and one of the reasons they still will receive a decent free agency grade. Lundell's contract also looks great and ensures the forward group remains top class. But a couple of key departures ensured that this roster is weaker heading into training camp.
Losing Montour, Ekman-Larsson, Tarasenko hurts
When Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour underwent surgery after losing in the Cup final to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023, Zito brought in a few replacements who ended up being invaluable on the back end. Ekman-Larsson was one of them, as was Niko Mikkola and Dmitry Kulikov, who both played a role in both the regular-season and playoffs.
But after this year's iteration of the championship — and now with a Stanley Cup to boot — both Montour and Ekman-Larsson took their talents elsewhere, with the former signing with the Seattle Kraken and the latter joining the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Montour was excellent in his time with the Panthers; the 30-year-old Canadian had his best season ever in 2022-23, scoring 73 points from the blue line and adding another 13 in 21 postseason contests. He struggled a bit offensively after surgery this season, but still managed 33 points in 66 games and chipped in another 11 in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He deserved a raise, and got one with the Kraken, who will pay the defenseman nearly $50 million over the next seven years.
That's a huge loss for Florida; a powerplay quarterback of Montour's caliber is difficult to replace. Along with Ekman-Larsson, who excelled in Fort Lauderdale after being bought out by the Vancouver Canucks, the Panthers' defensive core is certainly not as good as it once was.
Up front, Tarasenko made Zito look like a genius after the GM brought the Russian over from the Ottawa Senators at the NHL trade deadline. A Stanley Cup champion with the St. Louis Blues, Tarasenko had a great playoff with Florida and was also hugely influential to the younger players on the team both down the stretch and into the postseason. He's now off to the Detroit Red Wings with two championships under his belt, and that's another veteran that will be tough to replace.
All of Montour, Ekman-Larsson and Tarasenko were hugely important in the team's thrilling playoff run, and each of them deservedly earned some term on their next contracts. But Zito did make a couple of shrewd signings this summer to keep the depth up to par.
Panthers made smart signings to shore up depth; forward core remains elite
Although the back-end is not the same without Montour and OEL, Gustav Forsling's unbelievable postseason is encouraging, and he should continue to play top-pairing minutes along with Ekblad. As well, Kulikov was locked up to a four-year deal, and he and Mikkola figure to anchor the second-pairing in 2024-25.
The Panthers also brought in Nate Schmidt to play on the third pairing, which won't hurt, either. The 33-year-old has had a bit of an up and down career after a few excellent seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights — including helping them reach the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season of existence in 2017-18. Making just $800,000 on a one-year deal, Schmidt should be motivated to help this team remain at the top of the league next season.
As well, Tomas Nosek and Mackenzie Entwistle should help the bottom-six offensively, and more importantly, most of the forward core stayed intact. Reinhart, Sasha Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Bennett and Evan Rodrigues make up one of the best top-six groups in the league, and with goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky back to fine form, this is going to be another excellent roster next season. They'll likely compete for the top of the Atlantic Division once again, and it'll be interesting to see if the powerhouse club can make it back-to-back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances in 2025.
FINAL GRADE: B
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