The Florida Panthers are in the midst of celebrating their second straight Stanley Cup victory, but general manager Bill Zito must soon turn his attention to a trio of pending unrestricted free agents.
Conn Smythe Trophy winner Sam Bennett, resurgent veteran forward Brad Marchand, and key defenseman Aaron Ekblad can all hit the open market on July 1, but Zito is confident he can keep the band together despite only having $19 million in cap space.
"I think we can bring them all back," he told TSN's James Duthie as his team celebrated on the ice behind him.
When asked if it'd require them to take sizeable hometown discounts, Zito played coy.
"Let's just leave it at that," he said with a smile.
Luckily for Zito, all three players seem motivated to stay in Sunrise.
"It's a huge honor to be a part of this group," Bennett told the media, including Florida Hockey Now. "I am not gonna take it for granted, I love being here, and I love this team. It's a remarkable team to be a part of. ... Truly everyone is world-class here."
He added, "My whole life switched when I got traded here (in 2021) and I'm super grateful to be here."
Bennett is due for a sizeable raise on his $4.425-million cap hit after leading the league with a whopping 15 goals - 13 of which came on the road - in these playoffs.
He also recorded a career-high 51 points in the regular season.
As for Marchand, he said before Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final that he'd "thought about" extending in Florida, though he was mostly focused on the Cats' playoff run.
Marchand erupted with six goals in six games against the Oilers and was narrowly beaten by Bennett for the Conn Smythe Trophy. Florida pried him away from the Boston Bruins at the trade deadline.
When asked how badly he wanted to keep Marchand, Zito referenced the winger's love of ice cream - specifically Blizzards.
"I bought a Dairy Queen," the executive said, per Sportsnet's Luke Fox.
Ekblad, meanwhile, has spent his entire career with the Panthers after being selected by the team with the first overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft.
When asked if he just played his final home game as a Panther, the blue-liner responded, "I sure hope not."
"I don't know what's gonna happen," he continued, per Fox. "I'm not in much control of that at the moment. To live in the moment is most important for me. When the time comes, I'm sure those tough conversations will be had."
Veteran rearguard Nate Schmidt is also set to become an unrestricted free agent. He appeared in 80 games for the Panthers in the regular season before going off for 12 points, including five against Edmonton, in 23 playoff games.
In addition, forward Mackie Samoskevich is in need of a new contract as a restricted free agent.
