HIGHLIGHTS
- Panthers sign all three pending free agents
- Florida looking to three-peat as Stanley Cup champions
- Read below for contract details and more
The Florida Panthers can’t keep getting away with this.
The reigning back-to-back Stanley Cup champions are running it back with all three of their big pending free agents re-signed on long-term deals.
Many thought that the Panthers wouldn’t be able to keep two of Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, and Brad Marchand, but all three will be back in Florida for the foreseeable future.
Conn Smythe Trophy winner Sam Bennett was the first of the free agents to sign after claiming that he wasn’t leaving during some Cup celebrations last week. The Panthers brought him back on an eight-year, $64 million ($8 million cap hit) contract on Friday.
It looked as if the trade for Seth Jones would mean the end of Ekblad in Florida, but he also signed an eight-year contract to remain with the Panthers. The former No. 1 overall pick might just end up playing his entire career in Sunrise.
But the Panthers weren’t done there.
The Cats added Marchand at the trade deadline, and their former rival was an integral part of their Stanley Cup win.
The 37-year-old winger signed a six-year extension carrying a cap hit of $5.25 million. In a day and age where the league is getting younger and younger, Marchand will soon be one of the NHL’s oldest active players.
The Panthers now have Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe, Brad Marchand, and Anton Lundell under contract through at least 2030. On defense, you can add Seth Jones, Aaron Ekblad, and Gustav Forsling to that list.
Florida has already reached three straight Stanley Cup Finals, and it’s safe to assume the Panthers will be among the favorites in the Eastern Conference yet again.
