South Florida Dominates Hockey Scene
It’s clear: South Florida is owning the hockey world right now.
My beloved Florida Panthers have achieved some impressive feats—two consecutive Stanley Cup Championships and three straight Eastern Conference titles. The excitement doesn’t just stop there. General Manager Bill Zito has a solid game plan in place, having secured key players for over five years now.
Once the championship celebrations fade, Zito is ready to dive back into offseason strategies. He’s optimistic about re-signing three major free agents on the team: center Sam Bennett, forward Brad Marchand, and defender Aaron Ekblad. Many in the league doubted this would happen, maybe even believed it was impossible. But, surprise! They were off the mark.
Playoff MVP Bennett was the first to seal the deal, agreeing to an eight-year, $64 million extension before the NHL Draft. Following that, Florida locked in Ekblad, the number one overall pick from the 2014 NHL Draft, with another eight-year contract. This all unfolded just recently—Monday, to be exact—but that wasn’t the end of the action.
Now, regarding Brad Marchand. The buzz around whether he’d stay was palpable. After being traded to Florida, many believed he played a crucial role in winning the ring. He certainly demonstrated his skill during the playoffs, racking up 10 goals. So what was the verdict? Was he really going to walk away after winning?
Nope! In a twist that might break some hearts up north, Marchand re-signed with the Panthers, locking in a six-year deal that guarantees him over $5 million annually.
The roster now looks quite impressive:
- Alexander Barkov until 2030
- Matthew Tkachuk until 2030
- Sam Reinhart until 2032
- Sam Bennett until 2033
- Carter Verhaeghe until 2033
- Brad Marchand until 2031
- Anton Randell until 2030
- Seth Jones until 2030
- Aaron Ekblad until 2033
- Gustav Forsling until 2032
The foundation is set for a promising future. Here’s to aiming for a ten-peat! Go Panthers!
