Expect the Florida Panthers To Remain Aggressive when it comes to Roster Improvements
The Florida Panthers won the 2024 Stanley Cup over the Edmonton Oilers, and before you knew it, GM Bill Zito had to discuss extensions with all his players. Florida would never keep the entire team together, just the major players.
It felt like the Panthers were pulling a Miami Marlins, formerly the Florida Marlins: win a title and break the team up. The Chicago Blackhawks had that problem in 2010, too. However, this management group has been super aggressive in keeping the team competitive. They are taking a page out of the New England Patriots playbook by moving on from players before they hit the decline.
The next player that could be out is Aaron Ekblad.
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Emily Kaplan from ESPN joined Jay Onrait on SportsCenter to discuss what the Florida Panthers were doing after winning the Stanley Cup and whether a possible Aaron Ekblad trade is in the works.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Jay Onrait: “Okay, now let’s get back to this, Florida Panthers, Emily. They’ve lost a number of their Stanley Cup champion players. Brandon Montour goes to Seattle, Oliver Ekman-Larsson goes to Toronto, to name a few. They get Sam Reinhart re-signed. That’s good news. There are rumors that they could potentially look to trade Aaron Ekblad to free up some cap space. Can you help us make a little bit of sense of what you think Florida is doing after they won their first Stanley Cup?”
Emily Kaplan: “Well first, Jay, it’s really hard to keep the band back together. Even if you’re in a destination like Florida, where the culture is really good, the weather is better, and the taxes keep your pockets flush. Guys do want to take less and stay there. But then free agency happens, and some players can make life-changing money like Brandon Montour, and maybe Ryan Lomberg is another example.
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The other thing we know about this front office is that they’re not afraid to make hard decisions. They haven’t been able to confirm with Aaron Ekblad rumours. However, we do know that they’re aggressive, and so we wouldn’t be surprised if they make a Florida trade for him if he could improve the team. They got to this point because they were super aggressive and made some drastic moves. And I just don’t expect them to stop anytime soon.”