A second Stanley Cup in three finals appearances shows the Florida Panthers have found nothing but a formula for success, and with a looming dynasty in Florida ahead, some big offseason decisions have to be made, and general manager Bill Zito once again needs to find the right path to keep their championship window open.
Having key players like Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, and Sergei Bobrovsky locked down, ready for another hunt for the cup, some of their even more important players are slowly getting closer and closer to the free agency market, two being Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand. Winning the Conn Smythe trophy, and all in all being arguably the Panthers most important player throughout this year's playoff campaign, Sam Bennett’s contract situation has only gotten harder for Bill Zito, and good performances have been met with a rapid increase in value. But with just under $20 million in cap space next season, Sam Bennett and his agent’s desires to fetch a $10 million AAV deal to stay in Florida could be one the Panthers need to make, a decision that may keep their championship window open for a hefty amount of years. In terms of big decisions that they have to make, it looks like to keep the team a competitor and a cup contending team, Sam Bennett is a no brainer.
On the other hand, Brad Marchand who they traded for close to the trade deadline is supposedly seeking a $7-8 million deal at around four to five years, but could be a sacrifice the Panthers need to make. Although Marchand was probably second to Bennett in terms of playoff performances, he is probably the hardest decision for the Panthers to make, but would be an extremely hard pill to swallow by letting him go. Although Marchand may see a decrease in salary reasonable due to the state tax being zero, the team in the best shape of its history, and whether his desire to win more cups is his preference, a pay cut to stay with Florida may be hard for both teams to turn down. Dropping to six or even five AAV for two to three years, an extension for Marchand would be exactly what Paul Maurice and the Panthers want, and is the perfect situation to keep that window of competitiveness wide open.
But this is where things get interesting. Aaron Ekblad, the Panthers first overall pick back in 2014 is looking likely to be heading into the free agency market no matter what, but with reports of Ekblad wanting to stay in Florida, and reports that the Panthers are asking for him to take a pay cut down from $7.5 AAV, Ekblad could be open to a cut, and had he be willing to head down to five million, Florida will have had the perfect and dream offseason, but it is a reach.
With dreams of all three being re-signed, and hopes of a returning Stanley Cup winning team, it is likely one will go, and two will be enough to keep Florida competitive. It is whether they look to the free agency pool and see someone they think could fill the cap in whether the defensive core or on the wing, but ideally, two big deals for what the front office and coaching staff see as their most important pieces to success, the Panthers championship window could be wide open for at least another two or three seasons.
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