The Florida Panthers hold gearing as much as win their third consecutive Stanley Cup.
Defenseman Aaron Ekblad and Florida agreed to an eight-year, $48.8M deal on Monday, by way of TSN/The Athletic contributor Pierre LeBrun. A number of hours later, issues stored getting higher for the Panthers.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet tweeted the Panthers and heart Brad Marchand had been “closing in” on a six-year deal for just below $32M. LeBrun also tweeted both parties agreed to a six-year contract.
The Panthers ought to thank Ekblad for his loyalty. He was set to develop into an unrestricted free agent on Tuesday and certain may’ve scored a greater deal if he had hit the open market. He made extra on his earlier contract with Florida, an eight-year, $60M deal.
Nevertheless, it is obvious that he loves the crew, which chosen him with the No. 1 total choose within the 2014 NHL Draft.
“I reside and breathe for the Florida Panthers,” Ekblad stated earlier than the beginning of the 2025 Stanley Cup, per The Athletic’s Eric Stephens. “I bleed for the Florida Panthers. I’ve given my physique and the whole lot on this crew. I need to hold doing it ceaselessly so long as they will let me hold coming to the rink.”
Puckpedia estimated the Panthers had $4.9M in cap room after reaching an settlement with Ekblad. This gave them sufficient to comply with a take care of Marchand, a four-time All-Star, who’s additionally anticipated to take a slight pay reduce. His earlier contract was eight years, $49M.
On Friday, the Panthers re-signed heart Sam Bennett to an eight-year, $64M deal. He, Ekblad and Marchand performed a key function throughout Florida’s championship run, combining for 29 postseason goals.
Bennett, after all, received the 2024-25 Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after netting 15 objectives in 23 postseason video games.
It appears the reigning champions are already offseason winners after retaining three of their stars.
