Overview
- General manager Bill Zito locked up Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand to multi-year deals to keep intact the nucleus behind back-to-back Stanley Cup titles
- On July 1, Ekblad agreed to an eight-year contract worth $6.1 million per season and Marchand signed a six-year deal at $5.25 million AAV following Bennett’s eight-year, $8 million AAV pact
- Florida added depth by signing forward Tomas Nosek to a one-year, $775,000 contract and goalie Daniil Tarasov to a one-year, $1.05 million deal
- The Panthers now project to exceed the NHL salary cap, forcing Zito to explore trades, buyouts or other roster moves to achieve compliance
- With most top free agents already off the board, NHL teams have seen a muted start to July 1 signings compared with previous years