Expect The Florida Panthers To Stay Aggressive When It Comes To Roster Development
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 of his players. Florida will never keep the whole team together, just the big players.
It seemed like the Panthers pulled the Miami Marlins, once the Florida Marlins: they won the title and broke the team. The Chicago Blackhawks had that problem in 2010, too. However, this management team has been very aggressive in keeping the team competitive. They took a page from the New England Patriots playbook by moving away from players before they hit the ground.
The next player who 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 an Aaron Ekblad trade might be in the works.
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Jay Onrait: “Okay, now let's get back to this, Florida Panthers, Emily. They lost their Stanley Cup champion players. Brandon Montour to Seattle, Oliver Ekman-Larsson to Toronto, to name a few. They found out that Sam Reinhart has re-signed. That's good news. There are rumors that they may be looking to trade Aaron Ekblad to free up some cap space. Can you help us understand a little more about what you think Florida is doing after winning its first Stanley Cup?”
Emily Kaplan: “First of all, Jay, it's really hard to keep the team together. Even if you are in a place like Florida, where the culture is really good, the weather is better, and the taxes keep your pockets full. Guys 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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Another thing we know about this office is that they are not afraid to make difficult decisions. They couldn't confirm the rumors of Aaron Ekblad. However, we know they are aggressive, so we wouldn't be surprised if they traded him to Florida if he could improve the team. They got to this point because they were aggressive and made tough moves. And I don't expect them to stop anytime soon.”
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