The Florida Panthers have hoisted the Stanley Cup two seasons in a row.
Their chances of making it a three-peat depend in large part on three unrestricted free agents: Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad.
Ekblad still seems the iffiest of the bunch, based on reports, but Bennett and Marchand picked up some huge news on Tuesday regarding their returns.
ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski wrote about both players and the way they’ve shifted toward coming back for more in Florida.
“Bennett, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoffs MVP, was a lock to re-sign,” Wyshynski wrote. “While scores of teams might have doubled his base salary ($5 million), Bennett and the Panthers have been confident something would get done. Then, at the Panthers’ victory celebration at E11EVEN in Miami, he loosely quoted ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ to tell the fans, ‘I ain’t f–ing leaving,’ while a message that read ‘8 more years’ was displayed behind him.”
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Marchand wasn’t as sure a thing after his trade deadline acquisition from the Boston Bruins, but it appears the Panthers grew on him.
“Marchand took less money in Boston on his last deal for a player of his accomplishments — he made only $8 million in base salary in two of 16 seasons with the Bruins,” Wyshynski writes. “So the perception was that he would sign with whichever team offered the highest salary with the term he was seeking, rumored to be four years. The Maple Leafs have been the focus here, in the ultimate “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” moment in NHL history. But suitors ranging from the Washington Capitals to the Utah Mammoth were rumored to be waiting on him. However, the fit and success he found in Florida appears to have shifted things here, too. Marchand publicly asked GM Bill Zito to give him a contract — at a Dairy Queen, no less.”
There are certainly ways for such a talented team to re-tool even if some key pieces leave.
But it’s a lot easier to maintain some continuity and see where that can take you.
If this season was any indication, continuity can lead all the way to the Cup.
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