Inside look at Florida Panthers

NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, the Florida Panthers.

The Florida Panthers’ celebration of winning back-to-back Stanley Cup championships was just getting started and they were already thinking about doing it again.

Defeating the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final in consecutive seasons and three straight Cup Final appearances might have satisfied some teams. The Panthers immediately saw an opportunity for more success that was reinforced when they re-signed forwards Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand and defenseman Aaron Ekblad within the two weeks that followed their clinching 5-1 victory in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on June 17.

“I think it’s more that they look at their group and they love playing together,” Panthers general manager Bill Zito said. “They truly are a team, they like being part of it, and that they’re excited because they think, ‘Listen, we’re in a position where we can do pretty well. We have the talent. We have the guys. We know each other. We know what works.’

“I think it’s more excitement over what could be.”

What could be for the Panthers? They have a chance to become the first team to win the Cup in three straight seasons since the New York Islanders’ run of four straight championships from 1980-1983.

That was among the selling points for Bennett, Marchand and Ekblad, who each passed on opportunities to become unrestricted free agents. Bennett signed an eight-year, $64 million contract ($8 million average annual value) on June 27 followed by Ekblad’s eight-year, $48.8 million contract ($6.1 million AAV) on June 30 and Marchand’s six-year, $31.5 million contract ($5.25 million AAV) on July 1.

Florida’s Cup window appears open for at least five more seasons with 10 core players signed for at least that long, including Bennett, Ekblad, Marchand, forwards Aleksander Barkov (five seasons), Anton Lundell (five), Sam Reinhart (seven), Matthew Tkachuk (five) and Carter Verhaeghe (eight) and defensemen Gustav Forsling (seven) and Seth Jones (five).

“The fact that we’re keeping this main core together for the next five years, that’s pretty remarkable to do,” Bennett said. “So, it just shows that all these guys want to be here, and we care about winning. That’s really our main focus is winning, so it’s going to be a fun ride for the next however many years.”

It’s understandable for the Panthers to feel that way. Their lone player who played in their Cup-clinching victory who won’t be back this season is defenseman Nate Schmidt, who signed with the Utah Mammoth.

Florida filled Schmidt’s slot on its third defense pair by signing Jeff Petry to a one-year contract. In addition, Daniil Tarasov signed a one-year contract to take over as the Panthers backup goalie for Vitek Vanecek, who also signed with the Mammoth.

There is some concern about whether Tkachuk will be ready for the start of the season after he played through a torn adductor muscle and sports hernia in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Other than that, though, the Panthers have plenty of reasons to believe they can win the Cup again and cement their legacy by becoming the fourth franchise to win the Cup in at least three consecutive seasons, joining the Islanders, Montreal Canadiens (1956-1960, 1976-1979) and Toronto Maple Leafs (1947-1949, 1962-1964).

“If we can continue to excel and do the right things and use the expectations and the responsibility and continue to build on it, definitely legacy is part of the conversation at that point,” Ekblad said. “So, definitely don’t want to rest on our laurels, but find a way to continue and be a successful team.”

Ekblad, who was selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, witnessed some of the other end of the spectrum with Florida, which went 24 seasons without winning a playoff series before it defeated the Washington Capitals in the first round in 2022. The Panthers took a big step by reaching the Cup Final in 2023 before injuries caught up to them and they lost to the Vegas Golden Knights. They built on that the next season by winning their first championship.

Lifting the Cup again last season made the Panthers hungry for more, but didn’t diminish their appreciation for how difficult it was to do it once. They know they’ll have another long road ahead of them after raising their second Cup banner prior to their season opener against the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 7 (5 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS).

“I think there’s a humility born of this experience and understanding of just how hard it is,” Zito said. “Remember we lost (in the Final) the first year. … I think the focus is to go in and to try to be as good as they can be, knowing that there is a reward at the end of the rainbow. But I don’t think that anybody’s out doing math and considering the past. It’s what can be in the future.”