Marchand, Bennett, Ekblad want to remain with Panthers, aim for Stanley Cup 3-peat

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Brad Marchand has been a member of the Florida Panthers for less than four months, but the forward has seen enough to make him not want to leave when he can become an unrestricted free agent July 1.

“These are the best few months I have ever had in my career," the 37-year-old said Friday. “It’s an incredible group down here. I’ve loved every second of it, and hopefully it can continue."

He’s not the only one; forward Sam Bennett, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy voted as MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and longtime Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad are also pending unrestricted free agents and have expressed a desire to stay.

“That's part of who I am at this point,’’ Ekblad said during exit day at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday. “I've spent 11 years here, and that's more than I've spent in any home or city in my life. So it's home, and I expect it to be home.”

Ekblad said contract negotiations are ongoing with the Panthers, though it is believed Florida’s top priority is getting Bennett's contract done first.

“Conversations have been had, obviously nothing material yet,” Ekblad said. “But they'll be working on it. Things seem to come down to the last minute here.’’

Florida selected Ekblad with the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, and he has worn a Panthers uniform since. Bennett was selected by the Calgary Flames with the No. 4 pick in that same draft.

Ekblad is second in games played in Florida history with 732, behind center Aleksander Barkov (804). Among defensemen, he’s first in Panthers history in goals (118), assists (262) and points (380).

This season, he had 33 points (three goals, 30 assists) in 56 regular-season games and 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 13 postseason games. He was suspended 20 games on March 10 for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program, a ban that carried over to the first two games of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Not long after Florida won its second straight Cup title with a 5-1 victory against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the Final on Tuesday, Panthers general manager Bill Zito told Sportsnet he thinks the Panthers can retain Marchand, Bennett and Ekblad.

Zito reiterated that on ESPN’s "The Pat McAfee Show" on Wednesday.

Marchand had played his entire 16-season career with the Boston Bruins, including a Cup title as a rookie in 2011, until he was traded to the Panthers on March 7. The former Boston captain has 980 points (424 goals, 556 assists) in 1,100 games regular-season games and 158 points (66 goals, 92 assists) in 180 playoff games. That includes 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) in Florida's latest title run, which featured Marchand's double-overtime goal in a 5-4 victory in Game 2.

Bennett has 336 points (162 goals, 174 assists) in 691 regular-season games through 11 seasons with the Flames and Panthers, and 78 points (40 goals, 38 points) in 107 playoff games. The 29-year-old's 15 playoff goals were the most in the NHL.

Florida forward Matthew Tkachuk said he has been advising his teammates to try to get the most money they can, whether it is with the Panthers or elsewhere.

When he agreed to be traded to Florida from Calgary in 2022, he said he had three priorities: “No. 1, where can I win? Here. No. 2: Where can I make the most money? That was also here. No. 3 was life outside of the rink, where was the best place to be? And that's pretty obvious. Down here is No. 1 in the League. So that was my list. And I have a feeling that's probably pretty much common for a lot of players.”

The Panthers liked to hear those comments, but with a limited amount of financial resources going into this offseason, Tkachuk is not making things easy on Zito and his front office.

“I know you're going to have a different roster each and every year, but hopefully, the core of guys, we can just continue building with that," Tkachuk said. “With that being said, we've got some unbelievable players that are up for contracts that I hope they get every single cent they can because that’s what you want for your best friends and players around the League.

"So it’s time to cash in for some of those boys. And hopefully, it’s here. If not, it is what it is, but I'm so happy for them. And whatever happens, happens. But if they're gone, we're going to be champions and walk together forever.”

On Sunday, the Panthers will continue their Stanley Cup celebration with a championship parade and rally on the beachfront in Fort Lauderdale starting at noon.

The team has taken its Stanley Cup party throughout South Florida, but the players are looking forward to joining their fans on Sunday.

“Last year was unbelievable how many people came to share that victory with us,” goalie Sergei Bobrovsky said. “It’s going to be great [Sunday] as well. It will be great to get together with the team, with the family, and with the fans to celebrate that victory.”

Tkachuk said he is going to continue reveling in his team’s victory and is putting off thoughts of next season for now.

On Tuesday, Tkachuk revealed that his lower-body injury was a torn adductor muscle “that was, I’m pretty sure, torn from the bone,’’ and a sports hernia injury on the same side.

Tkachuk said Saturday a decision on whether he needs surgery will be made in the coming weeks, which could sideline him for the start of the 2025-26 season. Tkachuk was injured at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February and missed Florida’s final 25 games of the regular season.

He did play in all 23 playoff games, tying Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe for the team lead with 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists).

When asked if he was going to be able to fully enjoy the offseason, Tkachuk said, “I don't know yet. ... I've got to go through some steps here and then see if I need surgery or not. It’s going to take a few weeks to determine if I need it. It's probably 50-50 right now.

"I don't know if it’ll be a normal summer or not. I hope so. I’m not just going to jump right into surgery without talking to everybody and going through everything. I have a few weeks here where I can figure it out.”