Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson (four-year, $14 million contract; AAV of $3.5 million) and backup goalie Anthony Stolarz (two-year contract) each left for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Forward Kevin Stenlund (two-year contract) joined the Utah Hockey Club, and forward Ryan Lomberg (two-year, $4 million contract; AAV of $2 million) signed with the Calgary Flames.
The Panthers were prepared for this. When a team wins, its players become more valuable, and even with the NHL salary cap increasing from $83.5 million last season to $88 million this season, Florida couldn’t keep them all.
“What we want to do is keep going, keep evolving,” Zito said. “Guys get paid. And everybody knows. Look at [the Tampa Bay Lightning, who won the Cup in 2020 and 2021]. If you do well, you get paid, and then you can’t keep everybody, and guys move on.
“So, we’re trying to get other people in here who can contribute, who are good people, who are good team guys.”
Zito hopes Nosek, Greer and Boqvist can help fill the void created by the players who left already and those yet to leave. The team’s list of remaining UFAs still includes forwards Vladimir Tarasenko, Kyle Okposo, Nick Cousins and Steven Lorentz.
“We’re working through it, and we haven’t ruled anything out,” Zito said about the possibility of re-signing those players.
Zito had been optimistic about being able to re-sign Reinhart, who had 16 points (10 goals, six assists) in 24 postseason games after he set NHL career highs with 94 points and 57 goals in 82 regular-season games. The 28-year-old was second in the NHL in goals behind Auston Matthews of the Maple Leafs (69), led the League with 27 power-play goals and was tied for second with 11 game-winning goals.
“As both Sam and I said all during the year, we wanted to keep him. He wanted to stay,” Zito said. “We worked through the process.”
Still, though Zito said before the start of the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Sphere on Friday that “there’s a way” Florida could re-sign Reinhart and Montour, he also acknowledged that “guys deserve to be paid and guys deserve bigger and better opportunities.”
Montour found his opportunity in Seattle.
The 30-year-old will be difficult to replace. He had 33 points (eight goals, 25 assists) and led Florida in average ice time per game (23:27) in 66 regular-season games. He also had 11 points (three goals, eight assists) and averaged 22:40 of ice time per game in 24 postseason games.
Montour told TSN that his week since winning the Cup had been “a whirlwind” that included meeting with his agent to strategize Tuesday, less than 24 hours after Game 7 ended.
“Obviously, we played [Game 7 on Monday, June 24, we celebrated June 24],” Montour said. “Management had to bring the trophy to Vegas for everything going on there (the 2024 NHL Awards and 2024 NHL Draft) and then brought it back. We had the parade yesterday, so we had all week -- I don’t know if that usually happens -- to have a good time and be with each other and celebrate with each other.”
There will be more celebrating during the offseason, when each member of the team gets a day with the Cup, and when the Panthers raise their first Stanley Cup banner before their season opener against the Boston Bruins on Oct. 8. But Monday provided a reminder that business in the NHL keeps moving forward.
As soon as the Panthers won the Cup, the next challenge became winning it again. Keeping as much of their roster together as possible and finding new players to fit into it are part of that.
Re-signing Reinhart was pivotal, maintaining a key piece of Florida’s core which also includes first-line center and captain Aleksander Barkov, forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett, defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Gustav Forsling, and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.
“It’s a big head start,” Zito said. “You would say to yourself if you are not successful in getting every piece that you want to get, is the train still moving forward because the core you’ve built will sustain it?”
Zito believes the Panthers train, though a little lighter than it was during the parade Sunday, has the potential to keep rolling.
“Well, that’s the hope for sure,” Zito said. “I think it’s the case, but we’re still trying to get it right. We’ll never stop trying to get the right pieces and the right people and plug them in.”
