If you spend time on social media, you’ve probably seen this written more than once.
“Common Bill Zito W.”
On Thursday, an article from The Athletic laid out all those wins in once place.
In his contract efficiency rankings for 2024, writer Dom Luszczyszyn ranked the Panthers first for the second straight season, a credit to the work that Zito and his team have put in.
As criteria for his rankings, Luszczyszyn strictly looks ahead to the potential value of players, weighing their projected contributions against the remaining dollars on their contract.
Out of all 32 teams in the NHL, the Panthers received the only A+ grade.
“It’s not even close,” Luszczyszyn wrote of Florida’s firm grip on the top spot.
While the Panthers have found great success filling out their roster with affordable depth pieces, it’s the team’s biggest contracts that put them over the edge in the rankings.
Setting up the franchise for years to come, the four most-expensive contracts that Zito has handed out during his tenure – Aleksander Barkov ($10 mil x 8), Matthew Tkachuk ($9.5 mil x 8), Gustav Forsling ($5.8 mil x 8) and Sam Reinhart ($8.6 mil x 8) – all received A+ grades.
While they’ve already won two division titles, two conference championships, a Presidents' Trophy and, of course, the Stanley Cup in the first four seasons with Zito at the helm, there’s no question the Panthers will continue to fight for more hardware for years to come at this rate.
“The Panthers won the 2024 Stanley Cup and their financial acumen was an immensely important reason,” Luszczyszyn wrote. “No team gets more out of their dollar than the Panthers and it now shows in their trophy case. With the gold they have on the books, it probably won’t be their last.”
To read up more on The Athletic’s contract rankings, click HERE.
