Panthers Add Depth, Character on Opening Day of NHL's Free Agency Period

SUNRISE, Fla. - Bill Zito knows exactly the types of players he wants on the Florida Panthers.
"Play the game the right way," the new Panthers general manager said. "That's what we were looking for. We want people who compete and who approach the game in a business-like, professional manner and who every day come to the rink and want to win and hate to lose."

Throughout the opening day of the NHL's free agency period on Friday afternoon, Zito believes he and his staff were able to bring in five players that fit that description to a T, as the Panthers signed versatile forwards Alexander Wennberg, Carter Verhaeghe, Vinnie Hinostroza and Ryan Lomberg, as well as notoriously intimidating and tough-as-nails defenseman Radko Gudas.
"For us, we were targeting the players that we thought could help us and made sense," Zito said. "We started the day, and we made the calls right away. We'd previously identified those guys that we wanted to call. We worked together. We called the agents and said, 'This is the guy that we like and where we are at.' We were really happy to get all the guys that we got."
For Zito, these moves are a continuation of a vast cultural overhaul that began the moment he was hired by the Panthers in early September. And although all the players he's brought in - including forward Patric Hornqvist and defenseman Markus Nutivaara, whom he acquired via trades - are determined, physical skaters, it's their mental fortitude that he values most of all.
Heading into the 2020-21 season, the Panthers want to be a tough team to play against.
"Speed, intelligence, character, compete, consistency, discipline, intellect, there's so many different adjectives we can use to describe what hard to play against means," Zito said. "It's more than size, strength and physical play. Hopefully, we get a little bit of all of it."
With that checklist in mind, Zito kicked off free agency by inking Gudas to a three-year deal.
"He's obviously a size, strength defenseman that brings an element to the game that I think everybody that's ever played against him knows, not unlike Patric Hornqvist," said Zito, grinning ear to ear, when asked to describe Gudas' playstyle. "He's a guy that you hate to play against."
A defensive defenseman, Gudas is the definition of a player that fans hate when he's not on their team. Standing a sturdy 6-foot and 205 pounds, he's physical, aggressive and excels at rattling the opposition through booming body checks and in-your-face play in all three zones.
In 2019-20, he appeared in 63 games with the Washington Capitals, racking up 15 points (two goals, 13 assists) while also leading the club's defenseman in hits (164). A veteran of 479 NHL regular-season games, he's posted 26 goals, 94 assists and 619 penalty minutes in his career.
Since entering the league in 2012-13, the 30-year-old ranks fifth in the NHL in hits (1,648).
"He's a leader," Zito said. "He plays the game the right way. He's a very smart defender. One of the things that come to mind when you scout him in addition to the edge that he plays with is that he's generally in the right place at the right time defensively as well. That's a great addition to our defensive core, both from a leadership standpoint and competitive standpoint."
Following Gudas, the Panthers then announced the signing of Verhaeghe, who's fresh off celebrating his Stanley Cup championship with the Tampa Bay Lightning, to a two-year deal.
"He's a guy now with a Stanley Cup pedigree who can play up and down the lineup with some upside," Zito said. "That was something that we targeted. Our scouts worked very hard and spent a lot of hours together looking for sort of younger talent that have upside and might be buried, might be behind opportunities in the clubs that they were on. He's a guy we're really excited about to see exactly what he can do providing some opportunities here."
After making his NHL debut on Oct. 3, 2019 -- oddly enough, against the Panthers - the 25-year-old went on to finish the 2019-20 campaign with nine goals and four assists in 52 games. In the postseason, he suited up in eight games, including three during the Stanley Cup Finals.
A driver of possession, Verhaeghe also led the Lightning with a 55.39 CF% at 5-on-5.
Prior to carving out a spot with Tampa Bay, the 6-foot-2, 180-pound forward spent two seasons with the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. In 2018-19, he was named to the AHL First All-Star Team after leading the league in goals (34) and points (82), while also pacing Syracuse in assists (48). With the Panthers, Verhaeghe can potentially be utilized as sort of a jack-of-all-trades up front.
"He's a multi-positional guy," Zito said. "He can play wing and center."
Next up, the Cats added some sandpaper by signing Lomberg to a two-year deal.
A sparkplug on the ice, the 25-year-old forward has competed in 11 career NHL games with the Calgary Flames, including four in 2019-20. A veteran of 219 AHL contests, he's spent most of the past four years with the Stockton Heat, tallying 49 goals, 60 assists and 365 penalty minutes.
Taking a step forward, he was nearly a point-per-game player in Stockton this past season, posting 20 points (11 goals, nine assists) in 21 games to go along with 14 penalty minutes.
With an intriguing toolset at his disposal, Zito believes "fans are going to love" Lomberg.
"He's an energy forward who can fly," Zito said. "He's an F1, in-your-face, hard forward with hockey sense who can play the game and will provide presence in the offensive zone. He's a very, very fast, speedy wing who plays with an edge."
A former Blue Jacket like himself, Zito then bolstered Florida's depth at forward even further when he managed to sign former first-round pick Alexander Wennberg to a one-year contract.
"He's a guy I'm obviously familiar with," said Zito, who spent seven seasons as an assistant general manager in Columbus before being hired by the Cats. "He's a guy that can play center or wing. He can play in a couple of different roles… He's a very smart and cerebral player."
The 14th overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, Wennberg, who had the final three seasons of his previous contract bought out by Columbus on Thursday, has been quite an effective playmaker throughout his career, posting 201 points (40 goals, 161 assists) in 415 regular-season games.
In 22 career postseason contests, he's notched eight points (four goals, four assists).
During his final tour with the Blue Jackets in 2019-20, the 26-year-old had 22 points (five goals, 17 assists) in 57 games. In the playoffs, he chipped in three goals and two assists in 10 games.
"He's a guy who's excited about trying to, I wouldn't say reinvent himself, but jumpstart himself," Zito said.
Closing out a very busy day, the Panthers signed Hinostroza to a one-year deal.
A veteran of 246 regular-season games in the NHL, the 26-year-old has produced 100 points (34 goals, 66 assists) in his career. This past season, he registered 22 points (five goals, 17 assists) with the Arizona Coyotes. In seven postseason games, he's dished out a pair of assists.
An intriguing candidate for a potential resurgence with the Panthers, Hinostroza, who played under Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville with the Chicago Blackhawks from 2015-18, is only a few years removed from posting a career-best 39 points (16 goals, 23 assists) in Arizona.
"He's another multi-positional guy who has a little bit of upside there from a skill perspective," Zito said. "He's hard-working, [has] skill and brings an element of character, leadership and work."
Even after making these five additions to the roster, there's a good chance that the Panthers aren't quite done when it comes to making their final preparations for the upcoming season.
And with each new day, Zito's vision for the future becomes clearer and clearer.
"We'll still continue to try and improve the team every single day in any way that we can," Zito said. "We're working."