For the Florida Panthers, This Offseason Was Not Like the Last

This offseason was decidedly different for the Florida Panthers than the one which preceded it.

Both, of course, included a Stanley Cup championship parade as well as days — and weeks — of partying with that big silver mug.

Yet, the two were completely different.

Timing was a big part of it.

In 2024, the Panthers had less than a week from when they beat the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to when free agency opened.

General manager Bill Zito also had to fly to Las Vegas for the NHL Draft during that week.

Florida, up against the salary cap, was unable to keep a couple of players it really would have liked to have kept.

Save for one player, that was not the case this offseason.