George Richards, FHN Publisher
Florida Panthers GM Bill Zito held a press conference on the first day of free agency on the patio of a lounge on the club level at BB&T Center Wednesday afternoon.
As Zito spoke, lightning flashed in the background as one of our famous South Florida thunderstorms rolled in across the Everglades toward Sunrise.
Zito wrapped things up just before the skies opened which was about the most exciting part of the Florida’s day.
While other teams around the league were throwing millions of dollars at new players, Zito and his front office mostly stayed out of the fray.
It wasn’t because they didn’t want to get into the game — but because their plan was to try and keep as many of their own players as they could.
That meant most of their work had already been done in the days leading up to the start of free agency.
“This was similar to days I had in Columbus and even as an agent,” Zito said. “You prepare for the day but we knew what we wanted to do ahead of time, what we were trying to execute. The acquisition of Sam Reinhart threw a bit of a wrench in, player personnel wise to what we could do cap-wise.
“As today went, it was rather quiet but we didn’t think we could really be active. We’re actually happy right where we were.”
Still, there was a lot of activity around the Panthers as they finalized — and made official — deals which had already been worked out.
Florida continued to lock down as many players as it could from the 2021 team which finished a point behind Carolina in the Central Division and lost in six games to the future Stanley Cup champion Lightning.
The first move announced was that Maxim Mamin, a former Florida prospect who played in 33 games in parts of two seasons with the Panthers from 2017-18, was leaving the KHL and returning to the Panthers.
Then came the expected news of Carter Verhaeghe’s three-year contract extension as well as the official word on defenseman Brandon Montour’s new three-year deal.
“As a UFA, you get to explore and see what’s out there,” said Montour, who could have been a free agent but looked around and circled back to the Panthers on Tuesday. “My interest was never like that. I wanted to be a Panther and you have work through the business side. But this is where I wanted to be from when they traded for me. I am excited for the next three years.”
Said Zito: “With the cap and where we’re going — we still have a couple players to sign — we were trying to make sure we could fit Brandon in. A lot of times, you saw a few contracts get done last night, that happens pretty frequently.”
Along the way, the Panthers also signed Juho Lammikko to a one-year deal and also agreed to bring in goalie Chris Gibson who spent last season with the Lightning.
For some teams, Wednesday was a day to celebrate being a player on the free agent stage.
Florida was one of those teams last October when it brought in Verhaeghe, Radko Gudas and Alex Wennberg (who hit paydirt with a new contract in Seattle Wednesday) among others.
But Zito believes in building a team from within and developing ones own players.
That includes players you had previously acquired either through free agency or trades.
Zito and the Panthers believe they are a team on the rise thanks to players just now hitting their peak.
To keep them, they had to be rewarded — and most of them already had been.
In the past few months, the Panthers have extended the contracts of Mason Marchment, Anthony Duclair, Gus Forsling, Noah Juulsen, Lucas Carlsson and Sam Bennett.
Reinhart, acquired in a trade over the weekend from Buffalo, should be getting his new contract in the coming days.
“It is important for some of the guys who gave everything they did for the organization to (remain) part of the team,” Zito said. “I spoke to Sam Reinhart today, Brandon today … Brandon was excited as a member of the team and Sam from what he had heard in interacting with the guys about the team.
“Guys who come in, dedicate themselves and strive to help the collective team, it is important to keep the team together and the core together. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
PANTHERS FREE AGENCY NEWS, NOTES
Captain Sasha Barkov is the biggest name on the Panthers who is due a new contract extension but the team does not appear to be in any rush to get one done.
Barkov has one year left on the six-year extension he signed in 2016 at $5.9 million and could become a free agent next summer.
The Panthers aren’t going to let that happen. Barkov, who is back in Finland, is expected to finalize the long-term deal upon his return.
“I have spoken to Todd Diamond, Sasha’s agent, a couple of times,” Zito said. “We continue to talk.”
— The signing of Gibson on a two-way deal is a bit of a surprise since the Panthers tendered a qualifying offer to Sam Montembeault.
It was assumed Montembeault would either beat out Spencer Knight for a spot on the Florida roster or be the starter at AHL Charlotte.
Now it looks like he will have to battle Gibson for playing time as well.
Gibson, 28, spent last season with the Lightning and was a teammate of a few of Panthers players as the two teams shared AHL Syracuse.
A second-round pick by the Kings in 2011, Gibson has played in 14 games with the Islanders and two with the Lightning.
— Lammikko, like Mamin and Evgenii Dadonov before them, went back home to play and develop their game before coming back to the NHL with the Panthers.
In 44 games with the Panthers last year, Lammikko became a trusted defensive player for coach Joel Quenneville but added a touch of secondary scoring as well, getting four goals with five points.
With Lammikko and Mamin both getting one-way contracts, the battle for final roster spots in Florida among the forwards should be intense.