With Ekblad and Bennett Signed, What’s Left for the Panthers to Do

The Florida Panthers took care of a lot of business over the past few days with general manager Bill Zito signing both Aaron Ekblad and Sam Bennett to eight-year contracts.

With those two locked down for a combined cap hit of $14.1 million, the Panthers are just $4.9 under the salary cap per PuckPedia and still need to fill out the rest of the team.

So, what’s next?

First, new backup goalie Daniil Tarasov is a restricted free agent and needs to sign a new deal — based on his past couple of years in Columbus, it should come in the $1 million range.

Mackie Samoskevich is also RFA, and he needs a new contract.

Does he take a bridge deal — as in one year — with the salary cap going up substantially over the next few years?

Perhaps.

If the Panthers could get Tarasov and Samoskevich under contract for around $2.5 million, that does not leave much to play with to fill the other needs.

Oh yeah.

Brad Marchand.

The Panthers, as things stand right now, probably can only offer the 37-year-old a one-year contract which would be back-end heavy with easy-to-reach bonuses.

Say he takes $1 million in base salary, but could get $3 million in bonuses, the $3 million carries over to next year and his cap hit this coming year would be $1 million.

Will he take something like that and hope for a longer-term deal with Florida next year when the salary cap skies open up a bit?

We’ll see.

UPDATE: Marchand did not take such a deal — but did agree to a six-year contract worth $5.3 million annually not long after this story was published.

Florida can also be close to being $10 million over the salary cap through the summer which means they can fill out depth positions without worry of being in violation of the $95.5 million threshold.

That is a short term fix to fit a few more players in.

If Matthew Tkachuk needs major surgery later this summer, and he says there’s a 50-50 chance he will, the Panthers would have some more cap space once the season starts to add a defenseman or two, perhaps a fourth-line center?

Of course, when Tkachuk returns from LTIR and starts playing, his salary cap slot goes back on the books so to speak and the Panthers will have to make some moves.

But, they will be able to ice a full team with a little bit of depth in the interim.

Tomas Nosek has said he would like to come back but after playing so well in the postseason for the Panthers, he may command more than his $775,000 salary from last season.

Nate Schmidt appears to be headed to free agency where he will have numerous suitors waiting for him Tuesday at noon.

The Panthers certainly cannot afford him anymore, not with what they have left.

Florida does have Uvis Balinskis ready to come in on the third pair, and Toby Bjornfot is an option as the seventh defenseman if the Panthers made him a qualifying offer.

Jaycob Megna could also return.

Rasmus Asplund spent most of last season with AHL Charlotte but played in six games with the Panthers.

He does not have a contract for this coming season but could be a strong option to join Florida this year and perhaps take over that 4C spot at a number similar to what Nosek made last year.

Florida is also looking for a No. 3 goalie to start at Charlotte and be there in case Sergei Bobrovsky or Tarasov get hurt.

FLORIDA PANTHERS UNDER CONTRACT FOR 2025-26

• Forwards (11): Sasha Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell, Evan Rodrigues, Eetu Luostarinen, Jesper Boqvist, AJ Greer, Jonah Gadjovich
• Defensemen (6): Seth Jones, Aaron Ekblad, Gus Forsling, Niko Mikkola, Dmitry Kulikov, Uvis Balinskis
• Goalies (1): Sergei Bobrovsky
• RFAs: Mackie Samoskevich, Daniil Tarasov
• UFAs: Brad Marchand, Tomas Nosek, Nico Sturm, Nate Schmidt, Jaycob Megna

2024 STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS 2025

FLORIDA PANTHERS

UP NEXT

• Start of NHL Free Agency: Tuesday, noon
• Panthers Development Camp, Fort Lauderdale IcePlex: Today-Thursday
• Panthers Rookie Camp, Fort Lauderdale IcePlex: Early September
• Prospect Showcase @ Tampa Bay Lightning: Early September, Wesley Chapel
• Training Camp: Mid-September
• Exhibition Games: Starts Sept. 21 @ Nashville (doubleheader)
• Opening Night: Oct 7-9 (opponent, time, date TBA)