While the Florida Panthers continued their reign of dominance to win their second straight Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers’ front-line players delivered solid performances in the Cup-clinching Game 6 win over the Edmonton Oilers.
Now, with the NHL offseason here, Florida has to deal with three of their best front-liners becoming unrestricted free agents. Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, and Brad Marchand have all come to the end of their contracts.
While the Panthers probably want to retain them all for another season, the relatively high cap hits and low cap space make it tough. One insider, however, believes there might be a solution for this.
Panthers Can Retain Their Front Line if They Can Trade One Winger
The Panthers’ cap hits for Bennett, Ekblad, and Marchand hit $18 million. This might make it hard for the South Florida franchise to get that last man to complete their 23-man roster.
Hockey analyst and NHL Insider Nick Kypreos believes, “The Panthers are trying to figure out if they have enough room to keep pending UFAs Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad, with $19 million in cap space currently.”
While there are rumors that things are striking a bad note between Ekblad and the Florida management about his contract, Kypreos believes that keeping Marchand might prove to be the toughest call. He believes that center Evan Rodrigues might be the answer to that.
“But there’s some feeling they could perhaps also squeeze in Brad Marchand with some extra savings,” Kypreos said. “This is why Evan Rodrigues is being contemplated as a trade candidate.” Rodrigues, 31, has been a key contributor to the Panthers’ scoring machine.
With 15 points in both the 2024 and 2025 Stanley Cup playoff runs, Rodrigues has shown to be resilient under pressure. Kypreos said, “It may not be so easy as trading him and being guaranteed to keep all three; however, Marchand’s persona is growing daily, and where his contract value ends up outside of Florida may shock some people.”
Not to mention, Marchand has mentioned numerous times that he loves playing in Florida. While he may still have to take a pay cut to fit the Panthers’ budget, a contract with a performance-laden bonus might be an answer to the situation.
“The Panthers are in tough to keep all three and have to move out as much money as possible to make an offer that Marchand can seriously consider, which is why Rodrigues is one to watch as a potential cap casualty,” Kypreos said.
The NHL free agency period starts on July 1. The Panthers hope to retain their front three players before that begins.
