Less than two weeks after reclaiming their Stanley Cup title, the Florida Panthers pulled off another hat trick on Monday.
Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett, and Aaron Ekblad expressed their desire to never leave South Florida, and they were granted their request. The Panthers decided to re-sign Ekblad and Marchand a few days after extending Bennett’s contract.
Ekblad accepted a $48.8 million, eight-year contract. Because the organization had not made the contracts public, a person familiar with the agreement who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity said Marchand agreed to a six-year contract.
Even though the salary cap was raised to a record level, the Panthers could have received offers for far more than they could have afforded if Ekblad or Marchand had gone on the open market. The transactions were completed before to the start of NFL free agency on Tuesday.
General manager Bill Zito praised Ekblad, saying, “Aaron is a pillar of our defense who has consistently excelled at both ends of the ice as one of the best defensemen in the NHL over the past decade.” Aaron’s unwavering leadership both on and off the ice has been crucial to our team’s success, from a Calder-winning rookie season to two Stanley Cup titles. We are excited that he will continue his career in South Florida after solidifying his place in Panthers history.
Together with Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Gustav Forsling, Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell, Seth Jones, and Bennett, the playoff MVP, who inked an eight-year, $64 million contract last week, Ekblad and Marchand became the ninth and tenth players to have contracts with the Panthers through at least 2030 or beyond.
Going into the summer, the Panthers were faced with the question of whether they could retain a combination of Bennett, Ekblad, and Marchand, all of whom were eligible for free agency.
For every one of them, the response was yes.
D-man transactions
There were several defensemen that re-signed on Monday besides Ekblad.
Edmonton signed a significant contract with Evan Bouchard for $42 million over four years, with an annual cap charge of $10.5 million. The team has fallen to Florida in the finals the last two seasons.
A source familiar with the arrangement said Columbus and Ivan Provorov reached an agreement on a five-year contract worth $59.5 million. Since the deal had not yet been signed, the individual talked to the AP under the condition of anonymity.
According to a second source with knowledge of the arrangement, Alexander Romanov signed an eight-year contract worth $50 million with the New York Islanders. Because the conditions were not revealed, the individual talked to the AP under the condition of anonymity.
Washington chose not to make Alexander Alexeyev a qualifying offer, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agency, and instead signed Declan Chisholm, who was previously acquired, for $2.6 million over the following two years.
Red Wings are busy.
Winger Patrick Kane was re-signed by Detroit for a one-year contract worth $3 million including performance bonuses. Over the weekend, general manager Steve Yzerman expressed optimism that Kane will be retained.
In order to make room for Kane, the Red Wings traded Vladimir Tarasenko to Minnesota for consideration in the future. With a salary cap hit of $4.75 million, Tarasenko, 33, has one year remaining on his deal.
Tarasenko had just 11 goals and 22 assists with Detroit, which was his lowest point total for any season in which he played at least half of the games. The Wild, his sixth team in four seasons, are hoping he can turn things around.
According to general manager Bill Guerin, he is a player who needs a new beginning. Everything simply sort of fits, including the contract and the money. Vladdy can come to us in the hopes of regaining the form he had in previous years. I simply believe that there is plenty that we can do to assist him.
Additional Trades
In exchange for a conditional 2027 third-round pick, Utah sent teenage forward Matias Maccelli to Toronto. If Maccelli scores 51 points or more and the Maple Leafs qualify for the playoffs the following season, it becomes a 2029 second-round pick.
In exchange for a 2026 seventh-round pick, Carolina also purchased the rights to goalie Cayden Primeau from Montreal.
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Contributions were made by AP Sports Writers Dave Campbell and John Wawrow.
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