Overtime thoughts

Congratulations to the Florida Panthers, who once again earned the right to lift lord Stanley for the second year in a row. On their way to win it all, they took care of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes, and the Edmonton Oilers. Pending unrestricted free agent Sam Bennett was named playoff MVP, scoring 15 goals and seven assists.

In the past, NHL teams really had to hit on prospects in the draft and develop them to have a chance to compete. Teams like the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Calgary Flames really have to strike gold in the draft because they are not markets that attract free agents. On the other hand, Florida has the luxury of always being able to attract free agents, especially now, because they’re good, but because it’s a destination players want to go to because of the weather and the no state tax. A team like the Panthers can get away with missing on a few draft picks because they will always be able to compensate and reload with free agents.

When we look at the current Florida Panthers roster, Most of their impact Players are not guys they have drafted; they traded for them. Trading assets is scary because almost every trade has a clear winner and a loser. The Panthers have found the right person in General Manager Bill Zito, since he seems to win every trade he makes. If I’m a General Manager and Bill Zito is calling, I’m not picking up. 

In game six of the Stanley Cup Final, where they just won their second consecutive cup, the Panthers’ lineup consisted of 11 guys they’ve signed, six guys they’ve traded for, and only three guys they drafted. I had to double check because I knew they did not have many players they drafted and developed dressed in the playoffs, but only three is shocking and rare in the NHL.

On July 24, 2021, Florida started their retool by trading for centerman Sam Reinhart from the Buffalo Sabres for goaltender prospect Devon Levi and a late first-round pick. At the time, it looked like a good trade for both franchises because Reinhart was going to be able to slide in perfectly as the team’s second-line center, and Buffalo was getting their goalie of the future. Sadly for Buffalo, Reinhart has turned into a superstar, scoring 57 goals last season, making Bill Zito look like a genius. Guys who score 57 goals in the NHL should not get traded that easily.

The move that really changed the vibe and the culture of the Florida Panthers was when Zito shocked the hockey world and traded his best offensive player for Calgary Flames Matthew Tkachuk in 2022. I remember when the trade happened, I was getting ready for bed, and it took me completely by surprise. My first thought was that Florida gave up way too many assets since Calgary did not have that much leverage because it was public knowledge that Tkatchuk had asked for a trade out of Calgary. Florida sent star forward Jonathan Huberdeau, who had just scored 115 points that season, top-four defencemen Mackenzie Weegar, prospect Cole Schwindt, and a first-round pick. Initially, I thought they gave up too much, but I was wrong. Since that trade happened, Florida took on Tkatchuk’s playing style and has been playing with his confidence and grit that has helped them win back-to-back Stanley Cups.

I don’t mean to make fun of the Calgary Flames management, especially because their previous General Manager, who traded Tkachuk and Sam Bennett to Florida, is now the GM of the Maple Leafs, but he traded Bennett for a prospect and a second-round pick. The guy just won for the second year in a row, where he was one of the best players last year and playoff MVP this year, I’m sure Calgary would want that one back.

Those are the two main trades that have taken Florida from being a good team to a contender, but there are so many other ones that they have struck gold on. They claimed defenceman Gustav Forsling off waivers, meaning that the Carolina Hurricanes were okay with losing him for nothing in return, and since that moment, he has arguably been their best defenceman. This season alone, they somehow found a way to make the money work to go get Seth Jones out of Chicago, a guy who is known to be able to play 25 minutes a night, every night, while being solid defensively and can chip in offensively. At the trade deadline this season, we thought every trade had come through until it came out that they acquired Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand for a conditional second-round pick. Since then, that draft pick has become a first-round pick, but this must be brutal for Bruins fans, considering the success he’s had this postseason. In games where Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Aleksander Barkov are playing, Marchand is often the player who stands out the most, making impactful plays almost every shift.

Sadly for the rest of the league, especially the Atlantic division (Toronto), Florida has set itself up to dominate for the next 3-5 years minimum. With the way their roster is constructed and most of their guys taking less money than they could have gotten elsewhere, I don’t know who can beat them in a seven-game playoff series.