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Panthers GM Shows How Quickly Championship Teams Are Built

The Florida Panthers general manager proved that you can build a champion quicker than many organizations believe.

Jacob Punturi

Jun 7, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers general manager Bill Zito speaks to reporters during media day in advance of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 7, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers general manager Bill Zito speaks to reporters during media day in advance of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
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When the Florida Panthers named Bill Zito as the new general manager, the goal was very simple: take the underachieving franchise with promise and turn them into a winner. Despite having some talented players, the organization was directionless. They had failed to qualify for the postseason in three out of the previous four seasons before Zito took over.

Just four years later, the Panthers are the best team in the world and have an excellent shot at defending their Stanley Cup championship successfully in 2024-2025. Zito deserves every ounce of praise and credit imaginable for his role in the Panthers' success. Without him, the team never goes from the second best team in the state of Florida to the defending champions.

What Zito's done with the Panthers is a blueprint for how to build a contender quickly, and other general managers should study his moves and try to emulate it. From scouting, free agency, the waiver wire, the trade market, and contract negotiations, Zito's gained a mastery of putting together a team.

Let's look at the trades he made, which have been the biggest headlines of Zito's tenure with the Panthers. He acquired superstar Matthew Tkachuk from the Calgary Flames, giving up two well-respected and productive players in Jonathan Huberdeau and Mackenzie Weegar. Tkachuk's posted an 80 and 100-point season and 46 points over 44 postseason games since joining the Panthers. This trade alone is a career-making move as an executive, and it's just one of several Zito made.

The Panthers acquired many impact players that helped them win the Stanley Cup once Zito took the reigns. In 2021, he made separate trades for defender Brandon Montour, forward Sam Bennett, and winger Sam Reinhart. Reinhart just had his first 50-goal season with the Cats and signed a massive extension. Montour was a crucial defenseman for them and parlayed that into a new contract with the Seattle Kraken. Sam Bennett has been a pesky competitor and 15-20 goal scorer since arriving in Florida.

But it isn't just the trade market that Zito utilizes well. He's been so smart in free agency, signing players like Carter Verhaege, Evan Rodrigues, Nikko Mikkola, Dmitry Kulikov, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson to impressively cheap contracts.

He's also showed the NHL that the waiver wire can be an incredibly valuable place to acquire talent. In 2021, Zito claimed defenseman Gustav Forsling from the Carolina Hurricanes. The move was a minor one at the time, but it's paid off ten-fold for the Panthers. The 28 year-old blueliner has three 35+ point seasons and is the team's top left-handed defenseman. He's under contract for less than $5 million annually for the next eight seasons, and Zito looks like an absolute genius for the move.

The Panthers have one of the best minds in the NHL with Bill Zito running their team and making roster decisions. Without Zito, they might have improved, but it's unlikely they win the championship. Zito laid out the perfect blue plan for how a team can go from decent to Stanley Cup winner in less than five years.

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Jacob Punturi
JACOB PUNTURI

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