Panthers found a way to keep the core together, and Zito says it was player-driven

FORT LAUDERDALE Fla AP Bill Zito looked exhausted Tuesday The Florida Panthers hockey operations president and general manager was trying to schedule a fishing trip He was trying to figure out how the next insufficient weeks will work He needed a nap desperately The good news He can eventually get a bit of a break The Panthers are running skating it back next season with all of the forwards that they used in the clinching match of the Stanley Cup Final under contract for - and in a multitude of cases long beyond The final moves came Tuesday when the signings of Brad Marchand and Tomas Nosek became officially official as Florida prepares to try and win a third consecutive title next season And with that Zito and the Panthers pulled off a stunning haul They went into free agency trying to figure out who among the trio of Sam Bennett Aaron Ekblad and Marchand could fit under the salary cap for next season and kept them all It begged the obvious question Tuesday How did he do this I didn t It was those guys Zito disclosed There s no gray area whatsoever This is those guys wanting to be part of something that they created We kind of wax poetic about the gang and the neighborhood that they ve become And I think this is a great example of what it means to them It s those men who made that decision that they all needed to continue to try to win together Bennett took an eight-year deal worth million Ekblad took an eight-year deal worth million and Marchand took a six-year deal worth about million And much in the same way that Zito who has players majority of the unit s biggest names under contract through at least didn t want credit Ekblad deferred the credit for all of this happening as well It speaks a lot about the organization and everything that they do for us and how bad guys want to play here Ekblad stated Our practice rink our challenge rink the hotels that we stay in on the road the food that we eat the organization does everything for us It s easy to want to stay here And then the heritage of winning is just a huge draw to guys right It s the greater part crucial thing It s why we play the tournament And we ve all been taken care of extremely well Bennett Ekblad and Marchand all could have commanded more on the open territory the NHL s free agency period opened at noon Eastern on Tuesday or about an hour after Zito met with reporters inside the Panthers theater at their new practice facility They chose to stay for less and try to win more It s a simple formula It was dependably Florida explained Ekblad who is now in position to potentially spend the entirety of what could be a nearly two-decade career with the Panthers I don t think you guys understand Florida is home now Before that nap Zito had a couple more things to monitor The Panthers still had a couple pursuits in free agency to tend to but the core is built and in place for years to come And that means when he conclusively gets to sleep Zito will sleep well I think they see the players having fun and enjoying hockey and they know how hard they work Zito disclosed I think they want to be part of that