3 UFAs the Florida Panthers must bring back after their 2025 Stanley Cup triumph ft. Brad Marchand

On Tuesday, the Florida Panthers cemented their place in NHL history by becoming just the ninth team to go back-to-back as Stanley Cup champions.

Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov and Gustav Forsling are all under contract for five or more years. However, several key players are set to become unrestricted free agents.

With an estimated $19 million in cap space this summer, the team will likely have some tough decisions when it comes to its offseason spending.

Three UFAs the Florida Panthers must bring back next season

NHL: Stanley Cup Final-Edmonton Oilers at Florida Panthers - Source: Imagn

#1: Brad Marchand

Fourteen years after winning his first Stanley Cup, Brad Marchand joined the Panthers at the trade deadline and had a legendary postseason run. Over 23 playoff games, he logged 20 points, and came up big when the team needed him most.

While Marchand and the Bruins parted ways largely due to an extension disagreement, the Panthers need to do everything they can to retain him this summer.

#2: Sam Bennett

The Panthers likely won't be able to re-sign Sam Bennett to a contract that pays him $4.4m annually again. However, he is coming off the most productive season of his career and his most productive offseason. Bringing Bennett back should be a top priority for Florida.

Bennett logged 51 points over 76 regular season games, and 22 points in 23 matchups in the playoffs. Given his age, and that he's shown he may not have reached his ceiling yet, Bennett could be a part of Florida's future plans.

#3: Nate Schmidt

In a perfect world, the Panthers would likely prefer to retain Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad this summer. Ekblad is coming off a deal that paid him $7.5m annually; however, it's unlikely that the team will be able to keep all three.

That's where Nate Schmidt comes in. While playing on a one-year $800,000 contract this season, he logged 12 points in the postseason, overplaying his contract value.

Given that Ekblad logged 13 points and was paid considerably more, the team could bring Schmidt back while dancing around the salary cap.

About the author

Evan Bell is a journalist specializing in the NBA and NHL at Sportskeeda, whose love for the game stems from a childhood spent watching the Chicago Bulls. He has been there through their highs and lows, from the Jordan era to the exciting Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah years.

Evan finds the 82-game season and the intensity of playoff basketball exhilarating, and he also revels in the offseason drama. Phil Jackson stands out as his favorite coach, whom he admires for his composed leadership and success in managing dynamic personalities like Dennis Rodman.

To deliver top-quality content, Evan fact-checks information while diligently keeping up with the action year-round.

When he's not writing, Evan follows tennis and Greek football, and also plays basketball and tennis.

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Edited by Victor Ramon Galvez