"Hardest to close" - Elliotte Friedman floats scenario where Panthers retain only two among Brad Marchand, Aaron Ekblad and Sam Bennett

The Florida Panthers have some key pending free agents who could leave. After their second consecutive title run, the roster could undergo a shakeup as they can't keep everyone they had last season.

Panthers general manager Bill Zito has said that he plans to sign everyone back. He has also shown in the past that he's willing to commit every dollar they have to bring in and keep talent. However, it might be difficult this year.

Of the outgoing free agents, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman said Aaron Ekblad could be the most difficult to retain.

"I’m hearing the toughest one to get done will be Ekblad," Friedman said on Tuesday (20:00), via the "32 Thoughts" podcast. "Even though there’s a willingness from all of them to stay, there are grinders involved. Bill Zito is a grinder. His negotiators in Florida — along with him — are grinders. And the agents representing all these players are grinders too."

Friedman added that Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett and Ekblad all want to stay, but there's a reality that they can't. Friedman believes it makes the most sense for only two of them to stay.

"It seems the expectation is that if Florida keeps two out of three, it’ll likely be Bennett and Marchand," Friedman said. "I'm not saying that definitively, but that’s the buzz. Ekblad’s deal seems the hardest to close."

Ekblad is expected to get a lot of attention, and that has made it difficult for Florida to find a common ground with him during negotiations.

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Aaron Ekblad, Panthers at impasse

Aaron Ekblad isn't a guaranteed exit for the Florida Panthers, but things are trending that way. An extension for him to stay in Florida seems unlikely, according to TSN analyst Pierre LeBrun.

Aaron Ekblad is a free agent (Imagn)

"I’m not going to say there’s no chance he re-signs, but the reality is that I don’t think there’s been a lot of negotiation throughout the year since last summer on Aaron Ekblad," LeBrun said on Tuesday, via "Early Trading."

"I think the term was an issue the last time both sides talked about a potential extension. There’s some hard miles there on Ekblad, although he’s a very important player on that team.”

There might be a lot of teams interested, so Ekblad could get more money on the open market. However, the Panthers are the team to beat, which may allow them to operate with an advantage.