NHL rumors: Panthers unlikely to re-sign all 'big three' UFAs, may prioritize Sam Bennett over Brad Marchand & $60,000,000 D-man

The Florida Panthers are one win away from securing their second consecutive Stanley Cup, leading the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 in the championship series.

While the team's focus remains on the Stanley Cup Final, there's a lot of chatter around three key unrestricted free agents: forward Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett and defenseman Aaron Ekblad. All three have been key contributors for the Panthers in the series.

According to NHL analyst Frankie Corrado, the Panthers may prioritize re-signing Sam Bennett over Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad, with the likelihood of Marchand and Ekblad staying in Florida being more uncertain.

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"I can't envision a world where all three of those guys are back for a number of reasons. First of all, Brad Marchand is kind of pricing himself out of the Florida Panthers right now with the way he’s played in the playoffs. And if you look at their cap situation, it's like $19 million they have to spend for next year, and they still have to sign, you know, seven players if they want to go to a 23-man roster. So there’s just not room for all three," Corrado said.

Reflecting on last year's decisions, the Panthers prioritized re-signing forward Sam Reinhart over defenseman Brandon Montour, securing Reinhart on a favorable deal while replacing Montour with Seth Jones.

The precedent suggests the club may again prioritize a forward, likely Bennett, over a defenseman like Ekblad. Corrado concluded that retaining two of the three is the most plausible scenario, but if only one remains, Sam Bennett is the most likely based on the team's historical approach and current cap situation.

"What I’m saying is the most I could see is two, and if it’s only one, my guess would be it’s Sam Bennett, based on what we saw last year with Reinhart and Montour," he added.

If Aaron Ekblad, who was signed to an eight-year, $60 million contract, were to stay, it would likely require him to accept a significantly reduced contract. The 29-year-old defenseman has racked up 12 points through four goals and eight assists in 18 playoff games with a plus-6 rating.

Brad Marchand makes history in SCF

Brad Marchand has been a standout performer in the Florida Panthers-Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup Final.

The 37-year-old scored two goals in the Panthers' 5-2 win in Game 5, bringing his series total to six goals. He became the seventh player in NHL history to record five or more goals in multiple Stanley Cup Finals. The last player to achieve this was Mario Lemieux, who accomplished the feat with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and 1992.

Overall, Marchand has tallied 20 points through 10 goals and as many assists in 22 postseason games. He'll hope to win his second championship when the Panthers host the Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday.