‘Florida is home’: Panthers keep trio of Bennett, Ekblad and Marchand

FORT LAUDERDALE Florida Panthers fans were not the only ones celebrating as the news broke that Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand landed new contracts on Monday.

As soon as one comes through over the wire, the whole group chat goes crazy and theres a lot of excitement, Ekblad said.

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The group chats going crazy, the poker group chats going crazy.

Were definitely raising the buy-ins next year.

Florida is running it back with a group of star players who appear genuinely thrilled to keep playing together.

Many of the key players from the Stanley Cup wins are signed through 2030 and beyond, giving the Panthers several more shots to win championships with the current group.

This was 100 percent those guys wanting to be part of something that they created, Panthers general manager Bill Zito said Tuesday.

We kind of wax poetic about the team and the community theyve become, and I think this is a great example of what it means to them.

And its 100 percent those men who made that decision that they all wanted to continue to try it together.

Ekblad and Conn Smythe winner Sam Bennett each signed eight-year contracts, keeping them in South Florida through 2032-33.

Marchands contract is for six years, running through 2030, when Marchand will be 43 years old.

It speaks a lot about the organization and everything that they do for us and how bad guys want to play here, Ekblad said.

Our practice rink, our game rink, the hotels that we stay in on the road, the food that we eat the organization does everything for us.

So its easy to want to stay here.

And then the culture of winning is just a huge draw to guys, right? Its the most important thing.

Its why we play the game.

Ekblad, who the Panthers selected with the first pick in the 2014 draft, has not known another organization.

He said before the playoffs were over that he wanted to stay in Florida, so the contract negotiations were stressful.

It was always Florida, Ekblad said.

Florida is home, and the personal calculation was: How do we make it work so that we can keep as many guys as possible.

But obviously, again, still feel fair and respected and be able to walk into the locker room and feel that respect.

So that was a personal calculation.

It was always Florida.

This is home for us.

and the friends that weve made over the years in and out of hockey and the relationships weve built in Florida is everything to us.

Unlike Ekblad, Marchand has played with another organization, spending the first 15 years of his career with Boston.

Marchand was limited during the regular season but had 10 goals and 10 assists in the playoffs, finishing second to Bennett in the Conn Smythe voting.

Despite Marchand being 37, Zito elected to keep the veteran with the team long-term.

He fits right in with the group, Zito said.

So, yeah, it was rather seamless, and that was a big part, I think, of our success because its really hard to come in from the outside.

And sometimes its just the change alone that makes it difficult.

But he came in and he integrated as a teammate, as a player, as a linemate, socially, as just a friend, and as a guy.

And it was fun to be a part of..

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