After acquiring Brady Tkachuk and Garnet Hathaway in trades this week, Bill Zito continues working the phones ahead of the NHL Draft in Buffalo to address goaltending needs and maximize Florida's championship window.
The 2026 NHL Draft is set for this weekend in Buffalo.
Leading up to the annual event, it appeared the Florida Panthers would be playing a main role in the festivities, holding a pair of first-round picks and four selections in the first 48.
Well, things changed rather drastically earlier this week when Florida shipped those two first rounders, as well as a 2029 first-round pick and a second-round pick in 2027, to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for star forward Brady Tkachuk.
It wasn’t surprising to see Panthers General Manager Bill Zito use the high-end assets to obtain additional talent at the NHL level and widen Florida’s Stanley Cup window.
The Panthers were already going to be considered one of the top contenders in the league next season, and now the team known for their hard-nosed, tight checking style of play is adding another player who perfectly personifies the kind of hockey Florida has perfected under Head Coach Paul Maurice.
It’s for that reason Zito and his staff have been diligently working the phones, exploring options to see if there are other areas they can improve the team with the tradable assets they have left.
Thursday morning, they pulled the trigger on a deal with the Philadelphia Flyers, acquiring veteran forward Garnet Hathaway and a 2026 sixth-round pick in exchange for a 2026 fifth-round pick and a 2027 fourth-round pick. The Flyers are also retaining 50% of Hathaway’s $2.4 million cap hit on a deal that expires after next season.
Following the Tkachuk trade, Florida no longer holds any selections during the first round, which is set for Friday night from KeyBank Center.
On Saturday, when the remainder of the draft will play out, the Panthers hold several picks.
They are as follows:
Round 2 – 40th overall, 48th overall
Round 4 – 98th overall
Round 6 – 168th overall, 181st overall
Round 7 – 217th overall
As we head into Friday, the Panthers are still looking to make some additions and aren’t against using their remaining draft capital to do so.
Florida still has no goalies on their NHL roster for next season and have been in the mix for Winnipeg Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck, though there is growing speculation that they are being priced out of that particular trade market.
Whether the Panthers do anything during the draft weekend or wait until the start of free agency four days later, it’s an area that must be addressed.
We’ll see if anything pops during the draft weekend in Buffalo.
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Photo caption: Jun 7, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers general manager Bill Zito speaks to reporters during media day in advance of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
