Zito has a lot to say about keeping team together, building on Florida's late-season momentum
Zito has a lot to say about keeping team together, building on Florida's late-season momentum
The Florida Panthers will begin next season by raising an Eastern Conference Champion banner.
Picking up where they left off could prove to be a challenge based off how much the team sacrificed to reach the Stanley Cup Final.
Defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour may both end up missing time early next season due to injuries they either sustained or reaggravated during the playoffs.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Panthers General Manager Bill Zito didn't have any specific injury updates on either player but did acknowledge the hurdles that the front office will face both financially and in building a roster with multiple players out.
"We're going to have a real challenge this year," he said. "It's known that some of our players are hurt, and they may miss parts of the early season, and we can't replace that money. If we spend it, when they return, we have to be able to absorb them back in. So if we spend it and they come back, we're shot. We can't do it. So now our cap is really effectively even lower, because we have to go through this timeframe, but we'll get it done. We're going to have a team on the ice Opening Night, and we're excited."
One player who isn’t guaranteed to be on Florida’s roster in the fall is defenseman Radko Gudas.
The 33-year-old unrestricted free agent has been a mainstay on the Panthers back line for the past three seasons.
Gudas’ abilities as an above-average skater and positional defender are sometimes overshadowed by his physical persona, which comes with being among the league leaders in hits.
He’s also a big part of why Florida has one of the best and most tight-knit locker rooms in the league.
Gudas told THN earlier this year that he’d like to finish his career with the Panthers.
When asked about the possibility of retaining Gudas, Zito indicated there is interest in keeping the veteran in South Florida.
“I owe it to that room to do everything I can to try and keep everybody together,” he said. “It's going to be daunting. I think it's possible. I'm hopeful, but at the same time, individuals also have to worry about themselves, and we only have so much that we're able to do so. We're pursuing it and talking to everybody and hopefully we can get a good result.”
Zito’s track record indicates you should never count out the idea of Florida pulling the trigger on a big move that makes sense, but on Wednesday he had a lot to say about the idea of running it back with the crew that went to the Stanley Cup Final.
In terms of keeping the team together, based off what he told the media, don’t underestimate its importance to Zito and his colleagues in the front office.
When asked about the emotional element, he gave an extended, detailed explanation to that way of thinking having an impact on decision making.
“I'm not sure that the sentimental part should be part of it, I'd be lying if I said (it wasn’t),” Zito said. “I think a significant part of the success of this group was they're a team, and it was the character, it was the graciousness, of the guys in the room towards each other, and it's maybe not measurable, but it's real, it's tangible and it's not something to be played with. In the exit meetings that I've had so far, and I have a few left, so many players unilaterally brought up the team, and the road. One player said 'I've never been in an NHL locker room where there were no complaints during the year. No one bitched about ice time, no one was mad about the pizza, it was just sort of this group that invested themselves fully in each other, and it's very important. Now with all that said, my job is to try to get the best team we can get, and at some point, it becomes the sum of the pieces. And if there is a move that we think will make us better, then we'll pursue it. But it can be hard and it certainly forces you to really, really be diligent and approach the situations with rigor.”
Taking into account the way the Panthers came together late in the season, responded to Paul Maurice’s systems and overcome obstacles and injuries as long as they could, it’s understandable that there is genuine belief in what they could potentially accomplish.
Add a key player here, maybe a little tweak there, a little depth on the back end, and who knows what this group could accomplish.
“What makes it a little more difficult in this instance is that the gel of the team,” Zito said. “And maybe wanting to keep that core, that team, in place because of the things that they can do together.”
Oh, and if you’re wondering about the pizza that drew no complaints, when asked where it came from, Zito said it was made in house.