To say Bill Zito has done a good job since being brought on as Florida’s general manager would be a gross understatement
A quick post on a Saturday afternoon to honor one of the best hires made by the Florida Panthers organization.
In the 30 years of Panthers history, the team has strived to bring in the best hockey minds possible to lead the team to the Promised Land.
That includes players, coaches and front office staff.
The early hirings of Bill Torrey and Bobby Clarke are always going to be among the top decisions made by the franchise, but those kind of moves are more difficult to come by as you look further through the team’s history.
That being said, there is a current hire who could ultimately prove to be worthy of consideration among the best in team history.
Hell, he already is.
We’re talking, of course, about general manager Bill Zito.
It was exactly three years ago Saturday, on Sept. 2, 2020, that the Panthers announced the hiring of Zito as the team’s eleventh general manager.
“It’s a dream come true for me,” Zito said during his introductory press conference. “This day is something I’ve worked for my whole life.”
As excited as he may have been to get the job, it sure didn’t take long for Zito to put his stamp on the Panthers organization.
The transformation the franchise has undergone in the time since he was hired has been as undeniable as it has been profound.
Zito’s first moves, bringing in veterans Patric Hornqvist and Radko Gudas, sent a clear message that the culture around the team was going to change.
Have the Panthers made the playoffs in each season that Zito has been at the helm of the franchise? Yup.
In each season, has the team reached further than it did the year before? Yes they have.
Has Florida seen more success in Zito’s three seasons as general manager than in any thee-season stretch in franchise history? Oh yeah.
How has he done it? Let's take a look at some of the key moves he's made over the past three years.
Zito brought in Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett and Brandon Montour via trade, while adding free agent gems, like ascending forwards Carter Verhaeghe and Ryan Lomberg, at very team-friendly deals.
Then there are his waiver wire finds of Gus Forsling and Josh Mahura, two defensemen who have proven to be extremely valuable and versatile on Florida's blueline.
Let’s also not forget the acquisition and signing of Hart Trophy finalist Matthew Tkachuk, who Zito described as a "unicorn" after trading for him, or extending the contracts of captain Sasha Barkov (locked up through the end of the decade) and up-and-coming forward Eetu Luostarinen.
On a team level, during the three years Zito has been running the show, the Panthers have not only continued to grow and improve, but they’ve done it at on the grandest of stages.
Two seasons ago Florida defeated the Washington Capitals in six games to advance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 1996.
They followed it up last season by marching all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.
Bottom line, the Panthers are no longer an afterthought in the NHL, a team that was looked at on the schedule as an easy win-and-move-on.
Zito has played as big a part in the transformation of the franchise as any that came before him, and it’s now just a matter of what heights the Panthers will reach with Zito at the helm.
Today, we give a tip of the cap to Zito, for the work he’s done since being hired in South Florida and for what he’s yet to accomplish, but working extremely hard and diligently toward.
Happy anniversary, Billy.