In the current NHL playoffs, two names stand out on the Florida Panthers’ roster: Brad Marchand and Seth Jones. The former leads the team in points, while the latter accumulates the most ice time. Both players are examples of the success of General Manager and President of Hockey Operations, Bill Zito.
Strategic Moves by Zito
Zito made significant moves in the transfer market, acquiring Marchand from Boston and Jones from Chicago. The objective was clear: to give the current Stanley Cup champions the best opportunity to revalidate the title.
The results are evident. Marchand has tallied 12 points in the playoffs, tying Eetu Luostarinen for the team lead. Jones, for his part, scored the first goal in the 6-1 victory against Toronto in the seventh game of the Eastern Conference semifinal.
Zito describes the performance of both players as “as expected”.
Jones’s arrival involved a considerable investment, with five years remaining on his contract with Chicago.
Aaron Ekblad’s suspension, which prevented him from playing 20 games, also provided the Panthers with salary cap flexibility.
The adaptation of Marchand, coming from a direct rival like Boston, has been a success. Zito made sure that both Marchand and Jones felt like an integral part of the Panthers from day one.
One of the things that surprised me the most was how easy it is to become complacent, especially after winning a Cup, but upon arriving you can feel the drive to win another and simply be better every day.
Seth Jones
Zito not only looked for catchy names, but also identified the specific needs of the team. The improvement in penalty killing was a priority, and Zito acted accordingly, which has led the Panthers to their third consecutive Eastern Conference final, just four wins away from another Stanley Cup final.
You have to give credit to Bill Zito and his group. We entered the trade deadline feeling that was the place we needed to improve. We lost some important players from our team last year. And he delivered.
Paul Maurice
Since his arrival in 2020, Zito has demonstrated his ability to make key decisions. He has incorporated players such as Nate Schmidt, A.J. Greer, and Tomáš Nosek. He has also secured contract extensions for key figures such as Sam Reinhart, Dmitry Kulikov, Anton Lundell, and Carter Verhaeghe.
Among other strategic decisions by Zito, the arrival of Matthew Tkachuk, the hiring of Paul Maurice, and the contract extension of Aleksander Barkov stand out.
The result is a solid team in defense, powerful in attack and with great depth.
Zito has been a candidate for GM of the year and probably will be again. However, he emphasizes that success is a collective effort, where the organization collaborates to make the best decisions.
We rely significantly on scouts, on analysts to identify players, and then we try to find ways to fit the pieces into the puzzle. And it’s not always the most expensive or the least expensive. It’s the one that fits best. And our guys have done a fantastic job identifying the people who would fit, and also at a price we think we can get.
Bill Zito
