Panthers agree to deals with Brad Marchand, Aaron Ekblad, sources say

Hours after re-signing Aaron oak leafthe Florida Panthers kept another integral piece of their Stanley Cup team by re-signing Brad Marchand to a six-year contract extension, sources told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan.

Coming to terms with Ekblad on an eight-year extension worth $6.1 million annually left the Panthers with what PuckPedia projected to be $4.9 million in salary cap space.

There was the possibility that Marchand could have left the Panthers for a more lucrative offer elsewhere considering there were teams that had what would have been more than enough cap space to sign him.

Instead? The 37-year-old Marchand, who arrived ahead of the NHL trade deadline from the Boston Bruinsappears as if he will remain in South Florida for the rest of his career.

Acquiring defenseman Seth Jones from the Chicago Blackhawks and then adding Marchand, who was a pending UFA entering the final day before free agency begins Tuesday, were two decisions made by Panthers general manager Bill Zito with the intent it could see the Panthers win a consecutive Stanley Cup as part of a run that would also include three straight Cup finals appearances.

Marchand used the postseason to further cement why the Panthers along with other teams throughout the NHL would still seek his services. He scored 10 goals and finished with 20 points in 23 playoff games.

For all the contributions he made, his greatest came during their consecutive Cup final series against the Edmonton Oilers.

Marchand, who previously won a Cup with the Bruins back in 2011, opened the series with a goal in the first three games. That includes the two goals he scored in the Panthers’ 5-4 double overtime win to tie the series with his second being the game-winning salvo.

He scored two more goals in 5-2 win in Game 5 that allowed the Panthers to take a 3-1 series lead before returning to Sunrise, Fla., where they closed out the series with an emphatic 5-1 win.

Capturing a consecutive title created questions about if the Panthers could win a third in a row. But that also came with the understanding that it might be difficult given there was only so much salary cap space to re-sign Conn Smythe winner Sam BennettEkblad and Marchand.

Knowing there was a chance they could at least lose one of them, Zito laid the foundation to retain the trio. It began by signing Bennett to an eight-year contract worth $8 million annually on June 27 before using Monday to sign Ekblad and Marchand.