Florida Panthers’ ‘big head start’ to free agency helps as Zito continues to build roster

The Florida Panthers’ first day of free agency after their first Stanley Cup championship went slower than usual.

There was the big news of Sam Reinhart’s eight-year contract extension — news primarily because the $69 million deal finally got finished but news that was expected because both Reinhart and the Panthers have said all season the plan was for it to get done.

Beyond that, it was a quiet Monday for Bill Zito and Co.

In many senses, that’s OK. The core of the Panthers’ roster remains intact — eight of their top nine forwards were already under contract and they still have four of their top six defensemen plus starting goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

Zito’s goal this offseason is to continue rounding out the roster, filling in gaps created by an exodus of free agents.

So while some familiar names are gone, the Panthers still have their base established, and that’s key as they prepare to defend their title as Stanley Cup champions.

“It’s a big head start,” Zito said when asked how important it is to have most of his key players in place heading into the offseason. “If I can twist your question a little bit, ‘If you are not successful in getting every piece that you want to get, is the train still moving forward?’ Before you can build, you have to sustain it. That’s the hope for sure. I think it’s the case, but we’re still trying to get it right. We’ll still never stop trying to get the right pieces and the right people.”

Among the players Florida lost: defensemen Brandon Montour (seven years, $50 million with the Seattle Kraken) and Oliver Ekman-Larsson (four years, $14 million with the Toronto Maple Leafs), forwards Kevin Stenlund (two years, $2 million with the Utah Hockey Club) and Ryan Lomberg (two years, $2 million with the Calgary Flames), and backup goaltender Anthony Stolarz (two years, $5 million with Toronto).

Each player had a pivotal role in the Panthers winning the Cup.

But each departure is also a nature of the business. The Panthers entered the day with about $19.5 million in cap space and wasn’t going to be able to re-sign everyone. More than $8.5 million of that went to Reinhart. Another $1.15 million is going to defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, who on Monday signed a four-year deal to stay with the team.

The team’s other two acquisitions on Monday: Forwards Tomas Nosek and A.J. Greer, who are getting a combined $1.625 million and will most likely slide onto Florida’s fourth line.

That leaves Florida with about $9 million in cap space.

From here, Zito’s focus is on filling out the final pieces of his roster.

“It’s just trying to fit the square into the square hole,” Zito said. “You could have a more valuable triangle, but you need a square. ... It’s trying to put the puzzle together.”

What the roster looks like

As things stand at the end of the day Monday, the Panthers’ top two forward lines remain intact with the half dozen forwards of Aleksander Barkov, Carter Verhaeghe, Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk and Evan Rodrigues.

Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen form two-thirds of Florida’s third line. Vladimir Tarasenko, who ended the season as the third player on that line, is a free agent and still on the market. Barring a signing, that spot might be reserved for Panthers prospect Mackie Samoskevich.

The fourth line has newcomers Greer and Nosek plus returnee Jonah Gadjovich. The team remains high on prospect Justin Sourdif and he could get time there as well.

As for the defensemen, Florida returns Gustav Forsling, Aaron Ekblad, Niko Mikkola and Kulikov. Uvis Balinskis will have an expanded role after playing in 26 games this season. Tobias Bjornfot, who was acquired at the trade deadline, is an option for playing time, too, but acquiring another defenseman is likely the next step at this point.

Anton Lundell update

One player under contract but who isn’t calculated into Florida’s salary cap just yet is Lundell, who received a qualifying offer as a restricted free agent but doesn’t have an exact term locked in yet.

A reasonable cap hit to expect for Lundell is somewhere in the $3.5 million to $4 million range.

“I won’t talk about the [contract] discussions,” Zito said, “but Anton’s a guy that obviously we like a lot and we want to keep him here.”

In his first three seasons with the Panthers, Lundell has logged 112 points (43 goals, 69 assists) in 216 regular-season games while adding 28 points (six goals, 22 assists) in 54 playoff games primarily as Florida’s third-line center.

Where things stand with Spencer Knight

With Stolarz now in Toronto, the Panthers’ backup goaltender spot behind Bobrovsky is vacant.

Could Spencer Knight, who spent all of last season in the American Hockey League, be due for a full-time opportunity in the NHL again?

While Zito “has confidence in Spencer,” he said it’s too early in the offseason to declare Knight as their No. 2 goaltender.

“As is the case with so many of the I guess you could say vacancies or holes where people move forward and move on, particularly on July 1, it’s a fluid situation,” Zito said. “Sasha [Aleksander Barkov] he’s in. Anybody with a no move [clause in their contract] they’re in. I don’t know. I can’t commit to anybody. It’s too hard right now.”