The Florida Panthers left no doubt about this season’s goal amid the recent NHL trade deadline: Repeat Stanley Cup win.
Florida obtained forward Brad Marchand in a trade with the Boston Bruins on Friday in exchange for a conditional 2027 second-round draft pick. That’s the latest of five trades by the Panthers (39–21–3) before Friday’s deadline.
“His record speaks for itself,” Panthers general manager Bill Zito told reporters on Friday. “We’re thrilled to have him aboard. We’ll see where it goes. He’s injured; we think it’s a couple of weeks. We’ll get our doctors on it.
“We’ve had some conversations about it, so we’re comfortable acquiring him, and we’re excited about buckling down and moving forward to focus on being the best team we can be, to go as far as we can go. We’re thrilled,” Zito added.
Marchand has been dealing with an upper-body injury that he sustained during a 3–2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 1. The 16-year veteran, who has spent his entire career with the Bruins, has 21 goals and 26 assists this season. Marchand won a Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011.
In addition to Marchand, the Panthers have acquired goalie Kaapo Kahkonen, forward Nico Sturm, goalie Vitek Vanecek, and defenseman Seth Jones in the other trades. It all gives the Panthers more depth with the playoffs around the corner in late April.
“First of all, you have injuries, you have fatigue, you have matchups,” Zito said. “Change is good for change. Every once in a while you just want … a different look, a different scheme, maybe.
“It gives the coaches optionality and with our team, not only can you go horizontally, but you can go vertically with a lot of these guys who have the ability to play in different places, so … it’s a tremendous asset,” Zito added.
Florida got rolling with trades on March 1 with the addition of Jones and a fourth-round 2026 draft pick from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for goalie Spencer Knight plus a 2026 first-round pick. Jones has seven goals and 20 assists this season.
“A player like [Marchand], a player like Seth, too, when these players become available and you have that need or that fit with your group, you pursue it in my mind,” Zito said. “And we’re thrilled.”
Florida then added Vanecek from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for forward Patrick Giles on Wednesday. Vanecek has an .882 save percentage in his 17 starts for a 17–38–9 Sharks team.
The Panthers made two new goalies with Kahkonen amid Thursday’s trade with the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for goalie Chris Driedger. Kahkonen has a career .898 save percentage in 140 career games.
“It’s a considerable tool/weapon/luxury that we enjoy,” Zito said about his staff selecting and working with goalies. “”We’re lucky, very lucky, to have those gentlemen.”
Florida also acquired Sturm on Thursday from the Sharks in a separate trade from the Vanecek trade. The Panthers also acquired a 2027 seventh-round pick in the Sturm trade, which sent a 2026 fourth-round pick to the Sharks.
“It’s a decision that you make, and you know some of those picks that are gone later on, we’re going to have to replenish or find alternative ways,” Zito said regarding the picks traded away.
Florida currently holds the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference behind the Washington Capitals (41–13–8) with a little over a month left in the regular season. The Panthers have a five-game winning streak, and the team has won 10 of the past 12 games.
Zito simply compared the trades to moving around furniture in one’s office, and the Panthers may have to do some rearranging at team headquarters to make room for the Stanley Cup again if the team can pull off a repeat. The Tampa Bay Lightning was the last team to repeat in 2021.
