Marking 4-year anniversary of Florida Panthers hiring Bill Zito as general manager

Monday was a rather big milestone in terms of recent Florida Panthers history.

On September 2, 2020, the Panthers made one of the most critical decisions in their 26-year history.

That was the day the Panthers hired Bill Zito to be their next general manager. Since then, the team’s approach to evaluating players and playing the game has changed dramatically.

Zito’s early moves were clear indicators of how he planned to create the team, bringing in players like Patric Hornqvist and Radko Gudas to shift the locker room ethos towards hard effort and accountability.

The Panthers improved over the years, and Zito continued to acquire components.

To view the embedded media, please see the original article.

I’m Sam Bennett here. There’s a Brandon Montour there. Nobody saw Sam Reinhart’s draft-day agreement coming.

However, it wasn’t until the summer of 2022 that two critical signings would help Florida turn the corner.

On the ice, Zito traded franchise star Jonathan Huberdeau for tough young “unicorn” Matthew Tkachuk (as Zito described him), and off the ice, he hired Head Coach Paul Maurice.

Now, Florida’s culture shift had a clear message informing them how to play the game if they wanted to be champions.

In a nutshell, it’s playoff hockey all year. Since the arrival of Maurice and Tkachuk two seasons ago, Florida has twice reached the Stanley Cup Final, won the Cup this summer in an exciting seven-game victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

So, where will they go from here?

Florida will attempt to win consecutive Stanley Cups when they return to the ice for training camp in a few weeks.

Overall, the Panthers have improved each season under Zito’s leadership.

Is it really possible that Zito and his staff are establishing a, dare we say, dynasty in South Florida?

The first step towards legendary status is winning a second Stanley Cup in quick succession.

We’ll see how things play out in Sunrise, but regardless of what the future holds, Zito’s accomplishments during his first four seasons at the helm are truly extraordinary.