Matthew Tkachuk Reacts to Bill Zito's Statement on the Future of UFAs Marchand, Bennett, and Ekblad
Photo credit: Athlon Sports
Panthers assistant captain Matthew Tkachuk spoke openly about the futures of pending UFAs Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett, and Aaron Ekblad shortly after Florida won their 2nd straight Stanley Cup while hinting at what GM Bill Zito wants next.
For the 2nd straight year, the Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup champions and they once again did so by taking down Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers.
Sam Bennett won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player in the Stanley Cup Playoffs after scoring 15 goals, while he and the rest of his teammates celebrated on Amerant Bank Arena ice in front of the home fans just as they did last year.
Matthew Tkachuk was asked about his feelings on the aforementioned players' future in Florida, and he said he hopes that they can make as much money as they can, be it in Florida or elsewhere.
I'm the guy who tells those guys, 'You better make as much as possibly can, whether that's here or somewhere else,' and I'm a big believer, I'm a big player guy. You better go out and back that Brinks truck up so it's in your front yard.
I'm so happy for those guys, how can you picture a better contract year for those 3? I'm very happy for those guys, whatever ends up happening.
But for myself, hopefully being here for many, many, many more years, obviously, I'd love for them to stay, but it's more than that. I hope that whatever decision they make, they're happy with it.
I'm so happy for those guys, how can you picture a better contract year for those 3? I'm very happy for those guys, whatever ends up happening.
But for myself, hopefully being here for many, many, many more years, obviously, I'd love for them to stay, but it's more than that. I hope that whatever decision they make, they're happy with it.
Panthers GM Bill Zito was also asked about the chances of keeping all 3 pending UFA players, and sounded optimistic.
I think we can bring them all back. Yeah.
It could be a challenging summer for the Panthers, who have multiple high-end players who are pending UFAs, not the least of which is Bennett. Additionally, both Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad can hit the open market in the summer as well.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 18 | 571 ANSWERS Matthew Tkachuk Reacts to Bill Zito's Statement on the Future of UFAs Marchand, Bennett, and Ekblad Which pending UFA is most likely to re-sign with the Panthers? | ||
| Brad Marchand | 60 | 10.5 % |
| Sam Bennett | 422 | 73.9 % |
| Aaron Ekblad | 89 | 15.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
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