Florida Panthers general manager Bill Zito speaks before his team plays host to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, March 7. 2024.
Zito pulled off a big trade on Wednesday, acquiring Vladimir Tarasenko from the Ottawa Senators for a pair of draft picks.
He is signed through the end of the year.
On Thursday, Zito also announced an eight-year extension for defenseman Gus Forsling as well as a new two-year deal for forward Jonah Gadjovich.
He talks about that near the end of the video.
Tarasenko joins a Florida team which has won six straight and 16 of its past 18 games; Florida remains atop the NHL standings after going 3-0 on its most recent road trip.
In Tuesday’s 5-3 win over the New Jersey Devils, Nick Cousins scored twice in the win, with Matthew Tkachuk assisting on three of Florida’s goals.
Evan Rodrigues, Eetu Luostarinen and Sam Reinhart also scored for the Panthers.
Aaron Ekblad had an assist to set the franchise record (230) which surpassed Robert Svehla.
Anthony Stolarz made 22 saves as he beat his hometown Devils for the first time.
Florida will have Tarasenko in the lineup on its top line Thursday against the Flyers.
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VIDEO COURTESY @FlaPanthers
17 Comments
First!
All hail Zito
Has he lost weight?
Lucky to have him
Great 24 hours for Zito
ZITTO 2028 for POTUS
Zito's (and the gang) 23-24 batting average is insane. Great to see the Panthers finally dialing it in after years of hard work.
If Zito isn't on the powder then he's the Jack Sparrow of GMs. He's always got odd ball mannerisms.
diamond hands
Z getting emotional about signing Gustav was amazing. This is a GM every player in the league would love to play for. In Zito I/We Trust!
❤️🥹
We love you Billy ❤
be careful what you wish for. ZITO IF YOUR ARE LISTENING . DO NOT BREAK THE CHEMISTRY OF THIS TEAM. you bringing a guy in that hasn't burned his bridges all year with the team. hope you are RIGHT . PANTHERS FOR LIFE
Forsling for 8 more years ? Oh hell yeah !!!
Just love it! Zito's emotions says it all. He's fully invested in this franchise, heart and soul. And the team feels the same. It's pure joy to see the Zito press talks. He seems like a 100% genuine person. No empty phrases, thinks things through, he listens and he talks very personal. The guy you'd love to have as a manager at the company and you'll work your butt off for a leader like this.
Myself, a Panthers fan all the way since 1993, I can definitely say that Bill is the best GM we've ever had.
How much this man loves his club, respects the players, and how much respect he has for everyone is really impressive. I admire him because he reacts so emotionally that you can see that he does everything out of pure love. He was in charge of the scout team to find the best players in the NHL, and because of the atmosphere in the club and the high ranking of the game, everyone now wants to be a Panther. Go Cats.
I get chills just thinking about forsling being a waiver wire pickup to getting a huge contract and becoming a superstar defenseman. He completely changed what the defense of this team should be and the dynamic.