Free Agent Frenzy kicked off early this year as a flurry of seismic moves were made around the NHL on Monday, headlined by Mitch Marner heading to Vegas in a sign and trade with the Leafs, and Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad re-signing in Florida. Which deals are you most impressed with? Is Nikolaj Ehlers about to get a massive payday? What’s a fair deal for Brock Boeser? Can Jake Allen be more than a tandem goaltender? TSN Hockey analyst Martin Biron joins SC with Jay Onrait to share his thoughts.
@Florida Panthers
38 Comments
Folks we’re seeing a dynasty here!
Not a master class. He has 0 state tax. They can offer like 1 or 2 million less and they still make the same. He has a cheat code. And lets not forget the blatant cheating of bringing tkachuk back from injury 1st days of playoffs to get marchand. Hes smart yes. But he has a leg up
Money they have, cups are hard to come by.
florida head office got leverage with "you want to live here dont you"
For all you speculators saying "just give Florida the cup this coming season" Remember Bennett only played the way he did in the postseason because he was looking for more money and got it. Marchand signed here because his son loves it there and he wants to be on the beach and get Dairy Queen Endorsements. Ekblad signed here too because he can get away with using Performance Enhancers. All three of these guys will fall off the wagon next postseason and not win another Cup
when other YouTube channels in people’s bedrooms talk about hockey and they get more views in the same amount of time as TSN – I laugh out loud – the hockey guy gets way more lol
After the repeat with tampa, I guess the Florida dynasty isn't done yet.
ESL, wow….hire someone who speaks English properly.
Maybe the players aren't selfish in Florida!
Where winning is more important than who makes the most money!
Go Leafs Go!
Marner as of today has more earnings then Marchand. He most likley will double Brad. That's wild.
Marner as of today has more earnings then Marchand. He most likley will double Brad. That's wild.
Martin Biron, remember to breathe when you speak.
The Ekblad signing is depressing. No Canadian team or even northern American team could expect to resign a 2x cup winning defencemen for that amount. Ekblad would demand 10 or 11 elsewhere but takes 6 in fla. Gross.
I didn't realize Biron was such an engaging presenter and speaker. Very impressive for a former player who primarily speaks French.
Cats are packed and ready to make history! Been a fan since the 96 amazing team and the year of the rat so this is such an amazing time! LETS GOOOOO!!!!
The Marner trade to Vegas was the top headline, but to me what Zito did was nothing short of miraculous. Zito playing 4D chess while the rest of the league figuring out checkers. Insane.
Good morning, reading all the cat haters.. We live rent free in your heads….Sucks to be you
Saving 1 to 1,5 million dollars on state tax per player is not an advantage. Nah guys, it's fine. The league is ruled by the principle of parity. Bozoleague.
Masterclass my.arse. they just take discounts from taxes nuff said
Pretty good job by Zito. Maybe he will win the Jim Nil Award next year.
Marchand averages 65 points with 80+ spikes here and there and one 100+ year. He was healing last year; couldn't work out. Watch him get off to a great start per usual and elevate his team. That 3rd line is better than most team's 1st line. Paul Maurice gets it and he'll know exactly what to do and when. The rest is adjustments and execution. Set that 3-peat goal and go get it! 🏒
Can someone explain to me how this is considered a master class by the Florida GM? The players all took discounts to stay—how is that a credit to Zito? All he did was put numbers on paper, and the players accepted them even though they could’ve made way more elsewhere. They wanted to stay together, so they took less. How is that some kind of genius move? The players who took pay cuts should be getting all the credit.
Lmao you guys were jerking with the idea of "uuuhhh maybe Bennett or Marchand or Ekblad will beleaf?…" yup no 👌Noodles and the gang were just throwing delusional hopes but they always leave the most important thing out of guestion: there is 0 reason to sign with leafs.
YAAAAAA !!!💪👍 We want a 3rd cup !!!
Absolute masterclass by Zito! Anyways, congrats on Jim Nill for winning GM of the Year for 2025-2026…
It's a joke that Bill Zito was not voted GM of the year
The leafs thought they could pick Floridas bones….got nothin. 🤣🤣🤣
No one cares what things are gonna look like in 3 years, the time is now.
They are hard to win on ice. Imbossible to win on gm:s Office .
Players just think what is important for them. Going training with shorts all year long is a strong factor😊
“Might have to pay Allen $4M to land him”
signs for $1.8M a few hours later.
Florida got their core back, but the long term deals won’t age well in a few years. Panther fans better enjoy the success, before the dry spell kicks in.
zito is howie of the NHL
Someone will have to drag Marchand off the ice, this guy probably will be playing hockey at 43, good hockey, he's a Jagr kinda guy, he loves playing hockey and with Bob in net. Here we go again.
You don’t mess with Bill Zito.
It wouldn't surprise me at all if Florida threepeats. There really is no apparent weakness anywhere on that team.
Zito is the the fkn Don of the NHL move over Pat riley
Should have been GM of the year. This guy is bringing back a dynasty to Florida. This is making their 3rd cup clinch even more possible now.
Zito is on fire right now. Florida is really going for that 3 peat. If the Panthers stay healthy all teams will fear playing them yet again.