Atlantic Division teams take page out of Panthers’ book this offseason

To be the champs, it’s not a bad idea to learn from the champs first. 

Quite a few Atlantic Division teams took that same approach when building their teams this offseason. 

For the past two years, the path to the final in the East has run through Sunrise as the Florida Panthers made back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances in 2023 and 2024 — winning the franchise’s first Stanley Cup last June. 

When the 2024 NHL free agency period opened on July 1, a few of the Panthers’ divisional opponents jumped at the opportunity to bring in players from the champions. 

Florida lost nine members from their Stanley Cup winning team, five of which signed with Atlantic Division teams. 

Here’s where they went.

Toronto 

The Toronto Maple Leafs and their GM Brad Treliving made the biggest dent out of all the teams this offseason when it came to adding former Panthers.

When free agency opened, the Leafs acquired two of the more underrated players from the Stanley Cup winning team, signing defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson to a four-year, $14M deal and Florida’s backup goaltender Anthony Stolarz to a two-year, $5M contract.

Ekman-Larsson was a stalwart on the Panthers blueline, specifically at the beginning of the season when he took on an increased role in the absence of Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour. 

Between the pipes, Stolarz had the best season of his career. He appeared in 27 regular season games, posting a 16-7-2 record with a 2.03 GAA and a .925 save percentage. 

On Sept. 3, it was reported that the Leafs would also be offering 28-year-old forward Steven Lorentz  a professional tryout offer (PTO), per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. 

Lorentz, an Ontario native, played in 16 of Florida’s 24 playoff games, scoring two goals and three points — mostly as a fourth-line winger.

Detroit 

The Detroit Red Wings narrowly missed the playoffs last year.

They finished tied for eighth most points in the East alongside the Washington Capitals, but lost out on the final wildcard spot due to a tiebreaker. 

In July, GM Steve Yzerman got to work, signing two-time Stanley Cup champion Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year, $9.5M deal. 

A Stanley Cup champion with the St. Louis Blues in 2019, Tarasenko brought championship pedigree and more offensive firepower to a deep Panthers squad when he waived his no-movement clause to join the team at the 2024 trade deadline.

The 32-year-old had five goals and nine points during Florida’s Stanley Cup run. 

Ottawa 

Nick Cousins will be on the opposite side of the ‘Tkachuk Bowl’ next season as the 31-year-old Belleville, ON. native signed a one-year, 800k deal with the Ottawa Senators last week.

Cousins spent two seasons with the Panthers, putting up 42 points in 148 games. 

As he heads to Ontario, Ottawa’s cross province rivals in Toronto won’t forget Cousins for his Game 5 overtime winner in the 2023 playoffs — which eliminated the Leafs in the second round.