Elliotte Friedman makes feelings known on Panthers re-signing all 3 big UFAs Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett & Aaron Ekblad

NHL analyst Elliotte Friedman expressed his surprise and admiration after the Florida Panthers' re-signed.three of their biggest pending free agents, Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand this offseason.

Bennett secured an eight-year, $64 million contract ($8 million AAV) after a breakout MVP campaign on Friday. On Monday, Ekblad signed an eight-year extension carrying a $6.1 million AAV. Followed by Marchand as he inked a six-year deal worth $31.5 million ($5.25 million AAV).

Speaking on NHL Network, Friedman said:

"I'm kind of surprised that all three got done," Friedman said. "I'm not surprised they wanted to do it. Some teams are like, 'We're not going to be able to do it.' The Panthers wanted to do it."

Friedman was impressed by the determination within the Panthers' lineup to build on their recent achievements and make another serious push for a third Stanley Cup run.

"One of the things I really noticed on the ice, even though they were so thrilled and happy, was how many of them on the ice talked about, 'We're not done,' or 'We'd like to go for three,'" Friedman observed. "That's a really hard thing to do. Two is hard. One's hard. Two is incredible. They want to go for three. You could see how close the group was, the partying, everything about it."

The Florida Panthers have captured back-to-back Stanley Cup championships and reached the Final in three straight seasons. With the team now locking in some of the top unrestricted free agents on the market, they’re once again poised for another deep playoff push.

Following their Game 6 win over the Oilers to secure the Cup, Panthers GM Bill Zito mentioned his plans to re-sign three key UFAs — and now, he's delivered on that promise.

Elliotte Friedman's views on the Panthers' UFA signings

Elliotte Friedman saw forward Sam Bennett as the "closest no-doubter" to re-sign with the Panthers, and that deal got done quickly. Friedman believed Marchand "really wanted to stay" in Florida and would find a way to make it happen, which he did.

Defenseman Aaron Ekblad was viewed by Friedman as the "toughest one" to re-sign. Friedman thought Ekblad would have big contract offers on the open market that could outpace what the Panthers would offer.

There had also been minimal negotiation between Ekblad and the Panthers over the last year after an initial lowball offer. However, the Panthers ultimately got the Ekblad deal done, to Friedman's surprise.

He gave credit to the Panthers' management for pulling off the Ekblad signing despite limited recent talks and the potential money Ekblad could have received in free agency.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash