The Panthers brought the star trio of Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand back with new contracts, keeping the core of the Stanley Cup champions together.

We kind of wax poetic about the team and the community they've become, and I think this is a great example of what it means to them.'

Up front, the Panthers have Bennett (eight more seasons), Marchand (six), Aleksander Barkov (five), Anton Lundell (five), Sam Reinhart (seven), Matthew Tkachuk (five) and Carter Verhaeghe (eight). On defense, they have Ekblad (eight), Gustav Forsling (seven) and Seth Jones (five).