Florida Panthers News

Home

Quizzes

Newsletter

Bill Zito of the Florida Panthers celebrates with the Stanley Cup following a 2-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game Seven of the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Final (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Bill Zito Was Snubbed in GM of the Year Award Voting

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Joey Ganzi | Last updated Jun 30, 2025 2:30 PM ET

The Florida Panthers are currently celebrating their second straight Stanley Cup after defeating the Edmonton Oilers again in the Stanley Cup Final. They’ve become the first team to accomplish this feat since the Tampa Bay Lightning did in 2020 and 2021.

On June 27, the NHL announced that Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill was awarded the Jim Gregory Award as General Manager of the Year for the third season in a row. In that time, Panthers’ general manager Bill Zito was also a finalist for the award. While Nill deserves credit for what he has accomplished with the Stars, Zito also deserves it, maybe more so.

Trading for Seth Jones

While the move seemed costly, sending Spencer Knight and a first-round pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets, Zito trading for a player he knew from his time with the Blue Jackets, defenseman Seth Jones, worked out beautifully for the team.

Jones brought stability to the top four through the rest of the regular season while Aaron Ekblad was suspended and added depth for their Stanley Cup run. Zito also managed for the Chicago Blackhawks to retain 26.3% of his salary on this deal to make it easier to keep him long-term. Not only did it help the postseason, but Jones will help the team in the future.

Acquiring Brad Marchand for a Conditional Pick

The Panthers shocked the hockey world at the trade deadline by acquiring long-time Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand in exchange for a conditional second-round pick (that became a first-round pick as he played in over half the team’s playoff games).

Extending Sam Reinhart

At the start of last year’s free agency period, the team managed to extend the player who scored the game-winning goal in Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. Sam Reinhart agreed to an eight-year, $69 million deal worth $8.625 million per season.

Reinhart followed up his great season with another one. Like last season, he led the team in points with 81 (39 goals, 42 assists). Furthermore, he finished tied for second in the NHL in shorthanded goals with five. In the playoffs, he was tied for the team lead in points with Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe with 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists). Zito signing him long-term is already paying massive dividends for the team.

What Does Zito Have to Do to Win This Thing?

Since he was hired in 2020, Zito has helped build a culture of success, with back-to-back Stanley Cups, three straight Cup Final appearances, a Presidents’ Trophy, multiple division titles, and a playoff berth every season since he joined the organization. In the last three years, he was a finalist for the Jim Gregory Award and walked away with nothing.

Even though it is clear he’s more worried about the success of his team than individual accomplishments, he should still be recognized for what he’s done. It seems like he has to do something insane to be named General Manager of the Year, and no one knows what that is.