Panthers Re-Sign Tomas Nosek To Veteran Minimum Contract

NHL teams normally do not worry about re-signing a fourth-line center, but the Florida Panthers wanted to make sure they kept Tomas Nosek from leaving as a free agent.

Florida general manager Bill Zito signed all four players (Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, Brad Marchand and Nosek) in a span of several days to ensure the Panthers remain just as strong next season and for many years to come.

The two sides met Monday night and again Tuesday morning to carve out an incentive-laden deal to make sure all four lines remain intact.

Nosek was instrumental in the playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, after sitting out the first round against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He started Game 3 at home and became a fixture for the Panthers lineup thereafter.

The fourth line was so dominant against the Leafs that when the Panthers were winning the cup in Game 6 of the Final, Maurice made sure the fourth line was out there for the final horn to kick start the celebration.

Nosek, formerly of the New Jersey Devils, was one of the first players to skate around the ice with the Stanley Cup after the clinching Game 6 victory in Sunrise.

"I just cannot find the right words to match my emotions right now," Nosek said to George Richards of Florida Hockey Now. "It is just an amazing feeling. You keep dreaming of it. I lost in one Final, and I did not know whether I woud ever get this chance again. It is amazing. Just amazing.

Nosek missed the first part of the season after suffering an injury in the preseason. He came back when the club traveled to Finland and spent the balance of the season working with the fourth line, splitting time with Nico Sturm.

Panthers coach Paul Maurice told Richards after he put Nosek on the fourth line he was proud of the effort.

"It was our best line," Maurice said.