The Florida Panthers had a busy July 1, with general manager extraordinaire Bill Zito building out the roster for the upcoming season after dazzling the hockey world by locking up core pieces Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad, as well as highly-impactful newcomer Brad Marchand to long-term deals as the franchise takes aim at a third-straight Stanley Cup title.
Zito started the day off by retaining the services of fourth line center Tomas Nosek for one more year at $775K. Nosek scored one goal and added eight assists in 59 regular season games. He collected three helpers in 16 postseason games.
The next piece of business was signing new backup goalie Daniil Tarasov to a one-year, $1.05 million deal. Tarasov was acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets on June 26, for Florida’s fifth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. The Blue Jackets selected OHL forward Owen Griffin with the pick. Tarasov went 7-10-2 last season and has 65 games of NHL experience under his belt.
Once free agency opened at noon, and with Nate Schmidt off to the Utah Mammoth, where he will be joined by Vitek Vanceck, Zito signed veteran Jeff Petry to complete his seven-man defense corps. Petry, who appeared in 44 games with the Detroit Red Wings last season, inked a one-year, incentive-laden contract to join the league’s top team.
Jack Studnicka was signed to a one-year, two-way deal, adding an experienced depth piece to the forward group. The 26-year-old Studnicka produced 16 goals and 45 points in 72 games with the AHL’s Ontario Reign in 2024-25.
Goaltender Brandon Bussi was brought in to serve as the organization’s new number three in 2025-26. He’ll likely be the starter in Charlotte and possibly push Tarasov for playing time with the Cats. The towering Bussi has really good AHL numbers, but as a member of the Boston Bruins, he was stuck behind Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman, keeping him out of the NHL.
Forward Nolan Foote was signed to a one-year, two-way deal. Foote, a former first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning, appeared in seven NHL games with the New Jersey Devils (1 assist) and put up 39 points in 53 games with the AHL Utica Comets, which was tied for third on the team, last season.
The Panthers also signed goaltending prospect Kirill Gerasimyuk to a two-year, entry-level contract. Gerasimyuk made 24 appearances with the Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk (VHL) in 2024-25, posting a 7-8-7 record, .933 save percentage, 1.75 GAA and three shutouts. He also tended goal in eight games with SKA-Neva St. Petersburg (VHL), where he went 5-1-1 and posted a .924 save percentage with a 2.52 GAA. The 21-year-old was chosen in the fifth-round (152nd overall) of the 2021 draft.
Organizational restricted free agents Mackie Samoskevich, Mike Benning, Tobias Björnfot, MacKenize Entwistle, Wilmer Skoog, and Oliver Okuliar received qualifying offers. Okuliar has already signed a two-year deal with Skellefteå AIK of the Swedish Hockey League, but the Cats will retain his NHL rights. Getting Samsokevich signed to a new contract done should be next up for Zito.