FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Bill Zito looked exhausted Tuesday. The Florida Panthers' hockey operations president and general manager was trying to schedule a fishing trip. He was trying to figure out how the next few weeks will work. He needed a nap, desperately. The good news: He can finally get a bit of a break.

The Florida Panthers’ brilliant general manager has pulled off the improbable and re-signed all three of his marquee free agents: Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand, and Aaron Ekblad. The money looked tight, and most believed the Panthers could only afford to keep two of the three, at best.

Aaron Ekblad laughed when asked about Bill Zito and the work he did in keeping the Florida Panthers together over the course of the past few weeks. “Yeah, BZ is the man with the plan, right?’’ Ekblad said.