‘Respect’: Panthers’ Zito gifts Cup time to Brewers
MILWAUKEE — Long before he built the Florida Panthers’ Stanley Cup championship roster, Bill Zito was a teenager working as a Milwaukee Brewers clubhouse attendant during the franchise’s lone pennant-winning season.
The Panthers’ general manager and president of hockey operations returned to his roots and allowed the Brewers to get a glimpse at one of the most prestigious prizes in professional sports. As the Brewers arrived at American Family Field before Wednesday night’s game with the Los Angeles Dodgers, they found the Stanley Cup sitting on a table in their clubhouse.
“In the hockey world, that’s sort of a gesture of appreciation and respect and thanks,” Zito said. “I wanted to do that.”
Zito brought the Cup to the city where he grew up to show his appreciation for the years he worked with the Brewers back in the 1980s. He was a toddler when his family moved from Pennsylvania to the Milwaukee area. He stayed in Milwaukee through high school.
He also spent three summers as a clubhouse attendant with the Brewers. That included the 1982 season in which the Brewers made their only World Series appearance, losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.
“I was in the visiting locker room the first year and two years in the Brewers locker room,” Zito recalled.
Zito took over as the Panthers’ general manager in September 2020 and added the title of president of hockey operations in April. The Panthers won the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history this year, beating the Edmonton Oilers in seven games.
The Brewers loved having Zito back and getting a look at the Cup.
Zito posed for pictures holding the Cup while flanked by longtime Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker and clubhouse manager Tony Migliaccio. During his stint as a Brewers clubhouse attendant, Zito had worked with Migliaccio.
Brewers outfielder Sal Frelick was particularly appreciative. Frelick, who grew up in Massachusetts, said he started playing hockey at the age of 6 and continued all the way through high school.
Although Frelick had said he’d seen the Stanley Cup before from afar, this was the first time he was able to get this close to it.
“It’s so cool,” Frelick said. “It’s even cooler that Mr. Zito brought it. He was once here as a bat boy. Now he’s obviously the GM over there in Florida, and you’ve seen what he’s done with their team.”
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Kristen Shilton
The Vancouver Canucks have come to terms with forward Brock Boeser on a new seven-year contract, carrying a $7.25 million AAV.
Canucks GM Patrik Allvin announced the deal on Tuesday during the first hour of NHL free agency. Boeser, 28, was an unrestricted free agent on a previously expiring contract.
Drafted by Vancouver 23rd overall in the 2015 NHL draft, Boeser has collected 204 goals and 434 points in 554 games with the Canucks to date. A top-six scoring threat, Boeser has elite playmaking skills and the potential to produce big numbers offensively. He had his best year offensively in 2023-24, producing 40 goals and 73 points in 81 games.
Boeser didn’t hit those marks again last season — settling for 25 goals and 50 points in 75 games — but was still second amongst teammates in output. He also plays a prominent role on Vancouver’s power play and when he can generate opportunities at 5-on-5, he is a true difference-maker up front for the Canucks.
The extension is a happy ending for Vancouver and Boeser. When the regular season ended, Boeser admitted “it’s tough to say” whether he’d be back with the Canucks. Boeser reportedly turned down a previous five-year extension offer with the club and Allvin subsequently looked into deals for him at the March trade deadline, with no takers. Boeser looked — and sounded — poised to explore his options on the open market.
Ultimately, Boeser decided to stay put by committing the best years of his career to the Canucks.
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Ryan S. Clark
Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary signed a seven-year extension through the 2032-33 season that is worth $6 million annually, the team announced Tuesday.
Fehervary, who had one year of team control remaining, will enter the final season of a three-year bridge deal that will see him make $2.675 million before his new contract begins at the start of the 2026-27 season.
He finished the season with five goals and a career-high 25 points while logging 19 minutes. Fehervary also played a crucial role in the Capitals’ penalty kill by finishing with 245 short-handed minutes for a penalty kill that was fifth in the NHL with an 82% success rate.
Securing the 25-year-old Fehervary to a long-term deal means the Capitals now have seven players who have more than three years remaining on their current contracts.
It also means the Capitals front office has one less decision to make ahead of what is expected to be an active offseason in 2026 that will see the club have what PuckPedia projects to be $39.25 million in cap space.
That’s also the same offseason in which captain and NHL all-time leading goal scorer Alex Ovechkin‘s contract will come off their books along with that of defenseman John Carlson.
But until then, the Capitals have their entire top-six defensive unit under contract as they seek to improve upon a 2024-25 season that saw them finish atop the Metropolitan Division with 111 points before they lost in the Eastern Conference semifinal to the Carolina Hurricanes in five games.
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