The Florida Panthers just can’t stop winning. After winning the Stanley Cup for a second straight year, the Panthers are now leading the free agency period. While a team like the Vegas Golden Knights has landed a blockbuster deal with Mitch Marner, he is departing Toronto. However, the Florida Panthers have pulled off the seemingly impossible, re-signing stars and boarding players like Jeff Petry, Nolan Foote, Brandon Bussi, and more.

After their Stanley Cup win, experts speculated that the Cats will retain their playoff heroes with a $19 million cap space. Analysts like James Duthie found it difficult to believe Zito’s “I think we can bring them all back” statement. However, the Panthers extended Aaron Ekblad, Brad Marchand, and Sam Bennett to surprisingly cheap contracts, and free agents definitely took notice.

“I mean, it’s an exciting place to play, and you see obviously what they’ve accomplished over the last few years,” said Jeff Petry when asked about what drew him to sign a 1-year contract with the Cats. “I saw Bennett, Ekblad, and Marchand resigning. So when they called, it was a no-brainer,” Petry said during his appearance on the Florida Hockey Now YouTube channel.

Another thing that may have inspired the former Detroit Red Wings defenseman to join the Cats camp was their willingness to work with experienced players. Everyone, including Brad Marchand, hinted at signing a 4-year contract with Florida. Yet he ended up signing a six-year, $31.5 million contract. Safe to say, it was a confidence booster for the 6’2 NHL veteran.

“You hear about the group. What they do together on the ice, off the ice. You hear so many good things about it. Like I said, when they had interest, it was a no-brainer for me,” added the 37-year-old defenseman and son of Detroit Tigers pitcher Dan Petry. Finally, the other incentive for Jeff Petry was to possibly win the Stanley Cup in the twilight of his career.

Jeff Petry wants to be part of the Panthers’ dynasty

With Nate Schmidt signing a 3-year, $3.5 million contract with the Utah Mammoth, Petry jumped at the chance to fill the defenseman void. “Jeff is a skilled, puck-moving defenseman who can contribute quality veteran leadership to our lineup,” GM Bill Zito said, favoring the veteran of over 900 NHL games. “We are excited that he will join us to supplement our exciting core,” added.

Now, Jeff Petry’s answers on the Florida Hockey Now channel make it pretty clear that the defenseman didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to be part of the budding dynasty. Having played for other top teams like the Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, and Pittsburgh Penguins, Petry didn’t hesitate to come on board with the team that wants a threepeat.

In fact, players like Matthew Tkachuk already believe that the Panthers are nothing less than an NHL dynasty. “Hell yeah. Absolutely, absolutely,” Tkachuk told reporters about his team’s dynasty status after winning their second Stanley Cup. And the team’s alternate captain isn’t the only one who believes they can truly pull off the Stanley Cup hat-trick next season.

“The fact that we’re keeping this mini-core together for the next five years that’s pretty remarkable to do. It just shows that all these guys want to be here, and we care about winning,” Sam Bennett explained after signing his contract extension. So the Florida Panthers don’t intend to loosen their grip on the Stanley Cup, and Jeff Petry hopes to hold it with them next season.