Bill Zito was named general manager of the Florida Panthers on Wednesday.
Zito was the senior vice president of hockey operations, associate GM, and assistant governor for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He replaces Dale Tallon, who left the Panthers on August 10 after 10 seasons after Florida lost four games to the New York Islanders in the Best of 5 Stanley Cup qualifiers.
“I think I’m very excited about the youth and the pieces,” said Zito. “I think it starts with the captain (middle) Alexander Barkov) who is just a fantastic player. … I got off the plane this morning and had a text message from him. He initiated that himself. It shows the kind of character he has. You’re surrounded by some other great young pieces and a coach (three-time Stanley Cup winner Joel Quenneville) who knows how to bring them with you. We just have to add to these young pieces and help them bring them with us and get a guide to help them, and that’s what gets me excited. “
The Panthers haven’t won a Stanley Cup playoff series since 1996, when they reached the Stanley Cup final before being defeated by the Colorado Avalanche. They finished the regular season with a percentage of 0.565 points (35-26-8) after signing the goalkeeper Sergei Bobrovsky to a seven-year contract and hiring Quenneville as a coach.
“Bill is an executive who has the passion, knowledge and work ethic necessary to cultivate a successful culture in all aspects of our business,” said Matt Caldwell, President and CEO of Panthers. “He has been an integral part of the success and growth of the Columbus Blue Jackets organization, from evaluating and scouting players to contract negotiation and cap management. With Bill as our new GM, we look forward to the next chapter of the Panther -Hockeys in South Florida to begin. “
Zito, who joined the Blue Jackets as a GM assistant on August 12, 2013, was also the GM of Columbus’ subsidiary of the American Hockey League in Cleveland. He helped him win the 2016 Calder Cup championship when the team was known as the Lake Erie Monsters.
“Bill Zito’s contributions to the Columbus Blue Jackets over the past seven years have been numerous as he has played a significant role as head of our hockey operations division,” said GM Jarmo Kekalainen, GM of Blue Jackets. “He’s a dear friend and has worked extremely hard and well deserves this opportunity.
“Although I am disappointed to see him move on, I am happy for Billy and his family, wish him all the best and thank him on behalf of our organization for his commitment, advice and friendship. We are fortunate to have a strong, It there is a talented management team who can take on additional duties associated with Billy’s departure. This is currently our plan. “
Zito has also worked with the United States men’s national team. He was the GM when he finished third at the 2018 IIHF World Championship in Denmark and a member of the management team when he finished third at the 2015 IIHF World Championship in the Czech Republic.
“We are very excited to welcome Bill Zito as general manager of the Florida Panthers,” said Owner and Governor Vincent Viola. “Bill is a great mind at our game today, having shown during his time at Columbus Blue Jackets that he has great talent assessment and success building skills. He brings great experience to our club and has a strong business acumen. “
Zito said the opportunity to reunite with Bobrovsky, who played with the Blue Jackets for seven seasons from 2012-19 is particularly intriguing and is confident the goalkeeper can bounce back from his first season in Florida when he hit an NHL career high of 3 , Had 23 goals – Against average and 0.900 percent saving, its lowest in the league since 2011-12 (0.899 with the Philadelphia Flyers)
“Anyone who knows [Bobrovsky] knows he’s probably the hardest-working player, “said Zito.” His commitment to excellence is second to none. I spoke to him this morning. It was nice. … It felt like visiting an old friend again. He is a wonderful guy who works hard and is focused. He told me exactly what his training plan is. He still knows what he’s doing today. I have a lot of faith in him. “
Zito also said he looks forward to working with Quenneville.
“It’s humbling to even think about working with Joel,” he said. “I was still an agent when they won the 2010 Chicago Cup and I had a number of players on his team. I spent a lot of time watching them. I have only the utmost respect and excitement to get from him I had a chance to speak to him last night. We had a nice chat. He was very friendly and nice. “
Prior to joining the Blue Jackets, Zito was the founder and president of Acme World Sports, a hockey agency that represented players like the Boston Bruins goalkeeper Tuukka Rask and former NHL goalkeeper Tim Thomas.
NHL.com independent correspondent Alain Poupart contributed to this report
Photo courtesy Florida Panthers
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