The DFO Rundown Ep. 148 – Panthers GM Bill Zito breaks down his blockbuster summer

We continued our August interview series by catching up with Panthers GM Bill Zito. Some would say that he’s been the busiest man in hockey this summer as he hired Paul Maurice, filled out the edges of his roster in free agency, oh, and he also happened to orchestrate one of the biggest trades of the salary cap era. He broke down how the mega-deal between the Panthers and Flames went down and why he’s excited to welcome Matt Tkachuk to his organization. He also spoke a little bit about why it made sense to trade away Jonathan Huberdeau, who holds many Panthers franchise records, and Mackenzie Weegar, who many view as a top pairing defenseman.

He also talked about his journey to being a General Manager, his risk tolerance, and how he goes about building what he hopes to be a Stanley Cup champion.

Before the interview with Bill, Frank and Jason talked about Huberdeau’s new contract with the Calgary Flames and also the status of some of the remaining UFA’s like Nazem Kadri, Phil Kessel, and PK Subban.

8:10 – Huberdeau contract & Flames plans

13:25 – Kadri update & the rest of the remaining FA’s

22:50 – The Arizona arena

26:30 – Could the NHLPA grieve the Keith cap recapture?

29:55 – Zito on all the big changes

32:00 – What does he love about Tkachuk

36:40 – His journey as a GM

52:10 – Going all in & learning lessons