Florida Panthers keep Bobrovsky, Greer on quiet deadline day

Some depth maneuvering but not the big moves that were projected

Ethan Skolnick, Panthers OnSI

In the end, there was a lot of noise, but not a lot of news.

The Florida Panthers, active buyers in recent seasons under general manager Bill Zito as they successfully pursued the Stanley Cup Finals, were apparent sellers entering this trade deadline as the injury-ravaged season has slipped away. But after trading depth defenseman Jeff Petry on Thursday, the next day passed with two rumored trade candidates, goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and center A.J. Greer still on the roster -- and Zito indicating an intention to try to re-sign both rather than letting them leave when their contracts expire.

Bill Zito says they spoke to every team in the league.

“I’m a little tired.”

Said he didn’t want to make a deal “for the sake of making deals.” pic.twitter.com/8f950gj8wB

— Five Reasons Sports 🏀🏈⚾️🏒⚽️ (@5ReasonsSports) March 6, 2026

It wasn't from a lack of conversation, as Zito said he explored opportunities with basically every team in the NHL. But that nothing materialized that made a lot of sense, as the team tries to pivot to next season with a healthier roster.

"Sometimes, the best decisions," Zito said, "are the ones you didn't pursue."

In the end, the Panthers just made a couple of small moves on Friday: after getting a conditional seventh-to-fifth round pick from the Wild for Petry, they made another deal with Minnesota, getting forward Vinnie Hinostroza for future considerations; and they claimed forward Cole Reinhardt off waivers from the Vegas Golden Knights.

Hinostroza has played 460 games for seven teams, including 48 for the Wild this season, in which he compiled three goals and seven assists.

"He's got a lot of speed, he plays hard," Zito said. "He's kind of a jack of all trades. And he's been here before, so it's pretty seamless."

Reinhardt, a natural left wing, played in 44 games this season, with four goals and three assists.

"He's a guy he can kind of fit in anywhere," Zito said. "He's in a good organization. And he's got another year on his deal."

So now, with just 20 games left, and the playoffs pretty much out of reach, the real work will be done by Zito behind the scenes -- as he attempts to keep Bobrovsky for at least another season or two, something he said he very much wants to do. The glowing way he spoke of the goaltender made it clear that the sides aren't all that far apart. The typically congenial Zito even bristled at a question about Bobrovsky's statistical decline this season.

So expect to see something on that relatively soon.

"I'm so proud of our guys, it's been such an extraordinary run, not just with numbers of games but hard games," Zito said. "We play a hard style of hockey. I would have liked to have helped our guys more. But I don't want to just move players to have stuff to talk about today."

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