FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Brad Marchand did not expect to be back with the Florida Panthers this season.

That’s not to say he didn’t want to remain with the Stanley Cup champions — he did — but rather that he didn’t think it was mathematically possible. There was only so much cap space available to spend on free agents like him, Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad. At least one of the three would have to go, he figured.

He was wrong. Bennett — the Conn Smythe Award winner as MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs — got eight years to stay with Florida. Ekblad got eight years as well, a deal that could give him 19 years with the Panthers. And Marchand — now a two-time Cup winner — got a six-year deal, one that could keep him with Florida until he’s 43.

“I honestly didn’t think there was a chance of

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