The Florida Panthers had seven of their NHL-high 10 players at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics bring home a medal — not counting Bill Zito, who brought almost all of them to the Sunshine State.
Zito, the Panthers general manager since 2020, became part of Team USA’s gold medal championship team on Sunday along with forward Matthew Tkachuk and equipment manager Teddy Richards.
Tkachuk, like nine of Florida’s 10 Olympic players, were either acquired in a trade, signed as a free agent, claimed off waivers, or drafted by Zito and his front office team.
Of those who played in Milan, only Eetu Luostarinen was here when Zito replaced Dale Tallon in 2020. Luostarinen had been acquired in the Vincent Trocheck trade months earlier.
Oh yeah.
Trocheck, a third-round pick of the Panthers in 2011 who remains a fan favorite down here, won gold on Sunday as well.
Zito was an assistant general manager on Team USA assisting Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin.
Speaking of former Panthers, John Vanbiesbrouck — Florida’s first goalie in 1993 who led the team to the Stanley Cup Final in 1996 — is the assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey.
“We had a huge chunk of the Florida Panthers organization there,” said Paul Maurice, the Florida coach hired by Zito following a Presidents’ Trophy winning season in 2022. “And every one of those guys is here because of Bill. I’m happy for him. He’s had quite a five-year run, hasn’t he? Good for him.”
Only a handful of players remain from the team Zito took over in 2020: Luostarinen, Sasha Barkov, Aaron Ekblad, and Sergei Bobrovsky.
Tkachuk was, perhaps, Zito’s biggest gamble. It also may be his greatest move as GM of the Panthers.
Not long after Maurice was hired in 2022, Tkachuk told the Calgary Flames he would not be signing a long-term contract with them and asked for a trade.
The Panthers were one of the teams Tkachuk said he would sign with, and Zito made Calgary an offer they simply could not refuse.
Zito gave up not only Florida’s all-time leading scorer Jonathan Huberdeau in the deal, but defenseman MacKenzie Weegar as well. Prospect Cole Schwindt (whom Florida got back this season) and a first-round draft pick also went to the Flames for Tkachuk.
Bringing in Tkachuk has been a home run since Day 1.
Tkachuk kicked things off by being named MVP of the NHL All-Star Game in Sunrise, then helped Florida to the Stanley Cup Final in 2023 before winning it in 2024 and 2025.
“I’m here to win,’’ Tkachuk said upon joining the Panthers. “I’m here to be on the last team standing.”
Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, and Brad Marchand all won silver with Canada. They were also brought to the Panthers via trades swung by Zito.
Luostarinen, Anton Lundell, and Niko Mikkola won bronze with Finland. Lundell was Zito’s first draft pick in 2020; Mikkola was a great find as a free agent in 2023 and recently signed a new contract.
Sweden’s Gus Forsling was signed off waivers during Zito’s first training camp in 2021 and he has evolved into one of the top defensive-minded defensemen in the league. He is also signed long-term with the Panthers.
Latvia’s Uvis Balinskis was a veteran defenseman found by the Panthers playing in the Czech Extraliga. Sandis Valmanis is a 22-year-old rookie whom Florida drafted in the fifth round in 2022.
Seth Jones was selected to play for Team USA, but the defenseman was injured at the Winter Classic and could not go. He was acquired in a blockbuster trade last March.
Barkov would have been captain of Finland’s team had he not been injured and Tomas Nosek (free agency in 2024) likely would have been selected for Czechia’s team had he not been hurt as well.
2026 WINTER OLYMPICS
MEN’S HOCKEY
Gold medal game: United States 2, Canada 1 (OT)
Bronze medal game: Finland 6, Slovakia 1
Semifinals: Canada 3, Finland 2; United States 6, Slovakia 2
Quarterfinals: Slovakia 6, Germany 2; Canada 4, Czechia 3 (OT); Finland 3, Switzerland 2 (OT); United States 2, Sweden 1 (OT)
Qualifiers: Germany 5, France 1; Switzerland 3, Italy 0; Czechia 3, Denmark 2; Sweden 5, Latvia 1.
Day 1 — Group B: Slovakia 4, Finland 1; Sweden 5 Italy 2
Day 2 — Group A: Switzerland 4, France 0; Canada 5, Czechia 0. Group C: United States 5, Latvia 1; Germany 3, Denmark 1
Day 3 — Group B: Finland 4, Sweden 1; Slovakia 3, Italy 2. Group A: Czechia 6, France 3; Canada 5, Switzerland 1
Day 4 — Group B: Sweden 5, Slovakia 3; Finland 11, Italy 0. Group C: Latvia 4, Germany 3; USA 6, Denmark 3
Day 5 — Group A: Switzerland 4, Czechia 3 (OT); Canada 10, France 2. Group C: Denmark 4, Latvia 2; USA 5, Germany 1
FLORIDA PANTHERS
2026 MILAN CORTINA OLYMPIC GAMES
United States (6-0-0, Gold Medal): F Matthew Tkachuk (6 GP, 0-6, 6 points); D Seth Jones (injured), Bill Zito (assistant GM), Teddy Richards (equipment manager)
Canada (5-0-1, Silver Medal): F Sam Reinhart (6 GP; 1-1, 2); F Brad Marchand (4 GP, 0-1, 1); C Sam Bennett (5 GP; 0-1, 1)
Finland (4-2-0; Bronze Medal): C Sasha Barkov (injured), F Eetu Luostarinen (6 GP; 0-4, 4); D Niko Mikkola (6 GP, 0-3, 3); C Anton Lundell (5 GP; 1-1, 2); Tuomo Ruutu (assistant coach)
Sweden (3-1-1): D Gus Forsling (5 GP; 1-1, 2); Myles Fee (video coach)
Germany (2-3-0): Jamie Kompon (assistant coach)
Latvia (1-3-0): D Uvis Balinskis (4 GP; 0-1, 1); F Sandis Vilmanis (4 GP; 0-0, 0)
