Bill Zito last week said the Florida Panthers will be prepared to handle “whatever scenario we’re dealt” when it came to the NHL’s upcoming trade deadline.

As the deadline, set for 3 p.m. Friday, inches closer, it’s looking more and more like the Panthers know the course of action that they’ll have to take.

Florida (30-27-3, 63 points) remains eight points back of a Stanley Cup playoff spot with 22 games left on the schedule after dropping two of its first three games back from the Olympic break, most recently a 5-4 heartbreaker to the New York Islanders on Sunday to begin a four-game road trip. The Panthers have two games left before the deadline — Tuesday at the New Jersey Devils (7 p.m., TNT) and Thursday at the Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m., Scripps Sports) — to try to make up some semblance of ground in the race for a playoff spot before final decisions have to be made.

But Zito’s decision might have already been made for him.

It’s looking impossible for the Panthers to justify buying at the deadline given their position in the standings.

That leaves two options.

1). Stand pat and hope the Panthers pull off a magical run to end the season like they did in 2023 when they snuck into the playoffs and made an equally magical run to the Stanley Cup Final.

2). Try to sell off what few trade chips the Panthers do have at their disposal on the periphery of their roster with the hopes of bolstering for the future.

If they were to trade players, here are six who could logically make sense.

Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky

Bobrovsky is in the final year of his seven-year, $70 million deal and has been having the statistically worst season of his Hall of Fame career.. After giving up five goals on Sunday, he now has a .872 save percentage and 3.13 goals-against average on the season — the worst and second-worst marks of his career, respectively.

But his postseason pedigree speaks for itself. He had six shutouts the past three postseasons while backstopping the Panthers to three consecutive Cup Finals and back-to-back championships.

Bobrovsky, who has a $10 million cap hit, has a 16-team no-trade list (the exact teams are unknown), meaning half the league is off the table unless he waives the clause. That narrows the scope of what Zito can do in terms of a deal, if one were to even be on the table. It’s unlikely that Zito would initiate talks on shipping out Bobrovsky, but it nevertheless is an avenue that could be explored should a team present an offer.

Forward A.J. Greer

Greer, making just $850,000, is in the midst of a career year with 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) while averaging more than 11-and-a-half minutes per game as a physically imposing bottom-six forward. He would be a fitting depth piece for a playoff contender at a low salary cost that could feasibly get the Panthers a middle-round draft pick as a rental.

Forward Jesper Boqvist

Boqvist is in the first year of a two-year, $3 million deal but has been looking like the odd man out of Florida’s forward group as of late. Prior to serving as the fourth-line center on Sunday, which only came because Cole Schwindt is out long-term and Luke Kunin was put on waivers, Boqvist was a healthy scratch in eight of Florida’s previous 11 games.

With Tomas Nosek closing in on making his season debut and Jonah Gadjovich hopefully not too far behind, Boqvist could once again be the odd man out.

Forward Mackie Samoskevich

Samoskevich, while highly talented with speed down the wing and a lethal shot, has underperformed during his two full seasons with the Panthers. He has just six goals in 58 games and two in his past 28 contests. He’s slated to be a restricted free agent this offseason. Maybe a change of scenery might benefit Samoskevich in the long run.

The emergence of Sandis Vilmanis also gives the Panthers another young, cost-effective forward with upside who can slide into Samoskevich’s spot on Florida’s second line the rest of the season and potentially make a case for that spot long-term.

Forward Evan Rodrigues

Rodrigues has a cap hit of $3 million and is under contract through the 2026-27 season. His versatility has been on full display during his entire Panthers tenure and probably moreso this season after sliding over from wing to center as Florida dealt with a rash of injuries up the middle.

It’s worth saying Florida likely won’t deal him unless they are wowed by an offer, but Rodrigues fits the mold of a prime deadline target.

Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov

Kulikov returned to Florida’s lineup on Sunday after missing all but the first two games of the season due to a labral tear in his right shoulder.

He’s a veteran that is playoff tested and on a team-friendly deal with just a $1.15 million annual cap hit through the 2027-28 season.