As every member of the Florida Panthers exploded in jubilation Monday night after capturing the franchise’s first Stanley Cup, Bill Zito was bawling.
The Panthers GM was the most emotional person in the building, uncontrollable tears of joy streaming down his face after the team avoided a historic 3-0 collapse to win Game 7 at home.
“He’s been crying for half an hour. I’m not even kidding,” ESPN’s Ray Ferraro said during the ABC broadcast of the Panthers’ celebration as Zito hugged his kids.
“Bill is an emotional guy. When the Cup first came out he was walking down to where they were going to present it, and he was in tears then.”
The 59-year-old Zito, who in April added president of hockey operations to his job title as he signed a contract extension, first became the team’s GM on Sept. 2, 2020 after spending seven seasons with the Blue Jackets, with whom he was an assistant GM and VP of hockey operations.
Zito, who shares twin daughters Frankie and Gigi and son Billy with his wife Julie, hired Paul Maurice as the Panthers’ new coach after the 2021-22 season, bypassing interim head coach Andrew Brunette despite the team winning the Presidents’ Trophy; they were swept by the Lightning in the second round of the playoffs.
Maurice, who resigned as Jets head coach in December 2021, led the Panthers to the Cup Final last season, where they lost to the Golden Knights, before Monday’s triumph.
In an ABC interview with Emily Kaplan during the celebration, Zito credited Maurice for his “emotional intelligence” and how he treats others and explained the identity he tried to build with his roster.
“Earlier in the series, Matthew [Tkachuk] gave a game puck to our team services guy,” Zito said of the star forward he traded for two years ago. “I won’t tell you why, [but] that doesn’t happen. That’s leadership, that’s kindness, and that’s how all these guys treat each other. I know it’s a superlative and I know you hear it every time someone wins something, but it’s different.”
To cap the interview, Zito was asked what was most gratifying about winning the Cup.
He looked to his right and started to get choked up.
“I have my dad here,” Zito said.
