It began in the summer of 2023 after the Presidents' Trophy-winning Panthers were ousted in the second round. General manager Bill Zito decided the team needed to be better defensively and more physical.
He made the blockbuster trade for feisty Matthew Tkachuk, sending away 115-point scorer Jonathan Huberdeau and top defenseman MacKenzie Weegar. He bought in coach Paul Maurice, who had stepped away from coaching with the Winnipeg Jets in 2021-22.