Although the Florida Panthers are laser-focused on winning the Atlantic Division and ideally making another deep run in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the future of key forward Sam Bennett remains a question mark ahead of the offseason.
With most of the core locked up, the 28-year-old remains without a new contract, and the Toronto native is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. But as Sportsnet hockey insider Nick Kypreos revealed a little earlier this week, both sides are interested in continuing the partnership long into the future.
“Contract talks between pending unrestricted free agent Sam Bennett and the Panthers have gone well enough since the NHL trade deadline that some believe he will ending up staying where he is,” the hockey insider reported in The Toronto Star.
“What both sides have going for it, in no particular order: Bennett’s love for the team, head coach Paul Maurice’s love of the player and a contract that is expected to be upwards of $60 million (U.S.), with no state tax.”
Bennett would certainly be one of the top UFAs available this summer if he makes it to market. But it was revealed recently that contract talks have resumed between player and club, and it’s seeming more likely than not that something will get done before July 1.
If the hard-nosed forward ended up getting $60 million, that would probably look like a $7.5 million AAV on an eight-year deal. That’s a steep price, but Bennett has been excellent in 2024-25 to the tune of 22 goals and 45 points in 67 games. It’s his third 20-plus-goal campaign in his last four, and he’s added 138 hits for good measure.
Bennett has stepped up without Matthew Tkachuk in the lineup, and has been great on the top powerplay unit alongside Sam Reinhart, Sasha Barkov, Mackie Samoskevich and Seth Jones.
Over 682 career games over 11 NHL seasons, Bennett has amassed 159 goals, 330 points and 1,287 hits. This year, he continues to play a big role on a Panthers team that would love to finish first in the division and avoid playing the Toronto Maple Leafs or Tampa Bay Lightning in Round 1.
Panthers battling to win Atlantic Division
The Panthers will be without Tkachuk and defenseman Aaron Ekblad for the rest of the regular-season — the latter is serving a 20-game suspension for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program.
But despite the absence of the two key players, Florida has been solid as of late. Paul Maurice’s club has won eight of 11 games, the most recent a 1-0 overtime win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on the back of a Sergei Bobrovsky masterclass.
With that, the Cats are 42-24-3 and remain in first place in the Atlantic Division. The hold is precarious, though, as the Maple Leafs and Lightning are each just two points back. It doesn’t help that both Toronto and Tampa have won three games in a row.
It looks to be a toss-up as to who will win the division, and the two teams that don’t will be in for a bloodbath in Round 1. All three of the Panthers, Lightning and Leafs are hoping to go deep in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but at least one will be out early.
Bennett and Florida are back in action against the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals on the road on Saturday afternoon as the stretch run continues.
The post Panthers rumors: Insider provides big update on Sam Bennett contract talks appeared first on ClutchPoints.
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