Latest news with #SamBennett
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Florida Panthers sign Sam Bennett to 8-year contract extension
The Florida Panthers are keeping their original rat king. On Friday, the team announced they had signed Bennett to an eight-year extension. The deal comes with an average annual value (AAV) of $8 million, per Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. Advertisement 'Sam is a special player who has mastered a unique blend of skill and physicality in his game, becoming one of the most impactful postseason performers of his generation,' Panthers General Manager Bill Zito said in a statement released by the team. 'He played an integral role in our two Stanley Cup championships, earning the franchise's first Conn Smythe Trophy and is a dedicated contributor to our South Florida community off the ice. We are thrilled that he will continue his career with the Panthers.' The new deal will keep Bennett with the Panthers through 2033. This doesn't come as a major surprise since Bennett has said more than once over the past couple weeks that he was going to stay with Florida. He joins Sasha Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Seth Jones, Carter Verhaeghe, Gus Forsling and Anton Lundell as key members of the team who are signed for the foreseeable future. Advertisement Florida originally acquired Bennett in April of 2021 from the Calgary Flames in exchange for a second-round pick and prospect Emil Heineman. Bennett was chosen by Calgary with the fourth overall selection in the 2014 NHL Draft. During his five seasons with the Panthers, Bennett has racked up 95 goals and 196 points in 289 games. He's added another 29 goals and 59 points in 77 playoff games with Florida. With Bennett now signed, focus will shift to Florida's remaining unrestricted free agents, including the two biggest ones: Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand. We'll see what happens between now and July 1, when free agency officially begins. Advertisement LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA The Hockey Show: Stanley Cup parade, NHL Draft, free agency, hockey diversity NHL Rumors: 2 Teams Linked To Panthers' Aaron Ekblad Florida Panthers 2025 NHL Draft primer Panthers Trade Forward Prospect To Capitals Brad Marchand put up amazing numbers in games after a Panthers loss during Florida's Stanley Cup run Photo caption: May 16, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett (9) looks on against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period in game six of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
CTV News
5 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Playoff MVP Sam Bennett agrees on 8-year, $64 million contract to stay with Florida Panthers
Sam Bennett walked to the front of the stage at the Florida Panthers' latest Stanley Cup championship parade, and before he could even speak the crowd began serenading him with their request. 'Eight more years! Eight more years!' they chanted, over and over. They got their wish. Bennett — who led the NHL with 15 goals in this year's playoffs and became the first Panthers player ever to score that many in a single postseason — is staying with the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions. He and Florida agreed Friday to a new eight-year contract worth $64 million, or $8 million per season. 'Sam is a special player who has mastered a unique blend of skill and physicality in his game, becoming one of the most impactful postseason performers of his generation,' Panthers general manager and hockey operations president Bill Zito said. 'He played an integral role in our two Stanley Cup championships, earning the franchise's first Conn Smythe trophy and is a dedicated contributor to our South Florida community off the ice. We are thrilled that he will continue his career with the Panthers.' Bennett was the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as MVP of the playoffs, the first Florida player to ever win that award. The last time a Conn Smythe winner didn't open the following season with the same team he had that playoff run with was 1997, when goaltender Mike Vernon helped Detroit win that year's Cup — and then the Red Wings traded him to San Jose that summer. It is the first of three big decisions that the Panthers have been waiting on heading into free agency, the others being what forward Brad Marchand — a trade deadline pickup who became an enormous part of the run to this Cup — and defenseman Aaron Ekblad will do going forward. Giving the people want they want 🤝 — Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) June 27, 2025 The Bennett signing is another huge move by Zito, who now has eight players — all of them key parts of the team — under contract with the Panthers through at least the 2029-30 season. Bennett joins Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell, Seth Jones and Gustav Forsling on that list. The raise is a massive one for Bennett, who just finished the final year of a four-year contract that paid him just under $18 million. He had a postseason like almost none other; the only other player to have at least 15 goals and 48 penalty minutes in the same playoff run was Pittsburgh's Kevin Stevens in 1991. He had given indications throughout this offseason process — including at a nightclub during the Panthers' days-long initial Cup celebration — that he intended to remain in Florida, but nothing got officially done until Friday. Bennett is coming off perhaps his finest season, with 25 goals and 26 assists in the regular season for a career-best 51 points. --Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
Washington Post
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Playoff MVP Sam Bennett agrees on 8-year, $64 million contract to stay with Florida Panthers
SUNRISE, Fla. — Sam Bennett walked to the front of the stage at the Florida Panthers' latest Stanley Cup championship parade, and before he could even speak the crowd began serenading him with their request. 'Eight more years! Eight more years!' they chanted, over and over. They got their wish. Bennett — who led the NHL with 15 goals in this year's playoffs and became the first Panthers player ever to score that many in a single postseason — is staying with the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions. He and Florida agreed Friday to a new eight-year contract worth $64 million, or $8 million per season.
San Francisco Chronicle
7 hours ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Playoff MVP Sam Bennett agrees on 8-year, $64 million contract to stay with Florida Panthers
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Sam Bennett walked to the front of the stage at the Florida Panthers' latest Stanley Cup championship parade, and before he could even speak the crowd began serenading him with their request. 'Eight more years! Eight more years!' they chanted, over and over. They got their wish. Bennett — who led the NHL with 15 goals in this year's playoffs and became the first Panthers player ever to score that many in a single postseason — is staying with the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions. He and Florida agreed Friday to a new eight-year contract worth $64 million, or $8 million per season. 'Sam is a special player who has mastered a unique blend of skill and physicality in his game, becoming one of the most impactful postseason performers of his generation,' Panthers general manager and hockey operations president Bill Zito said. 'He played an integral role in our two Stanley Cup championships, earning the franchise's first Conn Smythe trophy and is a dedicated contributor to our South Florida community off the ice. We are thrilled that he will continue his career with the Panthers.' Bennett was the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as MVP of the playoffs, the first Florida player to ever win that award. The last time a Conn Smythe winner didn't open the following season with the same team he had that playoff run with was 1997, when goaltender Mike Vernon helped Detroit win that year's Cup — and then the Red Wings traded him to San Jose that summer. It is the first of three big decisions that the Panthers have been waiting on heading into free agency, the others being what forward Brad Marchand — a trade deadline pickup who became an enormous part of the run to this Cup — and defenseman Aaron Ekblad will do going forward. The Bennett signing is another huge move by Zito, who now has eight players — all of them key parts of the team — under contract with the Panthers through at least the 2029-30 season. Bennett joins Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell, Seth Jones and Gustav Forsling on that list. The raise is a massive one for Bennett, who just finished the final year of a four-year contract that paid him just under $18 million. He had a postseason like almost none other; the only other player to have at least 15 goals and 48 penalty minutes in the same playoff run was Pittsburgh's Kevin Stevens in 1991. He had given indications throughout this offseason process — including at a nightclub during the Panthers' days-long initial Cup celebration — that he intended to remain in Florida, but nothing got officially done until Friday. Bennett is coming off perhaps his finest season, with 25 goals and 26 assists in the regular season for a career-best 51 points.
New York Times
7 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
NHL contract grades: Sam Bennett cashes in and stays with Panthers
Sam Bennett signs an eight-year deal with an $8 million AAV with the Florida Panthers. Harman Dayal: Of the Panthers' three key pending unrestricted free agents — Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, and Brad Marchand — Bennett always stood out as the most important player to retain. The Panthers already brought in Seth Jones and have shown they can find economical defensemen to fill high-leverage roles, which makes Ekblad not as high a priority. Marchand exceeded all expectations as a Panther, but he's 37. Florida will, of course, still take a run at keeping Marchand and Ekblad but Bennett was always priority No. 1. Advertisement Yes, the Panthers had a potential second-line center successor in Anton Lundell. Yes, Bennett's regular-season resume, with a career-high of only 51 points, isn't quite worth $8 million. But the Panthers aren't in the business of winning Presidents' Trophies; they're in the business of collecting Stanley Cup rings. And Bennett has proven time and time again that he's an absolute beast in the playoffs. Bennett won the Conn Smythe this past year with 15 goals in 23 games. He racked up 14 points in 19 games during the 2024 Cup win. He scored 15 points in 20 games during this core's first run to the Cup final in 2023. He's done all of that without any first-unit power-play time. Bennett is also far more valuable to the Panthers than just his offensive production. He's a physical wrecking ball. He's mean, nasty, and borderline dirty. Opposing fans understandably hate it, but it continues to have an impact in the playoffs. Bennett is essential to the Panthers' DNA. They simply wouldn't have the same fear factor without him. Part of what makes Bennett work so well in Florida is the exceptional fit. The Panthers have stars like Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Reinhart ahead of him, so Bennett's able to slot in perfectly. If he signed with a non-playoff team, there'd be a lot more concern about whether he could live up to an $8 million (or higher) cap hit where he'd garner more of the opposition's attention, plus would face far greater pressure to deliver in the regular season. But in Florida, he's a perfect fit and only needs to deliver elite value in the playoffs, which he's consistently proven he can do. Would a cap hit in the $7.5 million range have been more favourable? Sure. Could this deal age poorly on the back half? It's very possible. But the Panthers are smack in the middle of their Cup contention window and Bennett is too important a piece to lose. You'll happily keep this core together for more championship runs. Plus, who cares if the contract doesn't look good by, say, Year 6 because by then the entire core will be old, and the team will likely be in some kind of retool/transition phase anyway. Grade: B+ Advertisement James Mirtle: Only eight years and $64 million for a 29-year-old second-line center with a career high of 51 points? How did the Panthers get away with this level of highway robbery? We know the answer. No state tax. Just like some of the NHL's other low-tax teams in Nashville and Seattle – who finished third and fourth-last this past season – Florida has an insurmountable advantage it continues to use to beat other clubs. That explains why the franchise has the 23rd-best record since entering the league; it's just that tough to compete with them for free-agent talent. Now, it may also be that players like Bennett want to play in a nice metropolitan coastal city where there's a great new ownership group and smart front office, a management team that is ensuring they'll be competitive for years after winning back-to-back Stanley Cups. You also have to credit GM Bill Zito and company for holding the line in contract talks perhaps better than anyone, allowing key free agents like Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson from the 2023-24 championship team to go cash-in if they wanted to leave. Bennett could have commanded $10 million or more a season elsewhere, on a team struggling in the standings, but after a tough time the first six years of his career in Calgary, he realized how good the fit was in Sunrise. He knew he had to take less, in part because that's the culture Florida has built. This goes well beyond just taxation for him; it's just plain happiness at stake. And it'll be fascinating to see if Marchand and Ekblad follow suit in the days to come as they attempt to go for a three-peat. Grade: A- Shayna Goldman: Bennett may not be the perfect second-line center in the regular season — he's solid, but far from elite. But he always elevates his game when it matters most. He goes from a fine 2C to an outright dawg. The scoring always goes up in the postseason — this year, his pace jumped by almost a full point per 60 from his regular-season pace with 22 points in 23 games. He's clutch when his team needs a hero and he's physical. Bennett doesn't just play with an edge, he can be a total menace who grinds his opponents down. Advertisement Playoff players are always tricky to handle when it's contract time. General managers can be completely infatuated with players who thrive on that stage, especially if they bring more than just scoring to the table, like Bennett. Every team needs a 16-win player like Bennett, who can disrupt play and help push his team to victory. But every team also has to be careful on how much that element gets invested in, versus their body of work across 82 games, and whether someone can keep that up in the long term. It hasn't worked out for everyone, just look at how that Ondrej Palat contract is aging in New Jersey. Everything was pointing to an overpayment for Bennett this summer, between the lack of high-end talent in free agency, the rising cap, and his Conn Smyth win. So, an $8 million cap hit is more reasonable than the $10 million figure thrown around over the last few weeks. Plus, there's a difference between the Panthers signing him at this cost and another team swinging for the fences. The Panthers already know how Bennett fits into their lineup and helps them be the best version of themselves. And Bennett knows that playing in Florida completely turned his career around, after flaming out in Calgary. It's a perfect marriage that has helped the team win back-to-back championships. So this contract would be viewed a lot differently elsewhere, because there would be more risk in estimating his fit, and whether the deal would pan out. There's still risk involved for Florida, but at least there is that familiarity factor. The other consideration is that the Panthers have so many team-friendly core contracts on the books that allow management to spend a little extra when necessary. Even when considering what he brings in the playoffs, this is still a bit higher than his market value and Evolving-Hockey's projection. But it's not outlandish, either. What also works in Florida's favor is Anton Lundell's contract. When Bennett eventually slides down to 3C, Lundell with be a steal of a 2C at $5 million. Grade: B+
