Sam Bennett is in line for a pay raise after this season. Will it be with the Panthers?
The Florida Panthers know just how important Sam Bennett has been to their rise to perennial Stanley Cup contenders. His career resurgence since Florida acquired him from Calgary at the NHL’s 2021 trade deadline has been one of the many success stories on the team under president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Zito.
But will that success story continue with Florida after the season ends? It’s one of several big questions Zito has to sort out.
Bennett is in the final year of a four-year deal with an annual cap hit of $4.425 million, and he is setting himself up for a significant pay raise with his next contract.
If the Panthers can find a way to get a deal done and they have a sense that Bennett wants to return, their best move would be to strike before he hits the open market.
And that appears to be what they’re doing.
SportsNet’s Elliotte Friedman reported last week that the Panthers and Bennett’s camp have resumed contract talks.
“I don’t want to handicap it, don’t want to say one way or the other,” Friedman said, “but they are trying, and it’s been a very good marriage between player and team.”
Bennett’s career has been a revelation since joining the Panthers.
In 281 games with Florida entering Sunday’s homestand opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Bennett has 192 points (93 goals, 99 assists) and a plus-minus rating of plus-51 while anchored Florida’s second line the majority of his tenure. He tallied 29 points over the course of Florida’s runs to the Stanley Cup Final each of the past two seasons. This after primarily being used on the fourth line during his 402-game career in Calgary, during which he produced just 140 points (67 goals, 73 assists).
He is on pace to have a a career season offensively in his contract year. After logging a goal and an assist on Saturday in Florida’s 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals, Bennett has 23 goals (five shy of his career high set in the 2021-22 season), 24 assists (matching his career-high set in the 2022-23 season) and 47 points (two shy of his career-high set in the 2021-22 season).
Bennett also made his mark for Team Canada during the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in February, scoring the game-tying goal in the championship game against the United States, which Canada eventually won 3-2 in overtime.
“It didn’t change anything,” Bennett said of his mindset playing in a contract year. “Obviously it’s going to be in the back of your head no matter what anyone says. You know and think about that sometimes, but I don’t change my game. I didn’t change how I approached this year or anything. It was just another year to add my value to the team, and that’s just how I approach it.”
Bennett’s blend of physicality and scoring prowess — and knack for showing up on the biggest stage — makes him a dream target for any contender.
Florida knows that first-hand. Panthers coach Paul Maurice on multiple occasions has called Bennett an identity player for the team.
“I like where his game is going,” Maurice said last month. “I think you saw his playoff game at the 4 Nations. I think he’s getting closer to that game. I don’t think that you can play the Sam Bennett game for 82 [games] and survive. He’s got to tailor that a little bit. I think the month of January he found his game again and is back to where he started very well for us this year.”
(Bennett has scored a team-high 12 points and is tied for the team lead with five goals since play resumed after the 4 Nations Face-Off.)
Which is why getting a deal done would be ideal, even if it requires some savvy work with the contract.
The Panthers right now have 16 players — 10 forwards, five defensemen and one goaltender — under contract for next season at a collective cap hit of $76.5 million. The salary cap for the 2025-26 season is $95.5 million, meaning the Panthers have $19 million to sign at minimum four players (two forwards, one defenseman and one goaltender) and up to seven (NHL rosters are capped at 23 players).
In addition to Bennett, top-pairing defenseman Aaron Ekblad (who was making $7.5 million per year on his current deal) is also slated to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, while rookie forward Mackie Samoskevich, who has been an offensive force for Florida in his first full NHL season, is a restricted free agent.
It might be tough to accommodate everyone, but Zito has shown the ability to make things work while keeping the Panthers’ core intact.
And that generally has meant players taking a deal potentially below market value to continue pushing for more Stanley Cups with the Panthers.
Over the past year alone...
▪ Defenseman Gustav Forsling signed an eight-year deal with an average cap hit of just $5.75 million after establishing himself as one of the league’s top defensemen.
▪ Sam Reinhart signed an eight-year deal worth $8.63 million per year following a 2023-24 campaign in which he scored 57 goals in the regular season and another 10 in the playoffs, including the game-winner in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers.
▪ Anton Lundell, who was a restricted free agent, signed for $5 million a year over six years after establishing himself as a middle-six center.
▪ Carter Verhaeghe, one of Florida’s high-octane shooters who has scored 10 game-winning goals and five overtime winners over the past three playoff runs, signed for $7 million a year over eight years.
So no, nothing is out of the question just yet with a Bennett extension if Zito can work his magic like he has so many times before.
Time will tell if he can do it again.
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