The Florida Panthers have signed reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner Sam Bennett to an eight-year, $64MM contract extension, per Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. The move was later confirmed by the Panthers. It will carry an annual-average-value of $8MM and carry Bennett through his age-37 season. The contract will also carry a no-movement clause through the first five years, and a no-trade clause through the final three years, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
After a postseason full of speculation as to where he’d land next, Bennett will stand by his word and re-sign with the Panthers. The deal clocks in at a cheaper price than many speculated he could receive on the open market, especially after leading the playoffs with 15 goals in 23 games. No other player scored more than 11 goals. Bennett was ferocious through every single game in Florida’s run to a second consecutive Stanley Cup win. Serving as the team’s top-line left-wing, Bennett earned 22 points in summer hockey, with many coming on the back of relentless play around the opponent’s net.
The postseason performance was the culmination of what many knew Bennett was capable of. He’s long served as an imposing, aggressive presence in the offensive end – capable of racking up just as many penalty minutes as he does points. He scored 14 points in 19 games of Florida’s Stanley Cup win last season, after netting 41 points and 100 penalty minutes during the regular season. That marked Bennett’s third-straight season reaching at least 40 points – a streak he maintained this season by posting a career-high 51 points in 76 games. He added 90 penalty minutes and a minus-15 to that stat line.
Bennett has now scored 20 goals and 40 points in three of the last four seasons. His only miss – the 2022-23 campaign – saw him net 16 goals and 40 points in just 63 games. He’s proven incredibly reliable ever since joining the Panthers via trade in the 2020-21 season. Florida acquired him from the Calgary Flames in exchange for Emil Heineman and a second-round pick ultimately used by Seattle to select David Goyette. Heineman was traded earlier today in Montreal’s acquisition of Noah Dobson.
Bennett scored 15 points in his first 10 games with the Panthers following his trade. In the years since, he’s combined for 95 goals and 196 points in 289 games – the fifth most on the Panthers behind Aleksander Barkov (332), Sam Reinhart (324), Carter Verhaeghe (254), and Matthew Tkachuk (254). Bennett has also totaled 59 points in 77 playoff games in Florida, fourth on the team behind Verhaeghe (76), Barkov (74), and Tkachuk (69).
This deal will likely carry Bennett through the end of his career in a Florida Panthers jersey. The Holland Landing, Ontario native originally began his NHL career with the Calgary Flames, who selected him fourth-overall in the 2014 NHL Draft. Bennett played through his rookie NHL season in the 2015-16 campaign and earned a hardy 18 goals and 36 points in 77 games. His stout performance was drowned out by a loaded 2015-16 rookie class – headlined by Artemi Panarin, Jack Eichel, and Connor McDavid. But Bennett showed he could do more than just score with a lofty 75 penalty minutes in 81 games of his sophomore season. With that performance, he fell into the rut of bruising middle-six center in Calgary – a role he would stick in until moving to the Panthers.
Florida has brought out the best of the best in Bennett, and been rewarded two Stanley Cups for their efforts. The 2024-25 season was undoubtedly the best in the 29-year-old’s NHL career – and interestingly ended with him serving as a utility tool more than a set-in center. Florida could expand that role as Bennett enters his 30s, especially with a measly 46.4 faceoff percentage over the last five seasons. Having a Swiss-army-knife locked up for the foreseeable future will be an invaluable piece for the Panthers, as they look to maintain their top-of-the-league presence for as long as possible.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Those last few years will be painful but at least cheap first five years
If you can predict 6 years into the future, how are you not a GM?
Yes, but if the cap keeps rising those last 2-3 years won’t be as painful.
It’s crazy that 40-50 point guys can get 8×8… even though this is cheaper than market rate, I think it’ll age incredibly poorly. Like within 3 years.
Playoffs matter more than regular season, and his suited is more suited for the playoffs, so its not that crazy
First you need to get there. While recent history proves positive, that crystal ball may not work all the time. I’m with DS – it’s an overpay for a 40-50 point guy who is on the ice 16-17 minutes a game and has a history of injuries.
The Panthers do not have a problem getting there nor do they care about home ice. You just watched two Stanley Cup runs that showed how Bennett is valuable in the playoffs and how soft teams dont cut it. If the Panthers were desperate for a regular season scorer to make it to the playoffs this would be bad, but theyre not, so its not bad.
Cool that he should lift another cup with FLA!!!
Florida really pushed to keep Sam Bennett especially after his playoff performance but I’ll be honest, the $8M AAV for 8 years is going to age quite poorly. Bennett’s physical style of play isn’t going to hold up within the next few years & once that goes so does Bennett’s play as a top-six player and more injuries will occur on him.
The only benefit here is the cap is going to be rising for the foreseeable future so the cap hit won’t be too bad to handle but by year 4 of the contract (I predict) they’re going to have a overpriced broken down player. That’s just the reality with a player like Bennett.
Panther core is now locked up for the next 5-8 years… and they will have 30-40 mill in cap space next summer….. read it again if you need to lol
In 2-3 years he can slot down to 3C, Lundell can easily handle 2C. Might be an ovepay long term but Panthers are in win now mode, like true dynasty.
if a 30-32 year old sam bennett (he literally just turned 29 this week)… probably putting up 50-80 points a year.. is your third line center… you’re team is insane…. the Panthers depth is INSANE lol
Never in doubt. :)
@feel the teardrops writes(I predict). Ha ha what a joke. Need I remind you that you were 0-4 on your Panthers predictions just this last playoffs alone..
smart .. probably could’ve gotten more elsewhere..
worth leaving a million per on the table to stay in Florida
But but but he was going to Toronto 🙄