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Sam Bennett

Panthers’ Sam Bennett Suspended Three Games

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Following a hearing earlier today with the NHL Department of Player Safety, a decision has been handed down to Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett. Player Safety has announced that Bennett has been suspended for three games for an illegal check to the head of Montreal Canadiens forward Cedric Paquette on Saturday. Bennett will miss more than a week of game action, sitting out against Calgary on Tuesday – a revenge game for the former Flame – Dallas on Thursday and Carolina on Saturday, returning to action against Vancouver on Tuesday, January 11. The league’s reasoning was as follows (video):

Bennett delivered a high, hard hit on [Paquette], making his head the main point of contact on a hit where such head contact was avoidable… Bennett delivers a forceful shoulder check to Paquette that makes his head the main point of contact, knocking him to the ice. This is an illegal check to the head… While we acknowledge that Bennett does make subsequent contact with Paquette’s left shoulder after going through the head, it is clearly Paquette’s head that absorbs the brunt of the force of this blow. Bennett’s shoulder makes direct and forceful contact through Paquette’s head and jaw, snapping his neck back… Bennett has the time and space to deliver a legal check that hits through Paquette’s near shoulder and core. His chosen angle of approach however forces him to cut across and in front of the body and make the head the main point of contact.

Player Safety also took into account that Bennett is considered a repeat offender. The physical forward has only been suspended once, but it was just last year during the postseason and for a similar incident. Bennett was suspended one playoff game for boarding Blake Coleman, another dangerous hit to the head of an opposing player. It also did not help Bennett’s case that Paquette was injured on the play, eventually leaving the game with a reported neck injury. As for the length of the suspension, it was likely taken into account that no penalty was called on the play meaning Bennett did not miss any time on Saturday as a result of the incident.

Bennett’s absence will be felt on a number of levels for the Atlantic-leading Panthers. Bennett is playing a major role in his first full season in Florida, averaging a career-high 18:30 in ice time and on pace for a career-best – by a wide margin – 31 goals and 48 points. The second-line center is also relied upon at the face-off dot and for his defensive play. Bennett has a regular penalty kill role, his 59 hits rank second among Panthers forwards, and his +12 rating is also among the best marks on the team. In every facet of the game, Bennett will be missed for the next three games, especially against two fellow division leaders in the Flames and Hurricanes.

 

 

Sam Bennett Will Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety

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The NHL Department of Player Safety tweeted Sunday morning that Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett will have a hearing today for an illegal check to the head on forward Cedric Paquette of the Montreal Canadiens.

During Saturday’s game between the two teams, Bennett laid a hit on Paquette in the low slot in the Panthers’ offensive zone. When looking at the video replay, it seems as though Bennett’s shoulder made contact with Paquette’s head during the hit.

In advance of the hearing, it’s important to note two things that aren’t working in Bennett’s favor. For one, he has a history — he was suspended one game during the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs for boarding Tampa Bay’s Blake Coleman. Secondly, Paquette did suffer an injury on the play, leaving yesterday’s game with a neck injury.

The 25-year-old Bennett is on his way to a career year in his first full season with Florida. He’s averaging 18:30 per game, by far the highest mark of his career, and he has 11 goals and six assists through 26 games.

Florida Panthers’ Sam Bennett Day-To-Day With Upper Body Injury

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Florida Panthers reporter Jameson Olive tweets that forward Sam Bennett is out of the lineup Saturday night against the Boston Bruins with an upper-body injury. His status is day-to-day.

In his place, Zac Dalpe, who was recalled today from the Charlotte Checkers, will make his Panthers debut. As corresponding roster moves, Anton Lundell and Joe Thornton have been placed on injured reserve, per the team.

Bennett has flourished after being dealt to the Panthers at the trade deadline last season. Centering the Panthers’ second line between Jonathan Huberdeau and Owen Tippett, Bennett has four goals and three assists in seven games for the undefeated Panthers this year. Combined with his incredible finish to last season, he has 22 points through his first 18 games as a Panther.

If this injury bug persists for Florida, they’ve already built up a five-point cushion on first place in the Atlantic Division. Undefeated through eight games, they’ll rely on their solid forward depth now to keep them at the top of the league.

Injury Notes: Reaves, Bennett, Guentzel

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Despite suffering an injury on Wednesday night that forced him to be helped off the ice, New York Rangers free agent addition Ryan Reaves may not miss any regular season time. The grinder has not been practicing since the injury occurred, but head coach Gerard Gallant is optimistic that he could return by opening night. “I think it’s going to be close,” Gallant told Collin Stephenson on Newsday. “When we left the game, I said no, but… the last couple of days it’s going in the right direction… I can’t really say, but I think it’s going to be real close.” The Rangers prioritized adding grit and physicality this summer, adding Reaves, Barclay Goodrow, Sammy Blais, and Patrik Nemeth, so they hope to be able to roll out their full complement of toughness for Opening Night.

  • Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett missed the team’s preseason match-up on Saturday night as he has been placed in the NHL’s COVID-19 Protocol, the team announced. Depending on the context of Bennett’s absence, the two-way forward could miss more than just one game. The Panthers certainly hope that the physical center is good to go for the start of the season; Bennett was an excellent addition to the Florida roster at the deadline last season, recording 15 points in ten games while averaging a career-high 18:04 time on ice. As the Cats look to compete in the Atlantic Division this year, every game matters and a healthy Bennett is a difference-maker.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins expect to have Jake Guentzel back sooner rather than later from COVID Protocol. Head coach Mike Sullivan told The Athletic’s Rob Rossi that Guentzel is asymptomatic and going through the steps of the protocol. Though he has missed a week of practice, Guentzel will jump right back into the lineup if he is healthy. The 27-year-old has scored at a point-per-game pace over the past three years and will be relied on even more with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin injured.

Sam Bennett Re-Signs With Florida Panthers

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The Florida Panthers are busy completing their RFA work today. After signing two depth defensemen earlier, the team has now reached a much bigger deal with Sam Bennett. Bennett has signed a four-year contract with the Panthers that Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports will carry an average annual value of $4.4MM. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet provides the full breakdown:

  • 2021-22: $1.925MM + $1MM signing bonus
  • 2022-23: $3.425MM salary
  • 2023-24: $6.35MM salary
  • 2024-25: $5.0MM salary

Florida GM Bill Zito released a short statement:

Sam’s impact on our club this past season was seen immediately, injecting physicality, skill and energy into our lineup. We are thrilled to have him in our Panthers lineup and look forward to what he can bring to our offense in the upcoming 2021-22 season.

Bennett, 25, is probably the happiest man in the world looking back at his deadline trade to the Panthers. He has recorded just 12 points in 38 games for the Calgary Flames, spending considerable time on the fourth line. Upon arriving in Florida, he was immediately placed in the top-six, given 18 minutes a night and managed 15 points in his final ten games. That was followed by a point-per-game performance in the first round of the playoffs, where Bennett has always excelled.

It shouldn’t be expected that Bennett performs at the level he did in those ten games, scoring at a pace that he’s never come close to in the past, but he doesn’t have to reach quite that level to be a valuable contract for the Panthers. At $4.4MM, as long as he’s a reasonable second-line player that provides physicality and playoff performance, it will work out just fine. A four-year deal buys out three years of unrestricted free agency, but also provides Bennett with the kind of security that wouldn’t have necessarily been available on the open market. Florida figures to be a strong team for the duration of the deal, providing Bennett with plenty of opportunities to show off his offensive skills.

Of course, there is a salary cap, and the Panthers have a big name to sign over the next year. Aleksander Barkov’s deal will expire after the 2021-22 season, a player the team obviously can’t afford to lose. With Bennett now taking up a good chunk and newcomer Sam Reinhart also expected to sign a multi-year deal, the Panthers are betting they’ll still be able to fit everyone in down the road.

Sam Bennett Suspended One Game

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The Department of Player Safety has made a decision and Sam Bennett won’t be in game two. The Florida Panthers forward has been suspended one game for his hit on Tampa Bay Lightning forward Blake Coleman in last night’s game. As the accompanying video explains:

It is important to note that while Coleman does turn toward the boards to play the puck, this is not a case of a player turning immediately prior to contact that turns a legal hit to an illegal one. From the moment Bennett hits the faceoff dot, he sees nothing but Coleman’s numbers. With ample time to make a better decision, the onus is on Bennett to deliver this hit in a legal fashion, avoid it entirely or at the very least minimize its force. Instead, he drives directly through Coleman’s back with speed, driving him forcefully into the boards. 

Coleman did not suffer a serious injury on the play and Bennett has not been fined or suspended previously, which helped keep the punishment to just one game. Still, the Panthers will be without a player that is playing arguably the best hockey of his career right now. Bennett scored six goals and 15 points in ten regular season games after the trade to Florida at the deadline, and added two assists last night. Always known as a playoff performer, he will have to sit down and watch the team try to even the series tomorrow night.

Sam Bennett To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety

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The Florida Panthers blew a lead to go down 1-0 in their first-round playoff series and will now be without one of their deadline additions for at least game two. Sam Bennett will have a hearing with the Department of Player Safety today for the hit he delivered on Blake Coleman last night.

The incident occurred partway through the third period when the Panthers were up 4-3. Bennett came from across the defensive zone to deliver a check on Coleman in the corner and received a two-minute minor for charging on the play. He will now face a suspension, keeping him out for at least tomorrow’s rematch.

There appear to be no other hearings coming out of the game, including a hit delivered by Ryan McDonagh that sparked plenty of outrage from Panther fans.

Bennett, who has been outstanding since coming over from the Calgary Flames at the deadline, recorded two assists in nearly 21 minutes of ice time last night for Florida. A stat-filler, he had four penalty minutes, four shots on goal, three hits, two blocks, two takeaways and hit the ice on the powerplay and penalty kill. That performance will have to come from someone else in game two.

Central Notes: Jones, Brome, Panthers

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The 2019 offseason was a tough one for Columbus who saw several of their top veterans head elsewhere in Artemi Panarin, Matt Duchene, and Sergei Bobrovsky (among others as well).  Defenseman Seth Jones is a year away from being able to do the same but GM Jarmo Kekalainen told Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch that they won’t be allowing Jones to walk away for nothing, citing that he doesn’t see the team being in the same situation next season as they were back in 2019 when they pushed their chips to the table and had a star player who many expected to go to New York as Panarin eventually did.  For now, the focus will remain on working on a long-term extension for the 26-year-old who averaged more than 25 minutes a game for the third straight season.

Elsewhere in the Central:

  • Earlier this month, Red Wings winger Mathias Brome told Svenskafans’ Andreas Lundskog that he was open to returning overseas but wasn’t going to limit himself to going back to his native Sweden. It appears he’s zeroing in on the Swiss NLA as Aftonbladet’s Tomas Ros and Hans Abrahamsson report that Brome is expected to join Davos.  It was a disappointing first season in North America for the 26-year-old who managed just a goal and an assist in 26 games with Detroit this season despite logging a respectable 13:39 per night.  Brome is set to become a restricted free agent this summer but as he’s a year away from UFA eligibility based on his age, there’s a good chance he’ll be non-tendered if a deal overseas is finalized.
  • Despite missing two of the last three games due to an upper-body injury, Florida center Sam Bennett is available for the series opener against Tampa Bay, notes Jameson Olive of the Panthers’ team site. The 24-year-old made an immediate impact after being acquired from Calgary at the trade deadline, picking up six goals and nine assists in just ten games, beating his output with the Flames despite playing in 28 games more with Calgary.  Meanwhile, Olive also relayed (Twitter link) that winger Patric Hornqvist is ready to return after missing the final seven games of the regular season with an upper-body injury of his own.

Trade Deadline Summary: North Division

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The NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone. A relatively slow day ended with a late burst, as many teams jumped into the mix at the last minute. How do you think your team did? Share your deadline grades in the comments for teams in the North Division.

Calgary Flames
Status: Neutral

In – F Emil Heineman, 2022 second-round pick (FLA), 2022 third-round pick (TOR)
Out – F Sam Bennett, G David Rittich, 2022 sixth-round pick

Edmonton Oilers
Status: Buyer

In – D Dmitry Kulikov
Out – conditional 2022 fourth-round pick

Montreal Canadiens
Status: Buyer

In – F Eric Staal, D Jon Merrill, D Erik Gustafsson
Out – F Hayden Verbeek, 2021 third-round pick, two 2021 fifth-round picks, 2022 seventh-round pick

Ottawa Senators
Status: Seller

In – F Ryan Dzingel, F Michael Amadio, D Brandon Fortunato, 2022 third-round pick (BOS), 2022 seventh-round pick (NYI), 2023 seventh-round pick (NSH)
Out – D Mike Reilly, D Erik Gudbranson, D Braydon Coburn, F Cedric Paquette, F Alex Galchenyuk, D Christian Wolanin, 

Toronto Maple Leafs
Status: Buyer

In – F Nick Foligno, G David Rittich, D Ben Hutton, F Alex Galchenyuk, F Riley Nash, F Stefan Noesen, F Antti Suomela, G Veini Vehvilainen
Out – F Alexander Barabanov, D Mikko Lehtonen, D David Warsofsky, F Yegor Korshkov, 2021 first-round pick, 2022 third-round pick, 2021 fourth-round pick, 2022 fourth-round pick, 2022 fifth-round pick, conditional 2022 seventh-round pick

Vancouver Canucks
Status: Neutral

In – F Matthew Highmore, D Madison Bowey, 2021 fifth-round pick (CHI), 2021 sixth-round pick (WPG)
Out – D Jordie Benn, F Adam Gaudette, 2021 fourth-round pick

Winnipeg Jets
Status: Buyer

In – D Jordie Benn
Out – 2021 sixth-round pick

Trade Deadline Summary: Central Division

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The NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone. A relatively slow day ended with a late burst, as many teams jumped into the mix at the last minute. How do you think your team did? Share your deadline grades in the comments for teams in the Central Division.

Carolina Hurricanes
Status: Buyer

In – F Cedric Paquette, D Jani Hakanpaa, D David Warsofsky, F Yegor Korshkov, 2022 sixth-round pick (ANA), 2022 seventh-round pick (CLB)
Out – F Ryan Dzingel, D Haydn Fleury, F Gregory Hofmann

Chicago Blackhawks
Status: Neutral

In – F Brett Connolly, F Vinnie Hinostroza, F Adam Gaudette, D Riley Stillman, F Henrik Borgstrom, F Josh Dickinson, F Ryder Rolston, 2021 second-round pick (VGK), 2022 third-round pick (VGK), 2021 fourth-round pick (MTL), 2021 seventh-round pick (FLA)
Out – F Mattias Janmark, F Carl Soderberg, F Matthew Highmore, F Lucas Wallmark, D Madison Bowey, D Lucas Carlsson, F Brad Morrison, 2021 fifth-round pick, 2022 fifth-round pick

Columbus Blue Jackets
Status: Seller

In – D Mikko Lehtonen, F Gregory Hofmann, 2021 first-round pick (TOR), 2021 first-round pick (TBL), 2022 third-round pick (TBL), 2022 fourth-round pick (TOR), conditional 2022 seventh-round pick (TOR)
Out – F Nick Foligno, D David Savard, F Riley Nash, G Veini Vehvilainen, 2022 seventh-round pick

Dallas Stars
Status: Neutral

In – None
Out – None

Detroit Red Wings
Status: Seller

In – F Jakub Vrana, F Richard Panik, F Hayden Verbeek, 2021 first-round pick (WAS), 2022 second-round pick (WAS), 2021 fourth-round pick (TBL), 2022 fourth-round pick (COL), 2021 fifth-round pick (OTT via MTL)
Out – F Anthony Mantha, D Patrik Nemeth, D Jon Merrill, D Brian Lashoff

Florida Panthers
Status: Buyer

In – F Sam Bennett, D Brandon Montour, F Lucas Wallmark, D Lucas Carlsson, F Brad Morrison, 2022 sixth-round pick (CGY)
Out – F Brett Connolly, F Vinnie Hinostroza, D Riley Stillman, F Henrik Borgstrom, F Emil Heineman, 2022 second-round pick, 2021 third-round pick, 2021 seventh-round pick

Nashville Predators
Status: Neutral

In – D Erik Gudbranson
Out – D Brandon Fortunato, 2023 seventh-round pick

Tampa Bay Lightning
Status: Buyer

In – D David Savard, D Fredrik Claesson, D Brian Lashoff, F Antoine Morand, conditional 2023 seventh-round pick
Out – F Alexander Volkov, G Magnus Chrona, 2021 first-round pick, 2022 third-round pick, 2021 fourth-round pick

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