Sam Bennett Landing Spots: Where Could the UFA Sign?

Fresh off a second-straight Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers and a Conn Smythe Trophy win, Sam Bennett’s value is at an all-time high. 

Bennett was the leading goal scorer for the Panthers on this run, with 15 goals and seven assists in 23 games played. That follows a regular season where he had 25 goals and 26 assists. 

Matthew Tkachuk is probably the heart of this Florida team, but Bennett is the kidney, spleen, lungs, or some other vital organ. 

The 29-year-old center is now set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 when the NHL’s free agency opens. 

The Panthers will probably do everything they can to re-sign him, but he’ll get a lot of interest from other contending teams. 

Here are some of the teams Bennett could be signing with this offseason. 

Potential Sam Bennett Landing Spots

Golden Knights

Vegas has a sliver of cap space, estimated by PuckPedia to be around $9 million, but that may be enough to sign Bennett. The Athletic projects his contract to be around $6.6 million. 

The Athletic’s Chris Johnston said on his podcast back on June 4 that while the Knights shouldn’t be viewed as a favorite to sign Mitch Marner, he believes them to be a front-runner to sign Bennett if he hits free agency. 

Vegas’ season ended in the second round this year after losing in five games to the Edmonton Oilers. 

Even if their relative lack of cap space may become an issue with the Knights, GM Kelly McCrimmon and his front office have shown their willingness to get deals done over the years. 

They received some criticism from NHL fans for their creative use of the long-term injured reserve (LTIR) to acquire players at the trade deadline. 

Kings

Los Angeles has over $21 million in cap space to use this summer and will likely be in the hunt for some of the top-tier free agents this offseason. 

The Kings have had solid teams over the years, but haven’t been able to get past Edmonton in their recent playoff outings. They’ve lost to the Oilers three years in a row in the first round. 

Well, Bennett’s beaten Edmonton in the Stanley Cup Finals now two years in a row, so maybe he’s the missing piece to a potentially more-winning strategy for Los Angeles. 

The Kings had a cautious approach at the deadline this season, trying not to expend their limited draft capital. 

However, in free agency, Los Angeles has more and easier avenues to improve its roster. 

The Kings are also reportedly pursuing Marner, so their front office, like others, may wait until after that is done to pursue Bennett fully. 

Maple Leafs

Two conflicting pieces of information have come out about Bennett’s priorities in free agency. 

There has been significant reporting saying that he does not want to sign with a Canadian team. At the same time, there’s a lot of smoke surrounding a potential signing with Toronto, according to insiders. 

The Maple Leafs will have a lot of cap space to maneuver with this offseason, upwards of $25 million. 

They also have a roster that needs playoff hardening. One of the hallmarks of the ‘Core Four’ era in Toronto is stellar regular-season play followed by mediocre play in the postseason. 

The exact opposite is true of Bennett, who maintains his level of production from the regular season and sometimes improves upon it for the postseason. 

If the Maple Leafs want to move to a post-Core Four era of the team, one that’s a little more playoff-battle ready, they should look to sign Bennett. 

Panthers

It’s hard to imagine Florida not pulling out all the stops to make sure that Bennett remains a Panther for life. 

He’s been a significant piece of this Panthers’ resurgence over the past five years, after he was acquired from Calgary by Florida. 

I’d be surprised to see a deal happen before July 1, though. It’s been made clear via the reporting of NHL insiders that Bennett wants to test his value in free agency. 

NHL insider Pierre LeBrun spoke of the importance of getting to that open market in free agency, saying, “I think there’s some teams willing to pay him $10M a year.”

That doesn’t mean a deal won’t eventually happen, but it’s smarter for Bennett to enter the open market so he can secure his fair market value from Florida.