3 teams that should make a move for Sam Bennett by trade deadline

Sam Bennett played some of the best hockey of his career in the 2023-24 playoffs, scoring seven goals and racking up 14 points in 19 games, helping the Florida Panthers win the Stanley Cup.

It's safe to say that his high level of play has carried over into the 2024-25 season, as Bennett has 13 goals and 26 points in 29 games for the 18-10-2 Panthers primarily serving as the team's second-line center.

Despite his high level of play and Florida's obvious Stanley Cup aspirations, Bennet's name was placed squarely on the trade block by Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet, and it isn't hard to see why. He's a great player, but is also on an expiring contract. By keeping him around, the Panthers risk losing him in the summer for nothing. Trading him ensures that they get a nice return, even if their current team takes a big hit.

Whether the Panthers should or should not trade Bennett can absolutely be debated, but Kypreos notes that GM Bill Zito would listen if offers were made. With that in mind, these three teams should see if the Panthers would actually give him up.

3) Carolina Hurricanes

The 2024-25 season was expected to be a bit of a down year for the Carolina Hurricanes in large part due to the players that they lost over the offseason. Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainen, Brett Pesce, Stefan Noesen, and Brady Skjei all found new homes, forcing the Hurricanes to scramble to fill out their depth.

Thanks to Martin Necas playing like a legitimate Hart Trophy Candidate and new additions like Shayne Gostisbehere, Jack Roslovic, and Eric Robinson all exceeding expectations, the Hurricanes find themselves sitting comfortably in playoff positioning. They might be in third place in the Metropolitan Division, but have the second-best points percentage in the division and the fourth-best points percentage in the NHL as a whole. That isn't to say that this team doesn't have holes, though.

Arguably the biggest one is their second-line center, or lack thereof. Whether it's Jesperi Kotkaniemi or Jordan Stall moving into the top six as their second-line center, neither should be in that position.

Trading for an expensive rental and watching him leave over the offseason would hurt, as it did with Guentzel, but if the Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup, who cares? They might just be a Sam Bennett away from getting that done. Whether the Panthers would trade him to an Eastern Conference team remains to be seen, but the Hurricanes being in the Metropolitan Division should help their case.

2) Colorado Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche didn't get off to the start they had hoped for, but believe they've solved their goaltending woes by trading for Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood.

The Avalanche aren't in dire need of help in their top six, but adding a player of Bennett's caliber would give the Avalanche a second-line center that they haven't really had since Nazem Kadri departed. In fact, Bennett's play style is awfully similar to Kadri's. Kypreos added another reason why he'd make sense in Colorado too, even going as far as saying that they'd "lead the charge" for Bennett.

"Colorado would lead the charge with the void of Gabriel Landeskog out of the lineup."

Landeskog is not a center, and Bennett is not the player Landeskog is when healthy, but he would add some firepower and grit to their top six. There's no reason for the Avalanche not to do this, especially now that they've rebounded from their slow start.

1) Dallas Stars

The other team linked to Bennett by Kypreos was the Dallas Stars, and there's a very simple reason as to why.

"With Tyler Seguin done for the season Dallas also has a major opening in the roster for someone like Bennett. Would Dallas return Mason Marchment to the Panthers?"

Tyler Seguin is done likely for the remainder of the season, opening the door both financially and on the roster for the Stars to acquire a center for their top six. Bennett is a perfect fit.

Trading a player like Mason Marchment, a winger who is also having a career year, would hurt, but Bennett would add the center depth that the Stars lost with Seguin, and is a proven playoff performer. Marchment had just five points in 13 playoff games last season and has 11 points in 31 career playoff games with Dallas.

The Panthers presumably will show little interest in trading Bennett, but acquiring a player in Marchment that they're familiar with from his days in Florida and that is under contract through the end of next season at a reasonable $4.5 million cap hit makes it something worth thinking about. If the Stars want to win the Stanley Cup, this is a risk worth taking.