The Florida Panthers won their second Stanley Cup in as many seasons and are hoping to become the NHL's latest dynasty by winning another one, even as soon as the 2025-26 campaign. An easy way for them to three-peat would be by ensuring that Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Sam Bennett, remains in town. However, Bennett is a free agent, and if their rumored extension offer to keep him in town is true, they're going to have to step it up to get him to sign the dotted line.
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported just a couple of days ago that the Panthers gave Bennett an extension offer similar to the extension Carter Verhaeghe recently signed. He made it clear that a deal on those terms won't be good enough to get an agreement from Bennett.
“I think they tried to sign Bennett to the Verhaeghe deal, which was eight years times $7MM with bonus structure. That’s not going to get it done,” he said.
In addition to that rumored offer, recent reporting suggests that the two sides haven't discussed an extension in weeks as of three days ago. While that's understandable, considering Florida was in the midst of a grueling postseason run, there isn't much time for them to get a deal done before July 1st, the day he'd officially become an unrestricted free agent.
Lots of speculations that Sam Bennett re-signing in FLA is a foregone conclusions but I'm told the two sides haven't talked extension in weeks.
— Cam Robinson (@Hockey_Robinson) June 15, 2025
Teams continue to prepare sizeable offers should he make it to July 1st. Appears his preference is to stay in USA.
Panthers need to step their game up to get a Sam Bennett deal done
For the Panthers to get a Sam Bennett extension done, they're going to have to overpay him. That's the simple reality. Bennett is entering free agency at the perfect time. He just won the Conn Smythe Trophy, proving to be the MVP of the entire postseason, while also being an absolute pain for anyone to play against.
Every team with any semblance of cap space will be lining up to try and sign Bennett. Conn Smythe winners don't hit the open market often, and playoff risers like Bennett always get paid quite well.
The question of whether Florida will or even should meet what will certainly be an outlandish Bennett asking price can and should be argued.
Paying Sam Bennett is more complicated than NHL fans might think
There's no disputing that Bennett put together an unbelievable postseason. The Conn Smythe Trophy says it all in that regard. Bennett had 15 goals and 22 points in 23 playoff games while also ranking second among all players in hits. He was, as usual, a pain to play against while being incredibly productive.
While his postseason resume speaks for itself, Bennett just set a career high with 51 points in the regular season. The 25 goals he scored were his second-highest mark in a single regular season. He excelled when the pressure was on, but for a vast majority of his 11-year career, he's been good but not great in the regular season. Playoff moments mean a lot, but should the Panthers be willing to meet a hefty asking price from Bennett, knowing he's never scored more than 28 goals in a single season, never eclipsed 51 points, and is already 28 years old?
That reality is likely why the Panthers came to Bennett with an offer that feels so low for a player who just won the Conn Smythe. They're going to have to do better, and because of how important he is to their team, they probably will. The question of if they should, though, is one worth pondering.