He said it himself at E11even, he wasn’t leaving. One of the biggest free agents is now off the market and locked up long term as the Florida Panthers announced Friday night ahead of the draft that he’d been extended. Bennett’s been a huge part of Florida’s success in the postseason en route to back-to-back Stanley Cups. This year, he added a Playoff-leading 15 goals and a Conn Smythe trophy to boot. Sam also had a career-best regular season, setting a new personal high in points (51), assists (26), and power-play goals (7); he scored 25 goals in the regular season, his career high is 28. He set a new NHL record in road goals during a single playoff run at 13 and led the team in SOG at 69 and hits at 107. He signed an 8×8, the term something fans have been eagerly saying they want, with many ‘Eight More Years’ chants breaking out around Bennett during the celebrations following Game 6.
Bill Zito said, “Sam is a special player who has mastered a unique blend of skill and physicality in his game, becoming one of the most impactful postseason performers of his generation. He played an integral role in our two Stanley Cup Championships, earning the franchise’s first Conn Smythe Trophy, and is a dedicated contributor to our South Florida community off the ice. We are thrilled that he will continue his career with the Panthers.” Part of Sam’s impact off the ice this year was Benny’s Buddies, for every goal he scored, he paid the adoption fee of an animal at the Humane Society of Broward County in Ft Lauderdale. Following the Cup win, he made a visit with the Conn Smythe Trophy, and the Humane Society announced all the feline adoption fees from June 20th to June 23 would be half off.
Another highlight for Bennett this season was playing in the Four Nations Faceoff for Team Canada alongside Sam Reinhart and eventual teammate Brad Marchand. It was at Four Nations where Bennett and Marchand played on a line together for the first time and seemed to be able to bury the hatchet about what happened during the 2024 playoffs. While they wouldn’t play on the same line much once Marchand was on the Panthers, that didn’t stop them from becoming good friends and generating great chemistry on PP2. Bennett scored the game-tying goal for Team Canada in the Championship Game, which sent things into overtime, where McDavid scored the championship-winning goal. It’s been an eventful 365 days for Bennett, winning two Stanley Cups, a Conn Smythe, and the Four Nations. He’s a big part of the Panthers’ DNA and joins Barkov, Reinhart, Tkachuk, Forsling, Verhaeghe, Lundell, and Jones in being signed through at least 2030.
ITR 44: We Have A Champion…Again – Inside The Rink
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