Florida Panthers Sign Defenseman to New Contract

The Florida Panthers signed defenseman Mike Benning to a one-year, two-way contract on Thursday after his second season with the Charlotte Checkers.

Benning, 23, was a fourth-round pick by the Panthers in 2020 and is the son of former Florida defenseman Brian Benning who was an original member of the franchise.

After spending three seasons at the University of Denver — where he scored the game-winning goal in the 2022 national title game — Benning joined the Checkers in 2023.

In 126 games with Charlotte, Benning has 18 goals and 58 points.

Last year in the playoffs, Benning scored five goals with nine points in 18 games.

He had burned the first year of his ELC by joining the Panthers in 2023 and remains a restricted free agent.

With the two-way deal, Benning will likely start next season in Charlotte again but will be competing to come up if injuries occur.

The Panthers will probably start the season with seven defensemen with Jeff Petry and Uvis Balinskis fighting for the sixth spot.

Florida also has Toby Bjornfot and Mikulas Hovorka signed to new contracts.

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