George Richards, FHN Publisher
Canada loves its NHL Trade rumors, and with the Panthers north of the border, it was inevitable that Sam Bennett would be a topic of conversation.
Bennett, recently named to Team Canada for the NHL’s upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, is a free agent at the end of this season.
As with Sam Reinhart last season, Bennett is the focus of numerous trade rumors as that season begins to heat up.
Even though the NHL Trade Deadline is not until March 7, it is never too early to discuss potential deals.
At least in Canada.
The Bennett talk started before Florida played in Vancouver on Thursday, with Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos putting the center atop his trade board.
Kypreos wrote that “the Panthers have received plenty of feedback from teams that would be willing to pay a boatload to get him,’’ adding that general manager Bill Zito does not want to lose Bennett for nothing as a free agent.
“So from what I’m told,” Kypreos said, “he’ll listen.”
The Florida front office and Bennett’s camp have had conversations about a new deal.
Bennett wants to stay in South Florida; the Panthers want to make that happen.
Remember, the rumor mill was running wild last season when Reinhart scored a career-high 57 goals during the regular season before adding 10 more in the playoffs.
All without a contract for the coming year.
The rumors were swirling: Reinhart was pricing himself out of South Florida with every goal he scored.
Then Reinhart signed an eight-year deal with the Panthers on June 30 and never hit the market.
“You look at the Reino situation last year, and I think he knew he was going to sign here the whole year,” Bennett told me a few weeks ago.
“It was just a matter of waiting until the end to get it done. I don’t really think about it too much. I haven’t heard a lot, it isjust waiting and seeing what happens.”
Before the season started, Bennett said it was nice not to worry about such things.
“I think it’s great,’’ Bennett said. “I hear about other players in big markets and it is all people want to talk about. It is kind of nice not to have that distraction. I have a great relationship with the team.”
With the Panthers in the mix for another deep playoff run, no one expects the Panthers to trade Bennett at the deadline.
Well, not everyone.
“It seems there’s more than a 50-50 chance Bennett could be traded this season if they don’t close the negotiation gap,” Kypreos wrote, “which sits today as wide as a football field.”
Kypreos adds he could see “a sign and trade scenario so the Panthers and Bennett can squeeze as much out of a deal as possible” with some NHL talent coming back to Florida.
On Monday, Sportsnet’s Eric Francis jumped in, wondering if Bennett returning to Calgary made sense.
After all, Bennett was originally the fourth overall pick of the 2014 draft by the Flames before being traded to the Panthers during the 2021 Covid season, which also saw Zito acquire Brandon Montour from Buffalo at the deadline.
Francis pointed to new management in Calgary, over $19 million in projected cap space, and general manager Craig Conroy “poised to make a big splash when he feels the right player comes along.”
With Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, and Ryan Lomberg already in Calgary, Bennett would at least have plenty of friends there.
When all is said and done, the Panthers will also have cap space next season.
Commissioner Gary Bettman said the cap will be at least $92.4 million next season — a bump of about $4.4 million from this year.
It could be even more.
But using the $92.4 million mark, the Panthers currently have close to $20 million in cap space next year with $72.5 million in salaries committed for the coming season.
Bennett and Aaron Ekblad are the only prominent free agents left to sign after Carter Verhaeghe got an eight-year deal worth $7 million per season on Opening Night.
Florida will also be free of the Keith Yandle dead cap hit ($1.24 million) and Kyle Okposo’s $500,000 Stanley Cup bonus next season.
Bennett is in the final year of a deal that pays $4.425 million annually.
Zito has always shown he wants to keep his team’s core together. Bennett is certainly part of the Panthers’ fabric.
Florida will try to upgrade its defense at the trade deadline or through offseason trades and free agency.
That costs money.
But with the increasing salary cap, the fact players want to remain right where they are, and Florida being smart and fair about the contracts it gives out, there is no reason to believe things will not be worked out.
Negotiations will continue.
Bennett, and Ekblad as well, will play on.
All of the noise surrounding them will, inevitably, as well.
ON DECK: GAME No. 33
FLORIDA PANTHERS AT MINNESOTA WILD
- When: Wednesday, 9:30 p.m.
- Where: Xcel Energy Center; St. Paul, Minn.
- Local TV: None
- National TV: TNT/truTV
- Streaming: Max (NO Panthers+)
- Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
- Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
- Last Season: Wild won 2-0
- This Season (Wild lead 1-0) — At Minnesota: Wednesday. At Florida: Wild 5, Panthers 1 (Oct. 18).
- All-time Regular Season Series: Minnesota leads 21-10-2, 1 tie
- Up Next for the Panthers: Friday vs. St. Louis Blues, 7 p.m. (Local TV)