NHL Free Agency: Insider Reveals Sam Bennett Talks Update

If he makes it to unrestricted free agency July 1, Sam Bennett would be one of the top UFAs available this summer. But we've heard that the Florida Panthers have re-started negotiations on an extension with the gritty, two-way center, and now insider Nick Kypreos reveals an update that includes contract numbers.

In the Toronto Star, Kypreos writes that things are picking up, as neither side is too interested in a split.

Contract talks between pending unrestricted free agent Sam Bennett and the Panthers have gone well enough since the NHL trade deadline that some believe he will ending up staying where he is. What both sides have going for it, in no particular order: Bennett’s love for the team, head coach Paul Maurice’s love of the player and a contract that is expected to be upwards of $60 million (U.S.), with no state tax.

Depending upon the term, a $60 million contract would see Bennett earning a $7.5 million AAV on an eight-year deal, or, in the unlikely event of a seven-year pact, that would work out to an $8.57 million AAV.

Several teams would have great interest in Bennett if he hit the open market, not the least of which are two teams that he has terrorized intra-division and in the playoffs in recent years, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins. We recently heard, however, that the Leafs are among seven teams that Bennett would not consider signing with.

The 28-year-old Toronto-area native has 22 goals and 45 points in 67 games this season, his third 20+ goal season in the last four, along with 138 hits and 82 penalty minutes.

In 682 career games across 11 seasons, Bennett has 159 goals and 330 points, along with 1,287 hits.