20 games, 20 points, and 14 goals. That’s how good Sam Bennett has been for the Panthers this season. “He’s so good all over the ice… He does all the hard right things and that’s just who he is,” Coach Paul Maurice said after Bennett caused his fourth goal in three Stanley Cup Final games against the Edmonton Oilers. This season, Bennett has already surpassed his 7 goals and 14 points from last year’s playoffs.

It’s a shame, then, that the star forward is set to hit free agency after spending four years with the Florida Panthers. However, the Panthers’ coach, Paul Maurice, didn’t seem to be too worried about Bennett possibly becoming a free agent. In fact, he even joked about it even as Game 3 was on. “He’s got a horrible attitude. I think he’s got bubonic plague,” Maurice joked as a hilarious warning to any teams looking to sign the red-hot Cats’ forward.

“He’s got a whole bunch of things. We’re not sure he can be cured,” added Paul Maurice in his signature nonchalant tone. Now that might sound weird. How could a coach like Paul Maurice joke about the prospect of losing Sam Bennett, a key player to the Cats’ success? Well, he may have had good reason, and that’s exactly what sports writer James Mirtle has shed light on.

“James Mirtle: Nobody around the league expects Sam Bennett to reach free agency; he wants to stay, and the Panthers want to keep him – The Athletic,” the NHL Rumour Report posted on X. Now that could explain why the Florida Panthers’ coach didn’t seem worried about losing Bennett to another team, and hence the joke. Yet, jokes aside, Bennett and the Panthers have been talking for a while.

Murmurs of contract extension negotiations have been popping up since at least March. “The word in the press box Thursday night as Florida played in Toronto was that talks have resumed between Bennett and the Panthers… Don’t want to say one way or the other, but they are trying, and it’s been a very good marriage between player and team,” NHL insider Elliotte Friedman said in March. But hold your horses, because they haven’t locked the deal in yet.

The future is not set in stone for Sam Bennett

While that update is positive, it’s not an official confirmation, and there are multiple factors at play here. Firstly, let’s take a closer look at the 29-year-old’s value to other NHL teams. A 51-point career-high is nothing to write home about, but things change when looking at the playoff potential.

Sam Bennett now leads all NHL skaters in postseason goals this year. Such a performance is already setting him apart as a playoff-caliber player. However, things will only get better if he can win the Stanley Cup this year as well. But wait, there’s more. James Mirtle also explained that the limited availability of centers in the free market may contribute to that value.

Paul Bissonnette has already said that Bennett could fetch as high as $10 million AAV. “I find it weird though that some people on this app think Sam Bennett making 10 million is insane and that it’s an overpayment. Are you stupid??? He’s leading the NHL in playoff goals. He’s been a factor in every series,” argued the former Pittsburgh Penguins player.

What makes things even more difficult for the Panthers is that Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand will also be joining Sam Bennett in free agency. While the Pathers would love to retain all three, it may be too much of a cap hit. Mirtle said he believes the Cats may only be able to retain two players. Now the question is, will one of them be Bennett?