Could Sam Bennett land a $10+ million per season deal in free agency?
TSN Hockey Analyst Martin Biron was on SportsCenter with Jay Onrait on Thursday night and discussed Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett’s free agency and what he could make this offseason from Florida or another team.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
NHL Rumors: Sam Bennett Could Get Over $7 Million on His Next Deal
Jay Onrait: “I want to talk about Sam Bennett Marty, because he had two goals. This guy is the playoff performer in the National Hockey League right now. And that’s what makes his upcoming unrestricted free agency so intriguing, I think, to everybody. Because this is a guy who’s never scored more than 28 goals in a season, and yet, do you think it’s possible that enough teams see him as the final piece of their playoff puzzle that he might end up getting as much as $10 million a year this offseason?”
Martin Biron: “It’s like the real estate. How many buyers do you have? And then it just makes a bidding war, and the prices go up. I think Sam Bennett right now would be somewhere around the $7.5 to $8 million because look, he’s only had 51 points this season, and that was the only time he’s gotten over 50.
Can he get to 60? Close to 70? I think he can. But what he does, other than the points, the forecheck, the hitting, the plays with his stick on the defensive side, how he gets to the front of the net, I think there’s going to be 25 teams that are going to call Sam Bennett and his agent on July 1, and all of a sudden you start at seven and a half, eight over seven years. Then there’s a team that says, Okay, I’ll go eight and a half. There’s a team that says I’ll go nine, there’s a team that says I’ll go nine and a half. I don’t think it’s going to get over 10, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s in the nine-and-a-half range, because there’s going to be so many teams that would want him.
NHL Rumors: The Florida Panthers Want To Keep Sam Bennett
And this year, he’s got nine playoff goals. Right now, it’s first in the playoffs. I would pick him as my Conn Smythe right now. I know Mikko Rantanen has nine goals, and it’s probably the same thing, but the impact of Sam Bennett, not just with the scoring, but all around the game, I think, is incredible.
So yes, I think it’s going to get expensive for Sam Bennett, but it depends how many teams are going against one another and creating that bidding war, and a good agent will make sure that he gets the best price. It’s like a good realtor. Realtor will put money in your pocket any day.”
Onrait: “There you go. Lot of leverage for Sam Bennett.”
NHLRumors.com Note: To add to this, EJ Hradek of NHL.com tweeted , “From what I’m hearing, there’s at least one team willing to hit that number for Bennett.”
The way Sam Bennett continues to play in the playoffs for the Florida Panthers, several teams will want his services to help them get over the edge. But will the Panthers want to give him up? Bennett fits so well into their system and is the perfect complement to the top players on the team.
But Florida Panthers GM Bill Zito will have some tough decisions this offseason.
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