Sam Bennett Will Get a Significant Raise on His Next Deal
Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period was on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio Power Play Segment with Steve Kouleas and Martin Biron on Wednesday. He was asked about Sam Bennett and the Florida Panthers and what those negotiations have been looking like.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Martin Biron: “So you talk about negotiations looking at your website right now, TheFourthPeriod.com and there’s a little tab about Sam Bennett, maybe negotiating right now. He’s not in the lineup. He may not play until the first game of the playoffs, but with the Florida Panthers, he is set to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1. But that may not happen if they can come to a deal. So what do you know about the negotiation, and what’s the number you would think Sam Bennett would be at?”
NHL Rumors: The Florida Panthers Want To Keep Sam Bennett
Dave Pagnotta: “Yeah. I mean, that’s something that started to pick up, the conversation, a little roughly a month ago. They re-engaged in those right before the trade deadline, to see if they can make any headway there. I think there were some positive discussions. And I think those will continue. The one thing with Florida and the way Bill Zito has operated is that he sticks pretty firmly to his number.
They go through whatever analysis process they go through and they say, Nope, this is the number. There isn’t much wiggle room. When they signed Carter Verhaeghe at the start of the season to his extension, it kind of all came together relatively quickly, in the sense that they’re re-engaged. Said, alright, we’re going to give you this. Let’s lock this in after going back and forth several times, dating back to the beginning of the summer.
He was on the one-year. Now this is a different situation, because his was an extension, and then it’s going to be a UFA, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see this follow a similar pattern to last season with Sam Reinhart, where they had the discussions towards the end of the season, things cooled off, but strategically during playoffs and then re-engaged immediately afterwards to get him locked in, I could see that type, that kind of pathway with with Bennett.
NHL Rumors: Will The Florida Panthers Extend Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad?
You’re probably looking at over $7 million per year, depending on what term is ultimately going to be. But an AAV in that vicinity in the state of Florida is eight and a half plus in some other markets. So it’s because of the no-income-tax state benefit that they get to play with. But from his side, you’re probably looking at over or around $7 million the AAV for his deal.”
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