Free Agency Frenzy: Sam Bennett
Home is where the heart is
“Being in South Florida has just completely changed my life. And I love playing hockey here, I love living here. I love the team, the staff, the owners, just everything about it is really a dream situation. So, I couldn't pass up the chance to be back here for another eight years.” — NHL.com
Sam Bennett never wanted to leave.
The least surprising signing of the offseason is still a monumental one. After inking him to an eight-year, $64 million extension (and somehow retaining Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad), the Panthers can pursue the NHL’s first three-peat since 1983 with their unparalleled roster intact.
Here’s why the back-to-back champs couldn’t afford to lose their playoff MVP.
Transition Play
Even though I’ve been beating the “Sam Bennett is actually kind of great in transition” drum for a while now, it bears repeating.
This is arguably the single most important dimension that he offers Paul Maurice’s club. At least in theory, opponents are prepared to slug it out in the trenches vs. the Panthers—and he’s more than happy to inflict one of those thousand cuts if he must—but his skating and puck-carrying also enable them to attack with blistering pace.
They can dole out game-changing blows before you know what hit you.
To be clear, Bennett isn’t quite a speed demon:
Those are his regular season skating metrics. Now look at the bottom two rows. While he’s not a burner, he plays near his top gear with regularity, carving Florida a path through the NZ via his straight-line surge and vision:
Bennett’s refusal to settle for the perimeter is the defining aspect of his transition game. It’s almost like he’s magnetically drawn to middle ice. Better yet, he displays an innate feel for navigating through those areas, using his opponents’ leverage and distance against them. Play too shallow, and he’ll eat all the verticality he can get to loosen the flanks. Overrun your angle, and he’ll rip inside for cleaner OZ access.
His puck-handling isn’t fancy, but he has ample confidence in his ability to cut across defenders’ hands without losing control.
The 29-year-old only showed glimpses of this talent in Calgary. He’s a whole new man in Florida, as his wheels and self-belief in possession represent a perfect match for Matthew Tkachuk’s uncanny link-up play:
Thanks to his north-south tempo, Bennett can exit the DZ with ease, switch sides to uncover numbers advantages or counter up the gut in the blink of an eye.
Aggressive flankers also benefit from his puck-carrying. In Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final, his poise in the heart of the rink manufactured plenty of daylight for Seth Jones (FLA 3) and Niko Mikkola (FLA 77):
Watch how long he holds the puck on these sequences. Those extended touches lock the nearest defender (CAR 24 in the 1st clip and CAR 7 in the 2nd) in place as Bennett’s teammates gain a step out wide. By the time Seth Jarvis and Dmitry Orlov attempt to shuffle over in reaction to his passes, Jones and Mikkola are already home free.
As mentioned earlier, he’ll often switch sides too. Should he reach his off wing (right side) in a 1-on-1 scenario, there’s a decent chance that he’ll dial up a bolder offensive repertoire.
Meat and potatoes are supplanted by hard forehand cuts and between-the-legs drag moves:
As a de facto RW, he does well to locate attractive real estate and manipulate his speed to create a viable shooting platform. Again, this is about momentum.
Slower moments reveal the importance of motion. Without it, he casts a considerably smaller shadow and his average 6’1”, 193-pound frame betrays him. Ask him to fend off defenders in protection down low, and you’ll end up disappointed:
In stride, he’s a high-end 2C. Below the goal line, he’s vanilla. That’s precisely why he ranked sixth among Panthers forwards in team shot attempt rate but second in team expected goal rate:
Bennett may not dominate shifts from start to finish, but if you let him catch with a tailwind (which he does 3-4 times per game), he makes it count.
Florida’s body work (i.e. its forecheck and volume from the point) is difficult enough to handle. Add a dose of knockout power (i.e. rush offense) to its arsenal, and you’ve got a squad that can break through under any conditions and against any opponent. It’s proven as much over the past two seasons.
OZ Spacing
Bennett doesn’t suddenly become a ghost in the OZ. Well, he does…in a good way.
Once he’s fulfilled his duty of ensuring safe passage for his five-man unit, he activates stealth mode, handing the baton off to playmakers, slipping below the radar and reappearing to rattle your cage out of nowhere:
Before we leave the transition phase behind, I should point out his off-puck routes. Whether he’s initiating give-and-gos or supplying his teammates with a trailing option, he’s consistently available for a quick exchange. As you can imagine, this suits a slow-footed but silky-smooth passer like Tkachuk.
One player orchestrates traffic, while the other carries enough speed to maintain a green light in the offensive zone.
Bennett’s nose for space is evident again in these situations, identifying an optimal angle of attack as well as a depth that won’t crowd his linemates’ efforts. He lays off the gas in order for them to cook and then switches on the afterburners to savor the spoils:
Mid-range bids galore.
The 2014 fourth overall pick’s timing is also impressive below the dots. He may not unlock defenses himself, but he grasps when to float (buildup play) and when to rumble downhill (changes of possession, slot passes, etc.). He can smell those plus touches from a mile away. Next to a passer of Tkachuk’s ilk, it pays (literally) to be ready at the point of attack:
Bennett has refined this attribute to the point where he’s so much more than a crease-disturber now. He’s the ideal foil for Tkachuk (I realize that I’m belaboring this point), constantly prowling for speed differentials or inside leverage in tight.
The proof lies in his shooting metrics. This past season, he ranked in the 91st percentile in mid-range shots and the 97th percentile in high-danger shots.
Despite his 15 playoff goals, he hasn’t blossomed into a clinical sniper overnight. In fact, he converted at a lower 5-on-5 clip this spring than he did in 2023-24. He’s just racking up piles of quality looks, tying for first leaguewide in postseason expected goal rate. Here’s a crazy notion: higher volume from scoring areas = more goals.
Much has been made of the Panthers’ quick-strike potency under Maurice. They recover pucks and immediately set their sights on the slot. Producing offense in this manner requires effective forecheckers, aggressive playmakers and clever off-puck targets.
Arriving on the scene at the decisive moment happens to be Bennett’s bread and butter in the OZ.
Physicality
Although Bennett’s nastiness receives more credit than it deserves—and I don’t want to glorify some of his more questionable plays—you’d be foolish to deny its value altogether. He’s developed an intimidating aura because he figures among the few forwards who can downright obliterate opponents.
Watch him deliver a healthy dose of cold shoulders:
Is he Florida’s most prolific hitter? Not by a long shot (7th among the team’s forwards). He’s easily its most punishing hitter, though. He’s well versed in exploding through your body.
Moreover, he actively seeks windows in which he can mete out max damage. Yes, that means scanning the ice for unsuspecting victims. That means lowering the boom right after puck touches. You may not like the intent behind them, but goaltender-related shenanigans aside, his checks are rarely illegal by the book. And they hurt.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Brayden Point, Vasily Podkolzin and Calle Jarnkrok can attest to that:
Open-ice hitters are unicorns in today’s NHL landscape. As such, puck-carriers don’t have that “keep your head up” voice buzzing in their heads. On the rare occasions when they do get caught, they get CAUGHT. Considering those devastating collisions and Florida’s chirpiness and pressure, it’s little wonder why the opposition seems to unravel before them.
Other than the 2022-23 Golden Knights, teams have no answers. They can’t fight fire with fire.
Hell, some D-men are so afraid of Bennett that they’ll bail on pucks or attempt ill-fated reverse hits rather than absorb one to make a play:
Beyond Orlov’s panic, notice how Florida’s 2C sizes up this engagement. He glides into a two-handed grip and primes himself to deliver a check. As the blueliner leans back in for contact, Bennett realizes that Orlov has compromised his line on the puck. Undercut —> centering pass —> net scramble —> Carter Verhaeghe (FLA 23) comes inches away from tucking it.
This clip illustrates a couple of keys to Bennett’s physicality:
His aptitude for spot-picking. Since he doesn’t insist on plastering everything that moves, opponents aren’t sure what he has up his sleeve. The Panthers capitalize on this uncertainty.
The way his hitting threat bleeds into Florida’s blistering offense. Off the wall —> in the slot in two seconds flat.
Bennett is cut from a different cloth than his Panthers teammates. He’s not content with playing a heavy game. With finishing his checks.
He may not steamroll players on a nightly basis, but when he does choose to throw his weight around (his hit rate more than doubles in the playoffs), there’s a possibility that he’ll punt you into next week. Can you blame opponents for feeling jittery in his presence?
Bennett is no ordinary 50-point center. In his three seasons under Maurice, he’s learned to harness his surplus value. He can chip-and-chase, and he can slice through the NZ. He can torment goaltenders in the crease, and he can catch defenses napping from mid-range. He can lay the body, and he can drop bodies. He can play within the system, and he can climb above it.
He both balances and sharpens Florida’s blade all at once. And it only grows sharper as the stakes get higher.