Sam Bennett of the Florida Panthers may very well be in his last playoff run with the team as he is a UFA after the season and plenty of teams appear to have interest. The Panthers won't be able to give him what he could get from another team if reports are correct. According to E.J. Hradek, "there's at least one team willing to hit that number ($10 million AAV) for Bennett."
While we've established that there are going to be many teams sending Bennett an offer if he hits free agency on July 1, there are only three teams projected to have more cap space available than the Chicago Blackhawks at this time and I would argue that two of them are not looking for a center this summer. These two teams would be the Columbus Blue Jackets and Anaheim Ducks. The former has Sean Monahan, Adam Fantilli, and Cole Sillinger while the latter has Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, and Ryan Strome.
The team with the most cap space is the San Jose Sharks, and I wouldn't count them out as the team that would be willing to spend as Will Smith or Alex Wennberg can shift over to the wing on one of the top three lines.
Now the reason Chicago could be the team that is willing to spend $10 million AAV on Bennett this summer is because he could be the perfect second line center for the team right now and for the majority of his contract. There is not only ample cap space to use right now, Frank Nazar, who may be in line to center the second line, could play the wing and have his speed utilized well. He's already spent time and gained some chemistry with Connor Bedard on the top line.
The cap situation won't be much of a worry moving forward either as there are some veterans with contract expiring very soon. This includes Jason Dickinson ($4.25 million AAV), Ilya MIkheyev ($4.038 million AAV), Nick Foligno ($4.5 million AAV), Connor Murphy ($4.4 million AAV), and TJ Brodie ($3.75 million AAV) all ending after next season. Sure, the young players will have to be signed as well, but that's more than enough to accomplish both and be more competitive.
Considering what Bennett has done in the playoffs and how he is a solid second line center in the regular season, it's not a bad move at all to shore up the middle of the ice and get a piece they know is going to perform when the stakes are highest. The goal of the Blackhawks is not only to make the playoffs, but win with the group they are building.
