Why Sam Bennett Won't Be A Rangers But Will Remain A Panther

The hottest player in hockey is Sam Bennett of the Florida Panthers. He scores, he sets up goals, he hits and he intimidates. 

Panthers' boss Bill Zito knows that he has a latter-day Mark Messier. Sam was a  key performer in the Cats' 2024 Stanley Cup run and once again is a white hot skater.

Zito also knows that Bennett will soon become a free agent and is the hottest property on the market.

My ace Florida correspondent Al Greenberg has been following the Bennett Saga all season. Here – as a free public service for Zito – Big Al has figured out how the Panthers can retain Slingin' Sam. (Show us, Al, Show us!)

"Keeping Bennett will be a challenge but I think Zito can pull it off.  He is at $4.4M and is worthy of nearly Reinhart's $8.6 deal.  Reinhart took a discount to stay. He loves it here, as do most of the other players.   A big financial advantage is that there is no state income tax.

"The Cats have negative cap space because when Tkachuk was on LTIR they used his cap $ to acquire Marchand, Sturm, et.al.  Jones was before the Tkachuk injury.

"Bennett should get at least a $4M raise. 

"I doubt if they could keep Marchand but it would be great if they could. He's at $3M. Ekblad is at $7.5M. He had a better year this year than last but is no way worth $7.5M. They either let him walk or he takes less. He made his money already.

"They'll probably have to let Sturm go - he didn't play much anyway. That's $2M. Replace him with one of Zito's minimum wage finds.

"Ditto Vanacek and his $3.4M. He didn't impress and Zito will find a low-priced backup goalie. He's done it in the past with Stolarz, Lyon and Driedger.

"My 'Save Bennett' deal is doable. Playoff Sam is a valuable asset not to be left for the free market."

Well, not if your name is Bill Zito.

Now let's see if Bargain Basement Bill takes Our Big Al's formula to Master Bennett and remains a Panther.

The Maven predicts that Playoff Sam will choose to stay in a place where you can both win Stanley Cups and also see the Moon Over Miami!