NHL Insider Drops Huge Update on Sam Bennett, Changing the Landscape of the UFA Market

In a contract season and with a lot on the line, Sam Bennett upped the ante in the post-season with a terrific performance that saw him earn the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP. His 15 goals and 48 PIMs led the league and his 22 points were tied for 2nd most on the team.

As each round passed, his play was the talk of the town, and because of it, his next cap number has kept on rising. There were rumours and reports suggesting he could get anywhere near or slightly above $9 million per season on his next deal, depending on how desperate teams got.

However, despite these rumours, it always felt like Florida was the team to beat and for good reason. With no taxes to deal with, a winning core in place, and great weather all-year round, it's a great destination for free agents.

While the numbers were never necessarily mentioned, Florida got to work almost immediately after their Stanley Cup win, and it sounds like there's an extension in the works and it could be as "good as done", according to Chris Johnston.

With an extension nearly complete, it does not spell good news for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who were hoping to stand a chance on July 1st for his services. They will have to revert to Plans B, C, and D now that their most sought after free agent target is coming off the radar.

That's also not good news for a lot of other teams, considering how shallow the free agent pool is expected to be this year. Other than Mitch Marner, the Panthers held the key for how the off-season was going to unfold and Bennett might be the first domino to fall in that plan.

As for the Maple Leafs, they're either going to have to hope that one of Marchand or Ekblad finds their way to free agency or they need to do a bit more digging and target players in the middle of the pack as they look to address their forward depth ahead of the 2025-26 season.