NHL Insider Pours Cold Water on Maple Leafs Top Free Agent Target Coming to Toronto
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski - Imagn Images
With the Maple Leafs expected to be aggressive on the open market this summer, a prominent NHL insider pours cold water in their interest on their top target.
A lot has been made about what the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to do this summer to address their NHL roster, primarily the statuses of Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and Matthew Knies.
There remains a belief that the Leafs could be without Marner and potentially even Tavares next year, which likely means that they will be perusing free agency for some top targets like Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett.
The former 4th overall pick found it difficult to live up to the hype with the Calgary Flames but really turned his career around after he was acquired by Florida in 2021. He has tallied 196 points in 289 regular season games on top of another 23 goals and 50 points in 68 post-season contests with the Panthers.
He's played an instrumental role in their last 3 playoff runs run with 21 goals and 42 points scored across 53 games, which includes his league-leading 9 goals this season. Bennett's second-line role has solidified the Panthers offense and he's contributed with massive performances in the most important games.
However, just because the Leafs may have interest in him this summer, doesn't necessarily equate to them landing his services. According to TSN's Darren Dreger, Bennett might not be too keen on joining the Leafs and a lot of that has to do with the fact that he will be in high demand,
"I'm not convinced Sam Bennett wants to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs. And it's not because he looks at all the nonsense that goes on in this market - I'm not saying that - it's just this guy is going to have the pick of the litter. There will be 20+ teams if he gets to free agency..."
The free agent class in 2025 isn't super top heavy, so players like Marner and Bennett, should they get there on July 1st, will be in very high demand and teams will be bidding against one another to a point where the latter might get a contract north of $9M-$10M dollars per season. The former appears destined for a $14M price tag.
At the very least, Dreger is saying that the media, market, and fan base aren't going to be to blame Treliving if Bennett doesn't sign in Toronto. However, it will be disappointing should the Leafs be without either Marner or Bennett to start the 2025-26 season.
| POLL | ||
MAI 24 | 5150 ANSWERS NHL Insider Pours Cold Water on Maple Leafs Top Free Agent Target Coming to Toronto Would you consider it a massive failure if Sam Bennett hits the open market and doesn't sign in Toronto? | ||
| Yes | 2357 | 45.8 % |
| No | 2793 | 54.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
