The Panthers initially acquired Bennett on the 2020-21 NHL commerce deadline, and it has been a seismic transfer for each him and the workforce.
Bennett noticed his profession take off whereas getting the chance to play for a greater workforce than he had round him in Calgary, whereas he additionally gave the Panthers the kind of relentless, bodily ahead that has outlined their workforce over the previous 4 years.
There may be nothing about his regular-season numbers that leap off the web page as overly spectacular. He’ll rating 20 targets. He would possibly get 50 factors. In relation to his offense he’s a pleasant second-line participant.
However his worth goes effectively past that. His worth additionally consists of his all-around play away from the puck in addition to his bodily presence that — together with Matthew Tkachuk and Brad Marchand — has made the Panthers one of many NHL’s most bodily and agitating groups. Some would possibly even say soiled.
He has additionally seen his playoff manufacturing skyrocket, together with this yr’s efficiency the place he led the league with 15 postseason targets, 4 greater than another participant.
From a hockey standpoint, holding him round makes all the sense on the planet.
The issue is the contract itself.
A part of what made Bennett such an ideal match for the Panthers over the previous 4 years was the actual fact he solely had the ninth-highest salary-cap quantity on the workforce. He was paid just like the position participant that he’s.
That’s now not going to be the case on this subsequent deal. Even with the wage cap rising over the following few years, an $8 million-per-year funding over eight years for a 29-year-old ahead who doesn’t rating like a star is a dangerous funding. In a salary-cap league, groups should fastidiously watch each greenback they spend, and little overpayments right here and there can add up into huge points with regards to filling out a roster.
The Panthers largely averted that in recent times.
Might this be a case of a contract that appears smart within the second coming again to harm them in later years?
Bennett has given the Panthers so much and has been a key a part of a modern-day dynasty, serving to the workforce to a few consecutive Stanley Cup Finals and back-to-back championships. However groups will not be all the time paying a participant for what they’ve executed already. They’re paying gamers for what they are going to do subsequent. The Panthers are taking a giant gamble right here that he can hold producing within the playoffs like he has, and that his efficiency is not going to tail off as he will get into his 30s.
No one goes guilty the Panthers within the second for doing this. That doesn’t imply it isn’t with out its dangers.
