Florida Panthers, Sam Bennett agree to four-year contract extension

The Florida Panthers clearly liked what they saw from @Sam Bennett.

According to Elliotte Friedman, the Panthers have inked their trade deadline acquisition to a four-year contract extension worth $4,400,000 annually.

The No. 4 overall draft pick was never able to live up his billing with the Calgary Flames. He had a strong rookie season in 2015-16, scoring 18 goals and 36 points, but that still stands as his career-high in both categories.

Bennett was reportedly looking for a change of scenery this season and the Flames ultimately moved him to Florida in April in exchange for a prospect and a second-round pick. In 38 games with the Flames in 2021, Bennett had just 12 points, but he exploded with the Panthers, posting six goals and 15 points over just 10 games.

This is quite the investment for the Panthers to make off of a small sample size of success, but Bennett has shown some impressive flashes throughout his NHL career. Most notably, Bennett was one of Calgary’s best playoff performers in 2020, posting eight points over 10 games.

Bennett was a restricted free agent this off-season with one more season left of control before he could hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent.