Sam Bennett's 'Preference' Could Impact His Free Agent Market originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett has dominated this postseason, and interest in the pending free agent is rising by the day.

Amid an out-of-this-world performance by Sam Bennett in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Florida Panthers have reportedly learned a hard reality about their star's contract extension.

Bennett had the kind of shift in Game 3’s victory on Monday that tells the larger Panthers’ story. It’s as much the moment of this series as Panthers forward Brad Marchand’s breakaway goal to win Game 2, defenseman Aaron Ekblad’s hit that sent Connor McDavid spinning to the ice or McDavid’s brilliant “walk-on-water toe tap,’’ as Ekblad called it.

Once Atlantic Division rivals, the pair of forwards are making NHL history with fantastic play through the first three games of the final.

One NHL Insider thinks the Panthers could retain one of their top players in Sam Bennett, who can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.