George Richards Sam Bennett: Contract Negotiations

[ScottyMascotty]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1848761675588960533

https://x.com/i/web/status/1849580054612721714

 

[austropanther]

If Bennett continues playing like this and remain healthy, no way we can afford him in the future, even with a discount

 

[Chaos2k7]

If Bennett continues playing like this and remain healthy, no way we can afford him in the future, even with a discount

They said that about Reino too.

 

[austropanther]

They said that about Reino too.

Different circumstances, loads more available capspace available when Reino signed if I remember right

 

[WaitingForThatCab]

Different circumstances, loads more available capspace available when Reino signed if I remember right

On the contrary, the cap squeeze was absolutely brutal this past off-season. That's why they were able to sign Reinhart and then a bunch of guys at league minimum. You know they would have loved to keep Tommy Stenlund and the Lombo at those very reasonable prices, and they could not.

Even after Reinhart signed a very team friendly contract, they couldn't afford to sign any replacements for more than league minimum.

 

[BabyBennettov]

If Bennett continues playing like this and remain healthy, no way we can afford him in the future, even with a discount

He will continue, and we will afford him.

They said that about Reino too.

Beat me to it. And it will end up the same. With a happy fan-base, and a pretty big paycheck going to the soul of our team !

Different circumstances, loads more available capspace available when Reino signed if I remember right

We are tight next summer, but last one was wayyyyy tighter, so not true… After the summer 25’, we will be pretty okay going forward !

 

[PBPantherfan]

Sign him for this

Benny's Buddies | Florida Panthers

Launching Benny's Buddies, Sam Bennett will cover pet adoption fees with every goal he scores.

www.nhl.com

 

[BabyBennettov]

Sign him for this

Benny's Buddies | Florida Panthers

Launching Benny's Buddies, Sam Bennett will cover pet adoption fees with every goal he scores.

www.nhl.com

That man is here to stay ! Sign him already Zito, what are you doing for christ’s sake ?!! Playing dead ??

 

[FloridaMan]

Every day I hope for good news, but I heard Kyper say the other day that the deal is nowhere close to the number Bennett’s side wants. Benny is in the best possible situation to negotiate. A 29 year old Stanley Cup champion after two great playoff runs, this is his best (and pretty much last) chance to go after the bag. Seeing the recent contracts Zito has given out, I think Benny is aiming for a Verhaeghe-like deal, and I really hope Zito can work his magic, because if not, Benny will most likely end up playing against us in our own division. Toronto will throw Tavares money at him without a blink. And of course, a Cup repeat will make him as good as gone, we simply won’t be able to afford him.

 

[Jean Luc Discard]

Every day I hope for good news, but I heard Kyper say the other day that the deal is nowhere close to the number Bennett’s side wants. Benny is in the best possible situation to negotiate. A 29 year old Stanley Cup champion after two great playoff runs, this is his best (and pretty much last) chance to go after the bag. Seeing the recent contracts Zito has given out, I think Benny is aiming for a Verhaeghe-like deal, and I really hope Zito can work his magic, because if not, Benny will most likely end up playing against us in our own division. Toronto will throw Tavares money at him without a blink. And of course, a Cup repeat will make him as good as gone, we simply won’t be able to afford him.

This is the direct consequence of Viola saying that he's the soul of this team. Hoping for 6.5mil per but I could see Benny getting 7.5mil from Zito. imo in the open market he could fetch ~9mil per from any team that needs a center and has money to spend.

 

[BabyBennettov]

Every day I hope for good news, but I heard Kyper say the other day that the deal is nowhere close to the number Bennett’s side wants. Benny is in the best possible situation to negotiate. A 29 year old Stanley Cup champion after two great playoff runs, this is his best (and pretty much last) chance to go after the bag. Seeing the recent contracts Zito has given out, I think Benny is aiming for a Verhaeghe-like deal, and I really hope Zito can work his magic, because if not, Benny will most likely end up playing against us in our own division. Toronto will throw Tavares money at him without a blink. And of course, a Cup repeat will make him as good as gone, we simply won’t be able to afford him.

People are still listening to Kypreos for insider informations ? Meh…

It may go down the wire, but it will get done.

I do have a feeling it will be sooner rather than later !

 

[WaitingForThatCab]

I think it can get done, but will likely come down to the wire if it does.

From my perspective, it looks like the team will have to choose between spending market value on Top 4 D, or keeping Sam Bennett and going bargain bin hunting at the blue line again. My personal preference would be the latter, but the thing is, I am not Bill Zito. My preference for Bennett and the rummage sale is influenced by my observation that Bill Zito and his staff are absolutely unparalleled at finding value pickups on defense.

One thing that does give me a little bit of hope is the knowledge that this team seems to genuinely understand the dynamics of roster construction and the salary cap. I have said many times over the years that one should never count on numbers (i.e. the salary cap) always going up, but I think there are a lot of outside factors right now that indicate the cap will indeed be seeing a big bump over the next five or six years. If that holds, the Panthers will be in EXCELLENT position going forward with these contracts, and are in better position to offer Bennett a little more than the team would have liked.

We'll see. I'm ready for disappointment, but I think we can all be pleasantly surprised.

 

[TotalHomer]

Need to give max term to Benny or he walks imo. That way another team has to severely overpay to make him leave. Give him the Carter deal.

 

[I am not exposed]

Bennett is going to ask for too much, and he will be gone after we win the Stanley Cup this year.

 

[Jean Luc Discard]

Bennett is going to ask for too much, and he will be gone after we win the Stanley Cup this year.

That might be the case. Zito's gonna have to sign Chucky's friend, Frederic or someone like that from free agency.

 

[FloridaMan]

People are still listening to Kypreos for insider informations ? Meh…

Not really, Kyper’s show is pretty much Leafs circlejerk/panic entertainment, but it popped up in my YouTube recommendations and I saw Benny’s name on the timeline, so of course I watched.

It may go down the wire, but it will get done.

I do have a feeling it will be sooner rather than later !

I think it can get done, but will likely come down to the wire if it does.

I hope you’re right, hopefully sooner than later. I trust Zito and believe they’ll get it done. Can't wait.

 

[FloridaMan]

Bennett is going to ask for too much, and he will be gone after we win the Stanley Cup this year.

I hope you’re wrong of course, because I’ve got it all figured out already with Brady coming in for the 2028 playoff run to get his first and our third or fourth Cup. Benny with the Tkachuks on the wings in the PO would be glorious

 

[Egblad]

I don’t know if it’s a foregone conclusion that Bennett is gone for a huge pay day. Maybe, but I think he has Huberdeau potential in that he flops hard afterward wherever he ends up. He seems like the type that needs certain scenarios to thrive, which he knows he has here. He’s not a Tkachuk type that can probably make it work anywhere.

Sorry Sam, but you’re not that. Take the nice paycheck, continue to play well, and go out with dignity you shmuck.

 

[Jean Luc Discard]

I don’t know if it’s a foregone conclusion that Bennett is gone for a huge pay day. Maybe, but I think he has Huberdeau potential in that he flops hard afterward wherever he ends up. He seems like the type that needs certain scenarios to thrive, which he knows he has here. He’s not a Tkachuk type that can probably make it work anywhere.

Sorry Sam, but you’re not that. Take the nice paycheck, continue to play well, and go out with dignity you shmuck.

Most of these guys have potential to flop if they decide to have an additional +30% pay increase from some other team. imo only Barkov, Tkachuk and Forsling can maintain their level of productivity in any other team in the league.

Hate to lose a playoff performer like that but I think he's more of a 40-50pts guy than a ppg player he's shown thus far in this season in his contract year. Championship caliber teams are built by maximizing the value of the money spent on the payroll and it's the right move to let him go if the price is more than ~6.5mil per.

 

[Chaos2k7]

Most of these guys have potential to flop if they decide to have an additional +30% pay increase from some other team. imo only Barkov, Tkachuk and Forsling can maintain their level of productivity in any other team in the league.

Hate to lose a playoff performer like that but I think he's more of a 40-50pts guy than a ppg player he's shown thus far in this season in his contract year. Championship caliber teams are built by maximizing the value of the money spent on the payroll and it's the right move to let him go if the price is more than ~6.5mil per.

Top end for Benny is 30-30, 60 points IMO

But he is riding an early season wave...

 

[pantherbot]

Remember when Verhaeghe was rumored to be in negotiation for an 8x$8.7M? Or when Reino was supposed to go for $9M+ with us? Or when Forsling was good as gone at $7-8M+? Or when LeBrun reported the Reino deal went right down to the last minute, but Zito was actually just napping? The hockey pundits don't know anything because they're just regurgitating the misdirection agents/management feed them, outright make shit up, and simply don't understand math.

I think Benny signs with us for 8x$6.5M and it wouldn't make sense for him to go anywhere else. Even if he could sign for $9M somewhere else, that's only for seven years, so $63M total contract value. Assuming he could do an 8th year later when he's 38 for $1M, so that's basically $64M for 8 years.

If you give Florida a 10% benefit from taxes, that's a $57.6M contract, spread over 8 years = $7.2M AAV. Now factor in winning, environment, etc. gives maybe another 10% discount and you get $52M total contract value for $6.5M AAV over 8 years. For Bennett, I'd go the 8 years because while the last years may suck, there's also a higher chance he just goes on LTIR.

Its the same math Verhaeghe, Reino, and Fors did as well.

Reino open market $12Mx7 years + $3M 8th year = $87M. Then subtract 10% discount for tax, 10% discount for Panthers = $70.5M/8 years = $8.8M AAV
Forsling open market $7.5Mx7 years + $3M 8th year = $55.5M. After the discounts = $45M/8 = $5.6M AAV
Verhaegu open market $9.5Mx7 years + $3M 8th year =$69.5M. After the discounts = $56.3M= $7.1M/8 years AAV

 

[BabyBennettov]

Remember when Verhaeghe was rumored to be in negotiation for an 8x$8.7M? Or when Reino was supposed to go for $9M+ with us? Or when Forsling was good as gone at $7-8M+? Or when LeBrun reported the Reino deal went right down to the last minute, but Zito was actually just napping? The hockey pundits don't know anything because they're just regurgitating the misdirection agents/management feed them, outright make shit up, and simply don't understand math.

I think Benny signs with us for 8x$6.5M and it wouldn't make sense for him to go anywhere else. Even if he could sign for $9M somewhere else, that's only for seven years, so $63M total contract value. Assuming he could do an 8th year later when he's 38 for $1M, so that's basically $64M for 8 years.

If you give Florida a 10% benefit from taxes, that's a $57.6M contract, spread over 8 years = $7.2M AAV. Now factor in winning, environment, etc. gives maybe another 10% discount and you get $52M total contract value for $6.5M AAV over 8 years. For Bennett, I'd go the 8 years because while the last years may suck, there's also a higher chance he just goes on LTIR.

Its the same math Verhaeghe, Reino, and Fors did as well.

Reino open market $12Mx7 years + $3M 8th year = $87M. Then subtract 10% discount for tax, 10% discount for Panthers = $70.5M/8 years = $8.8M AAV
Forsling open market $7.5Mx7 years + $3M 8th year = $55.5M. After the discounts = $45M/8 = $5.6M AAV
Verhaegu open market $9.5Mx7 years + $3M 8th year =$69.5M. After the discounts = $56.3M= $7.1M/8 years AAV

Amen, brother.

 

[BabyBennettov]

And if I may add… Zito jumped at the opportunity to sign Swaggy for ONLY 7M per.

It’s pretty simple to understand why, that way he established his salary-grid easily !

Barkov: captain, franchise-leader, gets 10M.

Tkachuk: superstar, culture-changer, gets 9,5M.

Reinhart: top-line, prized free-agent, gets 8,625M.

Verhaeghe: winner, clutch goal-scorer, gets 7M.

…

Lundell: young, high-potential center, gets 5M.

Pretty well done by Zito if you ask me.

Benny can’t ask for more than Swaggy on THIS team… Zito basically told him: « your number will start with a 6, after that we can negotiate a little if you want, but over that… Can’t do it. » …

And Bennett must understand that, pretty sure he does.

But it is his right to try to take it until the end of the year, the Reinho’s way, and try to grab some extra-money… Samson was probably going for closer to 8M without his incredible breakout year !

Pretty comfortable Benny will be okay to settle for 6M+, just waiting for the announcement actually.

 

[Gentle Man]

If Benny leaves, I am suing him for animal cruelty. He will be abandoning all those buddies he has

 

[FinlandPanther]

I think Benny signs for less than 6. Just have a feeling!