[Erick Estrada]

Pretty good article at the Athletic today regarding Bennett's worth in free agency. The prevailing thought is that he's going to get overpaid but the contract may not age as bad as many of us think it could.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/640...ency-contract/

Playoff Bennett is a different player. Playoff Bennett is a dawg.

Among players who have actually accrued a decent enough sample (41 games) over the last five playoffs, only six have elevated their offensive game by six or more goals per 82: Jonathan Marchessault, Zach Hyman, Ondrej Palat, Sam Bennett, Artturi Lehkonen and Leon Draisaitl. Two of those — Marchessault and Palat — have been one-playoff wonders. The other four do it (almost) every year, having four of five seasons where their Offensive Rating jumps by four or more goals per 82. Consider that the gold standard of dawg (with Connor McDavid too, of course), an exclusive group that Bennett is a part of.

Based on Corey Sznajder’s tracking work, he certainly has the puck skills to do so. Bennett is no passenger on Tkachuk’s line — he’s very involved in all three zones, chipping in on breakouts and creating a lot of chances in zone. He’s also elite at moving the puck through the neutral zone with control, a skill he probably doesn’t get enough credit for.

For Bennett to be worth the big bucks, he does need to offer a bit more in the regular season — and luckily he does appear to have the tools to do so. No one knows exactly how he’ll age, and I’m not saying the Kadri or Hyman path is a guarantee. That’s still the best-case scenario and not the most likely one. But there are some reasons to be optimistic that a Bennett deal won’t be as bad as the sticker shock that comes with paying a 55-point center $8 million.