[Signing] Panthers re-sign Bennett (4yrs, $4.425mil AAV)

[GioforPM]

Fair deal, and not impossible to escape if things go south.

[Flamesfan05]

Flames Bennett overpaid by 3M
Panthers Bennett underpaid by 3M

Which Bennett is going to show up?

[Lanny_McDonald]

Good for Sam. Glad it was not the Flames taking this one on. Like Duclair, he'll go as far as Huberdeau can carry him. I'm not sure this contract is going to age well for the Panthers.

[FanIn80]

4.4 million for a guy who can either win you a series or lose you a series, and which outcome you get is 100% unpredictable.

[PepsiFree]

If Florida was paying Bennett strictly based on how he played in Florida they would have given him over $10M AAV.

This is a deal even if his production is cut in half.

And if you average out his performance between Calgary and Florida last year, it's pretty bang on.

He doesn't have to play like he did in the last 10 games and the playoffs to earn this deal.

[oldschoolcalgary]

Seems to be a reasonable contract imo...

He did do well in Florida, so getting a bump makes sense...

As someone mentioned, he'll only be 29 by the time the contract is over, so the 'age well' question may not be an issue....

[Jiri Hrdina]

And if they are wrong and he regresses a little - it isn't a big enough contract in term or dollars to be a disaster. Seems perfectly reasonable.

[Sylvanfan]

Sam sure made a lot of his 20 games in South Florida. I doubt Calgary Bennett was getting a raise from his last deal or more than 1-2 years.

For me this contract will be either great or terrible. If the pressure is off and he's a 60+ point center playing with an edge, it's a great deal. If he has a hard time finding a role and keeping it and reverts back to the lost or misused guy he frequently was as a Flame who's 25 points a year, it's awful. I don't ever see him being a 45 point type player where the contract value would be.

My guess is that the anonymity and not being an ultra high draft pick pressure let's Sam find a consistent role and deliver value. But how many times did a good playoff have us thinking this was it...only to see the same things emerge again. Good luck to him, but time for the Flames to move on the ship has sailed.

[dino7c]

If he gets 50 points and lays off the dumb penalties a bit it's probably fair...IF

Seems to all depend where he plays though there is some major competition in the top six

[neo45]

Originally Posted by dino7c

If he gets 50 points and lays off the dumb penalties a bit it's probably fair...IF

Seems to all depend where he plays though

Oh the dumb penalties aren’t going anywhere. It’s in his DNA

Even during his stint with the Panthers where he played great he was still taking dumb costly penalties

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

If Florida was paying Bennett strictly based on how he played in Florida they would have given him over $10M AAV.

This is a deal even if his production is cut in half.

And if you average out his performance between Calgary and Florida last year, it's pretty bang on.

He doesn't have to play like he did in the last 10 games and the playoffs to earn this deal.

It's not likely he maintains a ppg point pace but he's playing with more talented players in Florida and his stats will reflect that.

[GranteedEV]

Very good deal for the panthers. Basically 6th or 7th forward money for a guy who's probably going to be a 3rd or 4th forward for them throughout the deal.

[TheScorpion]

That's a very big overpay for Bennett. Good for him, glad he got the bag.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

It's not likely he maintains a ppg point pace but he's playing with more talented players in Florida and his stats will reflect that.

It's also the icetime. Bennett was logging 18:04 for them for Quennville, and 20:55 in the playoffs.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

That's a very big overpay for Bennett. Good for him, glad he got the bag.

32 Points in 54 games
CF%: 54.35
SF%: 55.34
GF%: 49.25
xGF%: 57.44
HDCF%: 55.47
HDGF%: 41.94

27 Points in 48 games
CF%: 54.84
SF%: 53.33
GF%: 46.55
xGF%: 54.06
HDCF%: 55.76
HDGF%: 40.74

One player is 25 and signed for 4 years at $4.4M, and the other is 32 and signed for 3 years at $5.35M. One player is physical, drives the net, hits and shows up in the playoffs while the other is a perimeter player who vanishes in the playoffs.

To say this is an overpayment just doesn't jive with me. Centres are worth a lot, and players with the level of physical engagement that Benny plays with tend to get paid because that stuff matters.

Interesting to see both players underperform their xGF in a pretty significant way.

[Ped]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

32 Points in 54 games
CF%: 54.35
SF%: 55.34
GF%: 49.25
xGF%: 57.44
HDCF%: 55.47
HDGF%: 41.94

27 Points in 48 games
CF%: 54.84
SF%: 53.33
GF%: 46.55
xGF%: 54.06
HDCF%: 55.76
HDGF%: 40.74

One player is 25 and signed for 4 years at $4.4M, and the other is 32 and signed for 3 years at $5.35M. One player is physical, drives the net, hits and shows up in the playoffs while the other is a perimeter player who vanishes in the playoffs.

To say this is an overpayment just doesn't jive with me. Centres are worth a lot, and players with the level of physical engagement that Benny plays with tend to get paid because that stuff matters.

Interesting to see both players underperform their xGF in a pretty significant way.

But there's always been a difference between mid-to-low tier RFAs and UFAs. UFAs tend to get paid more because there are more bidders.

[tvp2003]

I don't think he picks up where he left off after last year, but I think he'll find a home in their middle six and playing special teams. And even if it does end up being a bit of an overpay, hopefully he'll have more opportunity to unleash playoff Sam Bennett over the next four years.

He also had arb rights, but I don't think that actually would have helped Sam in this situation.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

32 Points in 54 games
CF%: 54.35
SF%: 55.34
GF%: 49.25
xGF%: 57.44
HDCF%: 55.47
HDGF%: 41.94

27 Points in 48 games
CF%: 54.84
SF%: 53.33
GF%: 46.55
xGF%: 54.06
HDCF%: 55.76
HDGF%: 40.74

One player is 25 and signed for 4 years at $4.4M, and the other is 32 and signed for 3 years at $5.35M. One player is physical, drives the net, hits and shows up in the playoffs while the other is a perimeter player who vanishes in the playoffs.

To say this is an overpayment just doesn't jive with me. Centres are worth a lot, and players with the level of physical engagement that Benny plays with tend to get paid because that stuff matters.

Interesting to see both players underperform their xGF in a pretty significant way.

Assuming player A is Backlund, a little unfair. He was strapped to Nordstrom all year, Reider all playoffs last year but he's scored arguably the biggest playoff GWG in this iteration of the Flames' history. He's had some tough series but against guys like MacKinnon and Getzlaf where his defensemen (whether the Hanifin-Hamonic pair in 2019 or Dougie Hamilton in 2017 or Russell-Wideman in 2015) were outmatched.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by Ped

But there's always been a difference between mid-to-low tier RFAs and UFAs. UFAs tend to get paid more because there are more bidders.

Of course. I'm not saying one contract is better than the other, just that Bennett himself isn't being overpaid.

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

Assuming player A is Backlund, a little unfair. He was strapped to Nordstrom all year, Reider all playoffs last year but he's scored arguably the biggest playoff GWG in this iteration of the Flames' history. He's had some tough series but against guys like MacKinnon and Getzlaf where his defensemen (whether the Hanifin-Hamonic pair in 2019 or Dougie Hamilton in 2017 or Russell-Wideman in 2015) were outmatched.

Yeah, and Bennett was saddled with that same rubbish that Backlund was for a good part of the year. I'm not using Backlund as a negative comparison or anything - just using him to show that Bennett isn't overpaid (and neither is Backlund). Centres carry a premium, and they should.

[dino7c]

UFA has zero cost to acquire
Panthers gave up 2 2nds plus 4.4M

Can't really compare to a UFA deal.