While the Florida Panthers are just one game away from making a third straight Stanley Cup Final, they will have major decisions to make in the offseason. One of those big decisions will be the future of Sam Bennett. We look at the three best destinations for Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett in this 2025 NHL Free Agency season.

Sam Bennett will be a hot commodity if he hits free agency this offseason. He is coming off one of his best regular seasons, scoring 25 goals and adding 26 assists. That was good for 51 total points, which gave him a career high in both assists and points this year. Further, this was his second-highest goal-scoring total of his career. Bennett was also solid on the power play this year, having seven goals and four assists. Furthermore, Bennett has plenty of postseason experience. Game four of the Eastern Conference Finals will be his 100th career playoff game.

Bennett is coming off a four-year, $17.7 million deal with the Panthers. That is an AAV of $4.425 million. According to Cap Wages, his expected next contract would move his AAV closer to $6.75 million per year. The Panthers should attempt to re-sign Bennett, but other teams will be in hot pursuit.

Sam Bennett stays home

Sam Bennett has already seemingly eliminated teams from his list of options for free agency destinations. Bennett looks to not be heading back to a Canadian team, but he has not eliminated staying in Florida as an option. The Panthers have made the playoffs in every season Bennett has been with Florida. That includes losing to the Golden Knights in the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals and winning the 2024 Stanley Cup. They are also just one game away from heading back to the finals for a third straight year.

Bennett has also been much better since joining the Panthers. He has scored 40 or more points in all four full seasons with the Panthers, while his most with the Flames was 36 points. Still, Bennett is expected to command a contract over $6.5 million, and the Panthers are projected to have just $19 million in cap space. With Aarpn Ekblad, Brad Marchand, and Nico Strum all hitting free agency with Bennett, it will be hard for Florida to keep everyone.

The Avalanche upgrades its second line

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In the regular season, the Avalanche traded for Brock Nelson to bolster their second line. Nelson is a pending unrestricted free agent, leaving a hole in the second line for the Avalanche. The top line for the Avalanche is set with Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, and Artturi Lehkonen. The second line with have Gabriel Ladeskog back for a full season, and paired with Valeri Nichushkin. Still, the Avalanche needs to find a solution for a second-line center.

Brock Nelson could be re-signed, but he is five years older than Sam Bennett. Nelson has been more productive than Bennett in terms of scoring, but he was also the primary scoring option for the Islanders. Nelson does have some playoff experience, but not the same level as Bennett either. Finally, Nelson is expected to bring in over $7 million per year on his next contract, just slightly more than Bennett. With the Avalanche having just under $7 million in cap space, bringing in Bennett over trying to keep Nelson would be a solid move.

The Wild brings in playoff experience

The Minnesota Wild need to find a way to get over the hump in the playoffs. Since the 2015-16 season, the Wild have made the playoffs in all but two seasons. Still, they have not won a first-round series since 2015. Further, the Wild have not advanced out of the second round since the 2002-03 season. While many players on the Wild have playoff experience, only Mats Zuccarello has more than Bennett, but Bennett will pass that this postseason, barring any injury. Further, Bennett has deep playoff experience, looking to advance to his third straight Stanley Cup final.

With Marco Rossi potentially leaving as a restricted free agent, the Wild will need another solid center. Rossi was solid this year, finishing the season with 24 goals and 36 assists. Bennett may not be an upgrade, but he would be one over Ryan Hartman, who was playing on the second line for much of the year. Hartman has just 11 goals and 15 assists this year. Further, the Wild are projected to have plenty of cap space. While they need to sign a backup goaltender with the retirement of Marc-Andre Fleury, they have just six total free agents, with only Marco Rossi looking to be higher priced. They have $23.4 million in cap space, and could be able to bring back Rossi and sign Bennett while filling other needs.