The Stanley Cup Final is set to get underway on Wednesday night as the Florida Panthers look to knock off the Edmonton Oilers for the second straight year. Last year's series went to seven games after the Panthers took a 3-0 lead, but Edmonton couldn't pull off the miraculous comeback. Now, the Panthers are hoping they can win the cup again, and that is the only thing that Florida center Sam Bennett is thinking about.
When the offseason rolls around in just a few weeks and free agency begins, Sam Bennett is set to be on the market. He will be an incredibly coveted target for teams across the league, but his only focus right now is winning the Stanley Cup again.
“Honestly, since the playoffs have started, it’s really just taken a back seat and I haven’t really thought too much about anything other than the playoffs and getting here and now the whole focus is on winning the Stanley Cup,” Bennett said Tuesday at Stanley Cup Final media day, according to an article from The Athletic. “Everything else is going to be in the background for the next couple weeks.”
This offseason is going to be a big one for Bennett. He will either re-sign with the Panthers, or he is going to enter the next chapter of his career with a new team. It will be a huge time in his career, but it isn't a concern yet.
Article Continues Below“My only goal right now is winning the Stanley Cup,” he said. “If I can put the puck in the net to help our team win, that’s all that matters to me.”
Last season was the first time ever that the Panthers won the Stanley Cup, but Sam Bennett and the rest of the team are used to it now. It's become the expectation, and they didn't come this far to not hoist the trophy.
“It’s just the expectation now,” Bennett added. “I think this whole organization, right from the management to the coaches, the players, all the way down to every single guy — the training staff, everyone — we all have that same expectation that we’re going to fight for the Stanley Cup. Anything less than that is not good enough. That’s our whole organization’s mindset.”
Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final will go down at 6:00 MT on Wednesday night from Rogers Place in Edmonton, and the game will be airing on TNT, truTV and Max. The Oilers are narrow favorites in Game 1.