NHL analyst casts serious doubt over Panthers' $64,000,000 star's contract despite Conn Smythe win

Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett signed an eight-year, $64 million contract in June. He helped Florida win the Stanley Cup for a second straight year. He also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, in which he scored 15 goals.

In his Thursday column, The Athletic's NHL analyst Dom Luszczyszyn ranked it the eighth-worst deal in the league.

"In a vacuum, $8 million for Bennett is too much, and so too is an eight-year term that will take up most of his 30s," Luszczyszyn said. "In a vacuum, this deal may not age very well, and it’s on this list for that reason (the first 3-4 years are fine)."

He gave the contract a negative value of $20 million. He also said it only has a 20% chance of being a good value. But he admitted the Panthers can afford the risk.

"But we don’t live in a vacuum," Luszczyszyn added. "We live in a world where Bennett is a key championship piece for a franchise with dynastic hopes. That’s all that matters. Signed by another team, Bennett’s new deal would’ve been incredibly risky. For the Panthers, and the Panthers only, it’s a risk they can easily afford."

The team saves money on other top players like Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov. That makes Bennett’s deal easier to manage.

Bennett recorded 51 points in the regular season and 22 points in the playoffs. After signing a new contract in June, Bennett said playing in Florida has changed his life.

"Being in South Florida has just completely changed my life. And I love playing hockey here, I love living here," Bennett said. " ... So, I couldn't pass up the chance to be back here for another eight years.”

Sam Bennett doubled down on the impact of his trade to Florida Panthers

Sam Bennett said he was proud to win the Conn Smythe Trophy. But he cared more about winning the Stanley Cup, and they have done it for the second consecutive season.

Since joining the Panthers, he feels his life has changed.

“I always believed in myself," Bennett said, via NHL.com. "... I mean, my whole life switched when I got traded here, and I’m super grateful to be here. Yeah, I don’t take that for granted.”

During the playoffs, Bennett focused only on hockey. He didn’t worry about contracts or the future. He said his goal was to help the team win. That made it easy to ignore outside things.

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Edited by Ribin Peter