Panthers Forward Sam Bennett Channels Leonardo DiCaprio With Big Message To Fans

With the Florida Panthers having won their second Stanley Cup in as many years, the question now becomes how many of their key players can they keep on the books, and at the top of that list is forward Sam Bennett.

The abrasive forward who joined the team in a trade with the Calgary Flames back in 2021 had a monster post-season in which he had 15 goals in 23 games and earned himself the Conn Smythe Trophy as the postseason's most valuable player.

However, as perfect of a fit as Bennett has been with the Panthers, he's slated to become a free agent on July 1 and given his play over the last few seasons, as well as that nifty new bit of hardware he just earned, he is absolutely going to get paid, and deserves every cent of it.

However, the Panthers have to be able to give him a reasonable deal, and he has to want to stay in South Florida.

Well, it would seem we have the answer to the latter after Bennett channeled Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street to let fans know that he plans to stay put.

Alright, so I guess he wants to stay a Cat.

But here's the thing: Bennett's last deal, which he also signed with the Panthers after getting traded, had an AAV of $4.425 million. Given his recent performances, he's due for a big raise.

I'm sure the Panthers would be happy to give him that, but they also need to consider re-signing Brad Marchand, as well as defenseman Aaron Ekblad, and more.

Who knows what it will cost to keep those fellas in town, plus I'm sure they will sign a free agent or two in the next couple of weeks.

However, one nice thing for the Panthers is that the NHL salary cap is making a big jump this summer from $88 million to $95.5 million, which should help them out big time.