Sam Bennett could have gone to free agency and picked his landing spot, plus probably could have signed for much more money than the Florida Panthers were able to offer.

I love the team, the staff, the owners, just everything about it is really a dream situation. So I couldn't pass up the chance to be back here for another eight years.'

He joins captain Aleksander Barkov, forwards Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe and Anton Lundell, and defensemen Seth Jones and Gustav Forsling as core players under contract with the Panthers through the 2029-30 season. Bennett believes the Panthers can win the Cup again next season.