How Sam Bennett became an 'identity player' for the Florida Panthers

Sam Bennett probably isn’t the first name that comes to mind when thinking of key Florida Panthers forwards. Most would drift toward Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe. Trade deadline acquisition Vladimir Tarasenko might even round out the top-five.

But inside the Panthers’ dressing room, there is a clear understanding of what Bennett brings to the team.

“I would say he’s talked about far more in the coach’s office than he is outside,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “Players in the room certainly understand. Sam Bennett is an identity player in our room.”

Bennett’s career has experienced a renaissance since the Calgary Flames traded him to the Panthers ahead of the 2021 NHL trade deadline. He went from a role player for Calgary to being a top-six forward forward for Florida and getting extended chances to play on special teams.

The numbers to back it up: Bennett logged just 140 points (67 goals, 73 assists) over 402 career games with Calgary.

Entering the Panthers’ 4-3, shootout loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday, Bennett already had 137 points (66 goals, 71 assists) in just 200 games with Florida.

“With a change of scenery, you get a fresh start,” said Bennett, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft. “I mean, I went from playing limited minutes on the fourth line (with the Flames) to first power play and 18-20 minutes a night when I first got here. It’s a big, big change. It definitely helped, along with my teammates here and coaching staff and management all believing in me. That played a huge part in that as well.”

The Panthers’ transition to a physical, defensive-first system under Maurice the past two seasons has also helped Bennett’s cause.

Entering play Saturday, only five centers have more points (33) and hits (136) this season than Bennett. The other five: the Vancouver Canucks’ J.T. Miller (89 points, 192 hits), the New York Rangers’ Vincent Trocheck (66 points, 156 hits), the Boston Bruins’ Trent Frederic (38 points, 174 hits), the Vegas Golden Knights’ Ivan Barbashev (38 points, 147 hits) and the St. Louis Blues’ Brayden Schenn (34 points, 153 hits). Bennett has also played far fewer games than those five — just 56 compared to 69-71 for the other five — after missing time to start the season with a lower-body injury.

“He’s a quiet man, but his style of game and his personality is something we’re trying to emulate — Everybody should play a little bit more like Sam Bennett,” Maurice said.

“He doesn’t say a whole lot and he plays hard. He has this really nice blend of very strong speed. He can make plays — he can make nuanced plays — but he can hit (too). He’s an unusual center iceman because he covers the spectrum of style of play. He can do a whole bunch of things. In the coaches’ room, when you’re building your team or if your pecking order on injuries is we don’t like it when Sam Bennett is out of our lineup, and there’s only probably a handful of players beside him in terms of the importance of that.”

Added Bennett: “It’s a gritty, hard system. It’s physical and it’s the right way to play. It’s how you win. I’m prepared to play that way and I think our whole team is. It’s how we want to play.”

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