Bennett, Panthers proving perfect fit heading to 3rd straight Cup Final

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Sam Bennett was a healthy scratch on March 6, 2021. It was the second straight game and third time in a 16-game stretch that then-coach Darryl Sutter decided the Calgary Flames were better off without the center in the lineup.

Today, it's mind-boggling to think that ever happened.

"What a difference," Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice said.

Suffice to say healthy scratches are a thing of the past for the 28-year-old center. Bennett leads all players in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 10 goals in 17 games, and has 45 points (22 goals, 23 assists) in 56 postseason games with the Panthers since 2023.

He has played a massive role in Florida reaching the Stanley Cup Final three straight years, including winning the Stanley Cup last year and having a chance to repeat this year.

The Panthers will face the Edmonton Oilers in the Cup Final for the second straight season; the Oilers advanced by eliminating the Dallas Stars in five games in the Western Conference Final.

Game 1 of the Final will be at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, TNT, truTV, MAX).

"I definitely struggled in Calgary for a while," Bennett said. "Once I got here (to Florida), just how the team embraced me, the opportunity the team gave me right from the beginning was totally different than what I was getting in Calgary. I took that opportunity and found some success early.

"Our team definitely changed quite a bit from when I first got here, but I still had that confidence. Our style changed, but I think it even fit my style of game even more, so that gave me even more confidence to go out and play."

Bennett had 12 points (four goals, eight assists) with a minus-14 rating in 38 games with the Flames during the truncated 56-game 2020-21 regular season, which marked a continuation of his struggles; he had 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in 52 games in the 2019-20 season, following three seasons of 26, 26 and 27 points, respectively.

Bennett's best season in Calgary was as a rookie in 2015-16, when he had 36 points (18 goals, 18 assists) in 77 games.

Then the Panthers acquired Bennett in a trade for forward Emil Heineman and a second-round draft pick on April 12, 2021, and he became almost a different player as soon as he got to Florida.

He had 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 10 regular-season games with the Panthers following the trade and five points (one goal, four assists) in five playoff games in 2021. He had 49 points, including an NHL career-high 28 goals, in 2021-22.

"He's always had the talent," said Florida forward Matthew Tkachuk, who played with Bennett in Calgary. "He's always had the work ethic. He's always had the bite, the jam, everything.

"I think a lot of it has to do with opportunity. I mean, he didn't get the opportunity in Calgary that he has here with the minutes and how he's utilized and everything. I don't know why that is, maybe it's a personnel thing, but he's just taken off as a whole new player here in Florida for everybody to see, even though in Calgary I saw it all along and us as players saw it all along. I was not happy when he got traded from Calgary, but I was also so happy to see him come here and have a chance and really flourish."

Maurice said, "I asked him what the difference was and he (said he) got back to center ice, which is an important position, he got back to playing the game he played when he came into the League, and he got to play with (forward) Jonathan Huberdeau. Confidence, right?"

Then Maurice was hired to coach the Panthers on June 22, 2022, and a month later Florida acquired Tkachuk from Calgary in what will forever be known as a franchise-changing trade, probably the most important transaction in team history, in fact.

Huberdeau went to the Flames in that trade, but the Panthers turned into a team that is all about being in your face, all about pressure everywhere, being relentless, aggressive and, to an opponent, probably pretty annoying, too.

Which is exactly what Bennett is all about as well.

Florida has reached the Cup Final in each of the three seasons since, and Bennett has earned perhaps the greatest compliment an NHL player can receive.

"The definition of a playoff player," Tkachuk said.

Said Maurice, "In the playoffs all the elements of our game are intensified, they're all present, so the best guys can do all things. The very best players can excel in all areas. They can play physical. They can play hard. They can skate. They can drive. They can make plays. They are excited about the opportunity and thus they don't wilt under the pressure or the moment.

"A lot of those guys play a version of that in the regular season. Sam is not far off. He plays pretty similar to that game all year. He plays pretty darn hard. So it's not a major shift for him."

Bennett does it as a center with Tkachuk on his right wing. Their chemistry is easily recognized if you watch them for one shift in the offensive zone. There's a reason for that, Maurice explained.

"Matthew's hands and his IQ and where he puts pucks and all those things lets Sam run a little bit," Maurice said. "I don't mean run around. I mean let's let him get his speed up. That was the thing that was missing before he got here. He got stuck on the wing and he couldn't carry his feet. He's a very fast player. It might be the underrated part of him is how quickly he can get up the ice."

Carter Verhaeghe has been a regular on Bennett's left wing. He said playing with him is predictable, which makes it easy and therefore requires less thinking, allowing the three forwards to play on instinct, using their chemistry to keep constant pressure on the opponent.

They have combined for 46 points (21 goals, 25 assists) in 17 games this postseason, including 29 points (12 goals, 17 assists) at even strength.

"He's everything you want in a player," Verhaeghe said of Bennett. "When it's the most important time for your team, when you're chasing a championship, that's when you want to be at your best and be able to perform at your best. He's one of those guys."

Bennett can become an unrestricted free agent after this season. He might be the most coveted of the potential free agent forwards, perhaps even more than Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, considering his playoff success.

"He just does everything," Panthers forward Brad Marchand said. "He could skate very well. Really good with the puck. Great shot. And then obviously he brings a physical aspect to the game that especially this time of year is, I mean, you can't have enough of it. And those are the guys that make a huge impact on the game when you have to be aware of them physically on the ice and know where they're at, and then at the same time, I mean, he comes up big in those big moments. Just a player you love to have on your team and one you hate the play against."

It wasn't all that long ago that nobody was playing against Bennett when he was with the Flames, that he was watching from the press box, a healthy scratch, wondering if he would ever live up to his potential as the No. 4 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft.

How crazy does that sound now?

"It's a great example of how a player looks so good when he feels good about his game," Maurice said.