The NHL season is underway, and the Florida Panthers have already made some headlines.
Paul Maurice:
Paul Maurice, who has been a head coach in the NHL for almost 30 years and has coached over 1,800 games, has signed a multi-year extension to remain the head coach of the Florida Panthers. His contract was set to expire at the end of the 2024-2025 season. Maurice, who replaced interim head coach Andrew Brunette on June 22, 2022, has done nothing but help the Panthers reach new limits by going to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals and winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history this past year.
Carter Verhaeghe:
After coming off the ice after a 6-4 win on opening night against the Boston Bruins, General Manager and President of Hockey Operations Bill Zito was waiting to speak to the media regarding a surprising, yet big piece of news.
“We agreed to terms with Carter on an eight year deal,” Zito said after the game. It was announced that the deal would be worth an average annual value (AAV) of 7 million dollars.
The Panthers got a significant piece of business done on the night that they raised their first Stanley Cup banner to the rafters. Verhaeghe has played close to 300 games as a Florida Panther and has scored 118 goals. This deal mostly likely will keep him a Florida Panther for the rest of his career. All things considered this is a fantastic deal for Verhaeghe and the Panthers.
Aleksander Barkov:
With the net empty with 1:18 left in the 3rd period on October 10th against the Ottawa Senators, Aleksander Barkov broke his stick, and the puck went right to Brady Tkachuk who sent the puck to Tim Stutzle on a breakout pass. Barkov, whose stick broke on the play, skated back to try and prevent Stutzle from scoring on the empty net. Barkov tried to make a play on the puck, but fell and collided into the boards with Stutzle. The next day Coach Maurice announced that Barkov would be out 2-3 weeks with a lower body injury. Maurice did say that Barkov should be able to return by the time the Panthers head to Finland to take on the Dallas Stars.
Sam Bennett:
On Saturday Headlines, a hockey segment on Hockey Night in Canada, league insider Elliotte Friedman reported that the Florida Panthers and center Sam Bennett have begun negotiations on a new contract as Bennett’s current deal is set to expire at the end of the 2024-2025 season.
Bennett has been a solid, physical second line center since coming over in a deal from the Calgary Flames on April 12th, 2022. Bennett could command a sizable contract if he were to hit the open market on July 1st. If Bennett were to test free agency he could potentially receive a contract at a max term of seven years with an AAV of anywhere in between 6.5-7.5 million dollars.
The Panthers have something they can offer that no other team can offer: the 8th year of a term. Now, if Bennett were to resign with the Panthers, a deal could be structured at 8 years with an AAV of 6.5 million dollars. In addition, if Bennett were to resign in Florida, he would most likely receive favorable trade protection and a favorable bonus structure.