New York Rangers reportedly interested signing gritty Stanley Cup winning forward this offseason
Photo credit: Florida Hockey Now
The New York Rangers have already begun to retool the lineup. With the off-season not too far off GM Chris Drury could add some great pieces to the team with a salary cap increase ahead.
The website PuckPedia allows us to utilize tools that execute trades and signings in the NHL.
That tool is called PuckGM, which we could use to hypothesize what a Sam Bennett signing with the Rangers would look like in July.
Bennett is a UFA at the end of the 2024-2025 NHL season when his four-year contract with the Florida Panthers expires.
The deal pays him a cool $4.425 million AAV, totaling $17.7 million. With PuckGM we could give him a substantial raise and lure him to the blue shirts with a four-year, $24 million deal, team-friendly and yet a good raise for a reliable forward.
With the team looking to offload more superstar talent like Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider in July, they will need forwards to replace talent lost.
That could be Sam Bennett, who unlike Zibanejad and Kreider, has made it to the Stanley Cup finals and won the ultimate prize in sports.
NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman has reported that the two sides are negotiating but nothing substantial has resulted yet.
«Sam Bennett, as it stands right now, would be one of the biggest free agents available on July 1. If he gets there,» Friedman said on Saturday Headlines on Sportsnet on March 15. «I don't want to handicap it. But the word in the press box Thursday night (March 13) as Florida played in Toronto are talks have resumed between Bennett and the Panthers. Again, I don't want to handicap it. I don't want to say one way or the other. But they are trying. And it's been a very good marriage between player and team.»
Bennett has been one of the Panthers' key forwards and would be a great addition to the Rangers.
He adds grit to the lineup that only has recently returned with forwards like Will Cuylle, Matt Rempe, and JT Miller.
Adding someone like Bennett would add leadership, and poise that the team lacks lately even with Kreider on the roster.
In 66 games with the Florida Panthers he's scored 45 points (22 G, 23 A).
Previously on NYRangersInsider
| POLL | ||
MARS 22 | 1420 ANSWERS New York Rangers reportedly interested signing gritty Stanley Cup winning forward this offseason Do you think GM Chris Drury of the New York Ranger should sign forward Sam Bennett of the Florida Panthers when he becomes an UFA? | ||
| Yes | 1036 | 73 % |
| No | 384 | 27 % |
| List of polls | ||
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