Sam Bennett News: Staying with champs

Bennett signed an eight-year, $64 million contract with the Panthers on Friday, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press reports.

Bennett put together a career year as he played for a new contract, earning 25 goals and 51 points in 76 regular-season games. That alone doesn't justify the salary, but Bennett's 22-point effort in 22 playoff games bumps him up a level and was clearly enough for Florida to be interested in keeping him as part of a core that has won back-to-back Stanley Cup titles. Bennett is locked in as a second-line center and a member of the second power-play unit for years to come, and his fantasy profile as a hard-hitting scoring forward gives him mid-round appeal in all formats.