As is the case with every big-name pending free agent, the Utah Mammoth are rumored to have interest in Sam Bennett.
Who wouldn’t want this guy? He’s a fierce competitor who’ll do anything to win — and when the playoffs roll around, his game elevates to a whole other level.
He’s played a major role in the Florida Panthers’ three straight trips to the Stanley Cup Finals and he’s currently chasing his second consecutive championship. He’s also a strong candidate for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
But whether he’d be a good fit in Utah is up for debate. Here’s why.
Sam Bennett, the Florida Panther vs. Sam Bennett, the Calgary Flame
When Bennett fell to the Calgary Flames at fourth overall in the 2014 draft, the Flames were ecstatic — and it was all because their provincial rivals, the Edmonton Oilers, went off the board and selected some guy named Leon Draisaitl at No. 3.
Bennett was expected to play a key role in turning the Flames around. At that point, they had missed the playoffs five years in a row and they hadn’t won a series since their 2004 Cup Final run.
He was well above a point per game in the OHL, and while it’s hard to do the same in the NHL, he was absolutely supposed to be a bona fide first-liner. The Flames would soon learn, though, that he’s not a consistent primary scorer in the NHL.
After six seasons of relative disappointment, the Flames gave up on Bennett, sending him and a sixth-round pick to the Panthers for a second-rounder and Emil Heineman, who had been drafted in the second round of the previous draft.
That’s not a great return on investment for a fourth-overall pick.
But things changed for Bennett as soon as he got to Florida. He scored 15 points in 10 games to close out the regular season, followed by five in five playoff games. That type of production wasn’t sustainable, but he played a chippy game that made him valuable to his team.
In Florida, Bennett plays a secondary scoring role. The likes of Alex Barkov, Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk allow the Panthers to not have to rely on him for offense. His job is simply to be hard to play against and contribute a goal here and an assist there.
Should the Utah Mammoth sign Sam Bennett?
The argument against signing Sam Bennett
If Bennett were to sign in Utah (especially if he got anything close to the $10 million AAV he’s reportedly seeking), the Mammoth would need him to lead the team in scoring every year — or at least be in the top three.
While he can do that for stretches, he doesn’t have the long-term resume to justify one of the highest cap hits in the league. His 51 points in the 2024-25 regular season were the most of his career. That’s just five more than Barrett Hayton and two less than Mikhail Sergachev had last year.
There are players who get you to the playoffs, and there are others who get you through them. Bennett is the latter, but the Mammoth don’t have enough of the former to guarantee them a playoff berth in the first place.
Bennett is better suited for a team on the brink of success — not an up-and-coming squad whose future is not yet set. If he goes to another borderline playoff team, there’s a huge risk that he recedes to what he was in Calgary.
Even if the Mammoth could get him for $6 million, that’s a huge risk to take.
The argument for signing Sam Bennett
Of course, the opposite could be true. Maybe he’s ready to prove himself as a franchise center rather than a secondary scorer, and either way, his playoff production can’t be discounted.
In Calgary, Bennett had an alter-ego known as “Playoff Sam Bennett.” In both of his NHL homes, it has always been clear that he’s a guy you want on your team in the postseason.
Players like that don’t become available very often, so if you have a chance to sign him, you should at least consider it.
He also brings a winner’s mentality. He could help establish a winning culture, which is something Utah’s management group has placed great emphasis.
Bennett is also familiar with a few guys in the Mammoth’s locker room. He played with Lawson Crouse on the Kingston Frontenacs in junior, Kevin Stenlund with the Panthers and Juuso Välimäki on the Flames.