If the Toronto Maple Leafs want to inject some hometown blood into their roster, they could look to current Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett.
Fresh off a Stanley Cup win, Bennett turns his attention to the current season, and although the joys of being champion are still fresh in his mind, the season rapidly approaches. In the final year of his deal with Florida, there is still no word on whether or not he will continue on in the Sunshine State.
Speaking on TSN 1050's First Up, Bennett spoke a little bit about his jounrey to winning the Cup, and the admiration from the Panthers fans as well as Leafs faithful; even if they don't want to admit it at first.
It's understandable why Toronto fans would be a bit weary of Bennett as he's torched the Maple Leafs multiple times in the past, but there's no denying he would be a huge boost to the team.
Maple Leafs fans (myself included) tend to secretly admire players even if they're causing us pain or simply part of a historic rivalry; Zdeno Chara and Daniel Alfredsson come to mind for me: Two legendary players who consistently made Toronto look like child's play whenever they were on the ice, but if they played for the Leafs? I'd be jumping for joy.
If Bennett were to join the Leafs, fans should also jump for joy as they would have an incredible amount of depth down the middle with Auston Matthews, Bennett and a re-signed John Tavares in addition to a player who put up 28 goals in 2021-2022 and is fresh off another 20-goal season in 2023-24. In the Panthers Stanley Cup winning run, Bennett had 7 goals and 7 assists which would give Toronto something it desperately needs: postseason production.
To those who want Bennett in Toronto regardless of if they hate him or not he's just got one thing to say: "You never know."
