Florida Panthers Playoffs Domination Makes Paul Bissonnette Honest About Sam Benett’s Possible Maple Leafs Future

“If you look at the heat this team catches, it’s actually really unfortunate,” said Brad Marchand in the post-match presser following the Florida Panthers’ elimination of the Maple Leafs from the playoffs. However, despite the seasoned star’s confidence in the Leafs being a capable squad, Toronto’s cracks couldn’t help but be blatantly on display after they caved in against the Cats in Game 7 of Round 2. But those gaping holes could be reversed, and soon.

The Eastern Conference semifinals were a treat for every hockey fandom around the world. The Canadian squad took an early lead in the series, but the Panthers quickly bounced back with three consecutive wins. The Leafs regrouped and won Game 6 to push the series into a nail-biting thriller final match-up. But Florida proved to be too much of a brute force for Craig Berube’s boys. But one of the Cats’ own could help change that for the Maple Leafs in the next season.

Sam Bennett‘s four-year-long contract will expire by the end of this season, making the 28-year-old an unrestricted free agent (UFA) this summer. Naturally, seeing how he has been a crucial part of the Florida Panthers winning the Cup and then vying to defend it, some NHL pundits seem to think that this is a golden opportunity for the Maple Leafs to capitalize on the situation. In an X post by NHLonTNT, former player Paul “Biz Nasty” Bissonnette talked about why the race to land a deal with Bennett is perfectly justifiable.

“There’s a reason that teams are going to be lined up to pay Sam Bennett 10, 11 million dollars for seven, eight years, whatever they can get their hands on,” Biz could be heard saying as his colleagues couldn’t help but sneer if the analyst was referring to Toronto. Paul has admitted on several occasions that he’s a fan of the Maple Leafs and wasn’t caught off guard by the jibe. Instead, he responded quite flatly, “I would pay a few million of that if I could, if I could get inside Charlie Osterwein’s wallet.”

.@BizNasty2point0 thinks there's a BIG issue amongst the Canes for not sticking up after Aho and Svechnikov take hits pic.twitter.com/GkoTUciuOa

— NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) May 25, 2025

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