Playoff MVP Sam Bennett agrees on 8-year, $64 million contract to stay with Florida Panthers

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Sam Bennett walked to the front of the stage at the Florida Panthers' latest Stanley Cup championship parade, and before he could even speak the crowd began serenading him with their request.

“Eight more years! Eight more years!” they chanted, over and over.

They got their wish.

Bennett — who led the NHL with 15 goals in this year's playoffs and became the first Panthers player ever to score that many in a single postseason — is staying with the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions. He and Florida agreed Friday to a new eight-year contract worth $64 million, or $8 million per season.

“Sam is a special player who has mastered a unique blend of skill and physicality in his game, becoming one of the most impactful postseason performers of his generation,” Panthers general manager and hockey operations president Bill Zito said. “He played an integral role in our two Stanley Cup championships, earning the franchise’s first Conn Smythe trophy and is a dedicated contributor to our South Florida community off the ice. We are thrilled that he will continue his career with the Panthers.”

Bennett was the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as MVP of the playoffs, the first Florida player to ever win that award. The last time a Conn Smythe winner didn't open the following season with the same team he had that playoff run with was 1997, when goaltender Mike Vernon helped Detroit win that year's Cup — and then the Red Wings traded him to San Jose that summer.

It is the first of three big decisions that the Panthers have been waiting on heading into free agency, the others being what forward Brad Marchand — a trade deadline pickup who became an enormous part of the run to this Cup — and defenseman Aaron Ekblad will do going forward.

The Bennett signing is another huge move by Zito, who now has eight players — all of them key parts of the team — under contract with the Panthers through at least the 2029-30 season. Bennett joins Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell, Seth Jones and Gustav Forsling on that list.

The raise is a massive one for Bennett, who just finished the final year of a four-year contract that paid him just under $18 million. He had a postseason like almost none other; the only other player to have at least 15 goals and 48 penalty minutes in the same playoff run was Pittsburgh's Kevin Stevens in 1991.

He had given indications throughout this offseason process — including at a nightclub during the Panthers' days-long initial Cup celebration — that he intended to remain in Florida, but nothing got officially done until Friday.

Bennett is coming off perhaps his finest season, with 25 goals and 26 assists in the regular season for a career-best 51 points.

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Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner (74) stops Florida Panthers' Sam Bennett (9) during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final in Sunrise, Fla., Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman presents the Conn Smythe Trophy to Sam Bennett after defeating the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final Tuesday, June 17, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett lifts the Stanley Cup after defeating the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final Tuesday, June 17, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Florida Panthers' Sam Bennett (9) raises the Stanley Cup after defeating the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final in Sunrise, Fla., Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Florida Panthers' Sam Bennett holds up the Conn Smythe Trophy during the NHL hockey team's Stanley Cup championship celebration, Sunday, June 22, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Michael Laughlin)

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A gas cylinder explosion early Sunday after a wedding reception at a home in Pakistan’s capital killed at least eight people, including the bride and groom, police and officials said.

The blast occurred as guests who had gathered to celebrate the couple were sleeping at the house, causing part of the house to collapse, according to the Islamabad police. Seven people were injured.

In a statement, police said the explosion occurred in a residential area in the heart of the city. A government administrator, Sahibzada Yousaf, said authorities were alerted about the blast early Sunday and officers are still investigating. He said some nearby homes were also damaged.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over the loss of lives and offered condolences to the victims’ families, according to a statement from his office. He directed health authorities to ensure the injured receive the best possible treatment and ordered a full investigation.

Many Pakistani households rely on liquefied petroleum gas cylinders because of low natural gas pressure, and such cylinders have been linked to deadly accidents caused by gas leaks. Police said investigations were ongoing.

Government officials survey the damage of a home caused by a gas cylinder explosion hours after a wedding reception, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ehsan Shahzad)