Panthers' Bennett: 'It was never an option not getting back to that situation'
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The Florida Panthers were oh-so-close to tasting immortality in 2023.
After squeaking into the playoffs with the Eastern Conference’s last wild-card slot, the Panthers overcame a 3-1 deficit to upset the record-setting Boston Bruins in the first round and then rode that wave all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.
In the final, a beat up Panthers squad went up against a powerful Vegas Golden Knights team and ended up bowing out in five games. The loss gave the Golden Knights their first championship in team history and left the Panthers with more desire to finish the job in 2024.
“It was never an option to not getting back to that situation,” Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett told TSN1050’s First Up on Tuesday. “Right from training camp, everyone bought into how hard it was. We talked about getting back to the finals and winning it, and our group so committed to do whatever it took to win.”
The Panthers succeeded in their mission last season by winning the Atlantic Division and getting back to the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers. Despite letting a 3-0 series lead slip through their fingers, Florida eked out a 2-1 victory in Game 7 to claim the franchise’s first Stanley Cup victory.
Bennett credits the Panthers’ willingness to be physical and do all the little things needed to win in the playoffs as the reason for their ultimate success.
“It can be hard and nasty at times, but sometimes it’s necessary to do whatever it takes to win,“ said Bennett. “We have a lot of guys who bought into that [mindset], and it shows for how much success we had over the last two years.”
Bennett, at times, has been the face of that mindset the Panthers have put out the last two seasons. The 6-foot-1 centre drew the ire of the Toronto Maple Leafs during their 2023 second-round matchup after slamming rookie Matthew Knies to the ground, leaving him with a concussion.
He also left the Boston Bruins fuming during their second-round matchup last season after Brad Marchand was sidelined for two games when he collided with Bennett. Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery went as far to say that the hit was “outside the lines” and that Bennett “knew what he was doing.”
Marchand himself admitted that Bennett “got away with a shot” but added that he believes that’s just the culture of the playoffs.
“People don’t want to say it, but part of the playoffs is trying to hurt every player on the other team,” Marchand told reporters in May. “ The more guys you take out, the more advantage your team has.”
Bennett admits his playing style isn’t the most popular around the NHL, but it isn’t something he will apologize for.
“I think there are definitely a lot of people who don’t like the way I play, “ said Bennett. “I’m [in Toronto] all summer and fans say things like they hate me, but they always end with they want me to be a Leaf one day."
After their loss to Vegas in 2023, the Panthers defensive corps were beat up to start the 2023-24 season. Top-pairing defencemen Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour were both out significant time to start the season with injuries.
This led to the Panthers bringing into some help in order to keep the team afloat for the first few weeks of the season. Among that help was Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who Bennett credits as an unsung hero for the squad.
“I was honestly shocked with how good he is,” said Bennett. “Everyone knew how good he was earlier in his career in Arizona, but last year he was probably one of our unsung heroes for how steady he was.”
Ekman-Larsson has since joined the Maple Leafs as one of their key free-agent signings in the off-season. Bennett believes that the defenceman will quickly show how valuable he is to his new team, especially around playoff time.
“He’s a really good pickup for Toronto,” said Bennett. “He was a key cog in the playoffs for how good he was. He’ll get in there and has a little nastiness to his game as well. He was a huge pickup for us last year and a big part of us winning.”