By Kalisha Turnipseed -
The Minnesota Wild are looking for a center to back up Joel Eriksson Ek. Sam Bennett fits the description of what they need to take the load off Eriksson Ek, so he can stay healthy and contribute offensively throughout the playoffs. Bennett is a proven winner and a playoff performer.
Bennett has 43 points in 61 playoff games played with the Florida Panthers, the kind of secondary scoring the Wild need to make a deeper playoff run. Bennett provides the perfect play style suited for the playoffs.
However, Bennett's regular-season stats aren't impressive. While he's a three-time 20-goal scorer, he isn't the best playmaker, nor does he have an elite shot at being a 30-goal scorer, so his offense is limited. Still, Bennett would be a great middle-six contributor for the Wild.
Danila Yurov is expected to come in and replace Marco Rossi, who the Wild will likely deal this summer. However, he can't play Eriksson Ek's role to play shutdown grinding minutes. Bennett's better suited for that role. The Wild will likely slot Yurov on the second line in a scoring role with Mats Zuccarello.
Florida paid Bennett $4.43 million on his previous contract. He’ll expect a raise, but not that much, so not much that he'll be unaffordable. Can Guerin get Bennett to agree to at least $5 to $5.5 million?
The Anaheim Ducks signed Adam Henrique to a $5.83 million contract from 2019-20 to 2023-24, which is a good comparable. Bennett can settle for this role because he'll be playing in all situations, but he will be playing a defensive role at even strength.
Yakov Trenin made a great physical impact against the Vegas Golden Knights in the playoffs. He notched two assists. Trenin even stole the puck from Hill, where he almost assisted Justin Brazeau on a potential empty-net goal, but Brazeau doesn't have the foot speed for playoff hockey.
However, Guerin and head coach John Hynes played Brazeau over Vinnie Hinostroza during the playoffs. Therefore, Guerin is likely looking to extend him to be at least a 12th or 13th forward next season, now that the Wild have the cap space to carry 13 forwards. While Brazeau can still become a reliable fourth-liner, he doesn't play special teams.
Bennett's a faster version of Trenin with more offense. Everyone wants Trenin to have more speed and offense, but he doesn't have that skill level. But Bennett does. If the Wild had Bennett playing against Vegas, they could've likely beaten them. Bennett would've taken the Jack Eichel and Mark Stone matchup. Bennett would have broken them mentally.
Ryan Hartman has shown he can be a playoff performer, and he and Bennett could coax more offense out of Marcus Foligno. Hartman has 11 points in the last 11 playoff games for the Wild. He's becoming this team's version of Blake Coleman and Andrew Shaw; Hartman isn't going anywhere.
Foligno can continue his surge to show the NHL why the Wild extended him. Suddenly, his $4 million contract isn't a burden anymore. While his No-Movement Clause (NMC) still may present an issue for the team to make moves when he's in a scoring slump, Foligno will bring physical consistency. Bennett gives him more fuel for his engine.
The Western Conference isn't ready for this shutdown line, which will strike fear into teams simply by forechecking. There will be a lot of finishing checks, open-ice hits, and net crashing, which will bring fans out of their seats. They are talented enough to score clutch goals off energy bursts.
While Bennett will likely get a no-trade clause in his contract, this contract will be worth keeping. It will give them much-needed secondary scoring, and Bennett will play the crease on the second power play. Players like Yurov and David Jiricek are expected to be on the second power play, and they have someone who has no problem initiating contact to score on rebounds.
Now that the Wild have a shutdown line, Eriksson Ek can focus on scoring and have a more productive season. Matt Boldy took another step in the playoffs, and he'll be ready for a true breakout season. That will take the burden off Kaprizov to dominate since they have a line that can bully top lines.
In adding Bennett, Guerin would frustrate division rivals like the Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, and Winnipeg Jets. The Wild can start next season strong. They have their top and third lines set. Now it's time for them to complete their second line.
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