Sam Bennett's 'Preference' Could Impact His Free Agent Market originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett has dominated this postseason, and interest in the pending free agent is rising by the day.

It seems like every breath Sam Bennett takes earns him another dollar right now. The Florida Panthers center, 28, is competing in his third consecutive Stanley Cup Final, this time doing so as a pending unrestricted free agent,

Sam Bennett has made NHL general managers everywhere go, Hell yeah, that's the kind of guy we need in the playoffs. Bennett is now the favorite to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, and why shouldn't he be?

Once Atlantic Division rivals, the pair of forwards are making NHL history with fantastic play through the first three games of the final.

Bennett had the kind of shift in Game 3’s victory on Monday that tells the larger Panthers’ story. It’s as much the moment of this series as Panthers forward Brad Marchand’s breakaway goal to win Game 2, defenseman Aaron Ekblad’s hit that sent Connor McDavid spinning to the ice or McDavid’s brilliant “walk-on-water toe tap,’’ as Ekblad called it.