Bissonnette sparks Sam Bennett to Toronto Maple Leafs rumour
The NHL trade deadline has passed, but that hasn’t stopped the rumour mill.
There will likely be no more major trades across the league for the remainder of the season, but speculation about players headed to free agency this summer has already started. One of the biggest players set to become a UFA is Toronto Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner.Ā
That will be by far the biggest storyline for the Leafs going into the summer, but NHL personality Paul Bissonette shared an interesting rumour he heard about Toronto potentially adding a big name off the free agent market rather than losing one.
On the NHL on TNT panel last night Biznasty made sure to bring up the fact that he’s heard a rumour connecting Florida Panthers pest Sam Bennett to the Leafs in free agency.
“There’s also rumblings out there that Toronto is very interested in Sam Bennett,” Bissonnette said. “I would see if Florida is able to maybe lock him in before the end of the season, but that’s a rumour mill, let’s not even go down that road.”
"There's also rumblings out there that Toronto is very interested in Sam Bennett."
Everyone please make sure to attribute this rumor to PAUL BISSONNETTE āļø pic.twitter.com/6DDdiigzTy
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 9, 2025
As much as Bissonnette tried to downplay it, bringing up the possibility at all is bound to spark some conversations. It also doesn’t help that adding Bennett would make sense from a Maple Leafs perspective.
Toronto GM Brad Treliving is an old-school GM who isn’t averse to adding some strength to his team. He brought in Ryan Reaves for that reason and it wouldn’t be hard to believe that Bennett would spark his interest as well.
This would be a much bigger move than Reaves, however, as Bennett is a perennial 20-goal scorer in this league and was good enough to represent Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off. He also played a big part in Florida’s Stanley Cup run last season, picking up seven goals and 14 points in 17 playoff games.
Bennett would add a dimension of toughness and skill that the Leafs lack as well as a proven playoff performer. The only question would be how much the Leafs are willing to spend on a potential contract. Bennett is currently making $4.4 million in the last year of his deal and would likely command a lot more on his next deal.
There is still plenty of time for the Panthers to find a way to keep him off the free-agent market, but this rumour by Bissonnette makes it sound like the Leafs will be waiting in the wings if that doesn’t come to fruition.