Up front, the Panthers have Bennett (eight more seasons), Marchand (six), Aleksander Barkov (five), Anton Lundell (five), Sam Reinhart (seven), Matthew Tkachuk (five) and Carter Verhaeghe (eight). On defense, they have Ekblad (eight), Gustav Forsling (seven) and Seth Jones (five).

Sometimes you just have to keep at it so that you can fit everybody and keep the team and the core of the team together.’

Conn Smythe Trophy winner Sam Bennett signed an eight-year, $64 million extension with the Florida Panthers on Friday night. Bennett, who turned 29 earlier this month, is now under contract through the 2032-33 season.