At just about three weeks away from the start of free agency on July 1st, Toronto's Mitch Marner continues to be linked to just about every conceivable team in North America. And why not? The 28-year-old is coming off a 102-point season and has 63 career playoff points in 70 games played. Bringing Marner to Hollywood would be a very big deal. The Kings have not had a 100+ point player since Wayne Gretzky put up 130 in the 1993-1994 season. Ironically, the Kings pulled off the rare feat that season of not making the playoffs the year after playing in the Stanley Cup final against the Montreal Canadiens. That said, 100+ point players are still a very good thing and adding a player of Marner's caliber would definitely make LA a more dangerous team in the dystopian hellscape known as the Western Conference. He certainly won't come cheap though.
How much you say? Estimates seem to be landing in the 12 to 14 million per range, which would make Marner the Kings' highest-paid player right off the drop. While the hockey media scrutiny in LA is exponentially more forgiving than Toronto, Marner would still feel the pressure from a fan base that has grown increasingly frustrated by the team's abysmal playoff record since 2014. Just imagine if the Kings still got bounced in the first round with a guy making 13 mil on the roster: Fan Revolt Achievement Badge Unlocked!
This is exactly the reason why general manager Ken Holland should be ready to pounce on the Florida Panther's Sam Bennett should he become available on July 1st. If you have been following this year's Stanley Cup final between Florida and Edmonton at all, this should be very obvious based on the eye test only. Bennett has been a menace in the first three games of this series and one of the main reasons why the vaunted Oilers are imploding on our screens in 4K Ultra High Def. Outside of his league-leading 14 goals this postseason, he hits everything that moves. This includes open-ice hits on the likes of Connor McDavid, enough to drive the entire Oiler bench into a collective psychosis. Take a run at Bennett then? Well, he has 42 playoff penalty minutes to go along with all those goals so be my guest. The Ontario native is more than ready to answer the bell for those hits and has shown that throughout the Cats' playoff run this year.
During LA Kings' games, the broadcast team likes to talk a lot about "net front presence". Unfortunately, for the Kings, this often remain an abstract concept, like trickle-down economics, or that time that Jerry asked Kramer to explain what a "write-off" is. For Sam Bennett, however, front net presence is his entire raison d'être, his jam if you will. From his literal run-in with Leafs' goalie Anthony Stolarz to his on-going saga with Edmonton's Stuart Skinner, Bennett's body of work in opposing teams' creases rivals that of Rembrandt. Bennett gets so close to goalies that he could probably give you a detailed rundown of what their pre-game meal was. Driving netminders and other teams nuts around the blue paint is his medium and Ken Holland should become his new benefactor should Bennett make his canvas available on July 1st.
Bennett would bring an enticing set of grit, sandpaper, and skill that the Kings haven't had since a young Dustin Brown was laying waste to the Sedins so long ago now. In his prime, Dustin Brown's game looked at lot like Bennetts': bone-crunching open ice hits, dirty goals from in tight, and a knack for getting under the opponents' skin. Shane Doan even refused to shake his hand after Arizona was bludgeoned in five-games in the 2012 Western Conference final. Rent-free, right?
Would Bennett even want to leave Florida though? If the Cats manage to beat the Oilers again for their second straight Cup, Bennett might prefer to stay in Sunrise and take a chance on getting a legit dynasty going. Only Montreal, Toronto, and the Islanders have won three or more Cups in a row, so having the chance to do so in Florida might be enough for Bennett to stay put. If he did hit the open market, how much would he be looking at? Estimates seem to vary between 7 and 10 million and his phenomenal playoff run here may tempt teams to overpay, but Sam Bennett is exactly the type of player that could really move the needle for the Los Angeles Kings.
Hopefully, Ken Holland is ready to pick up the phone at 12:01 AM on July 1st because just about everybody else will be.