Florida Panthers to start season without pivotal center following injury

Bennett, 27, suffered the injury during Thursday’s preseason game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It’s unclear what caused the injury, but Bennett left the game during the second period. He finished the contest with 9:43 of ice time, one hit and a -1 rating as the Panthers won 6-3.

Maurice said on Friday that Bennett would be evaluated further that afternoon. Bennett was seen at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday with a walking boot on his left foot/leg.

Bennett has continued his revitalized play since joining the Panthers, as the 2022-23 season saw him put up 16 goals, 24 assists and 40 points in 63 regular-season games. He also had five goals, 10 assists and 15 points in 20 playoff games as the Panthers went on their run to the Stanley Cup Final before they were eliminated by the Vegas Golden Knights.

Bennett was a former fourth-overall pick by the Calgary Flames and spent seven seasons with the Flames, failing to live up to expectations before he was dealt at the 2021 trade deadline to the Panthers, where he’s spent the past two-and-a-half years. He’s in the third season of a four-year contract with a $4.425 million cap hit, one he signed with the Panthers in the 2021 offseason following a strong stint after they acquired him.

The Panthers had a busy offseason in order to try and fill the void on defense left by the early-season injuries to Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour. Florida signed Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Mike Reilly, Dmitry Kulikov and Niko Mikkola to help with that and made some other additions like Evan Rodrigues and Anthony Stolarz. The Panthers also traded Anthony Duclair to the San Jose Sharks for Steven Lorentz and a fifth-round pick.