Sam Bennett was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The forward was selected as the winner after the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup for their second consecutive season, winning a 5-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in the final at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida on Tuesday.
“It’s hard to explain,” Bennett said he won the Stanley Cup. “This is much more difficult than I thought to win and win twice. We’ve done so much work for this, so I’m so proud of this group. The team here is incredible. I’m so proud of everyone and the best feeling in the world. I don’t know how to explain it anywhere else.”
Bennett led the NHL with 15 goals, including five in the Cup final. He is the fourth active player to score at least 15 goals in a single postseason, joining Oilers forward Zach Heyman (16 in 2024), Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin (15 in 2018) and Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby (15 in 2009).
Bennett also set the NHL records for the most road targets in one postseason (13). He extended the road goalsleak to six games and became the fifth player in league history to run at least that length in Game 5 on Saturday with a 5-2 victory over the Oilers.
“We’re a very tight group and you spend a lot of time together on the road,” Bennett said. “I think we’re very close and we spend a lot of time together. We love each other as a group.”
Bennett, 29 on Friday, finished the postseason with 22 points (15 goals, 7 assists) in 23 games. He had 14 points (7 goals, 7 assists) in 19 playoff games last season, helping Florida win the Cup for the first time in its history.
Having had an NHL career-high 51 points (25 goals, 26 assists) in 76 regular-season games, Bennett is the final season of his four-year contract signed with the Panthers on July 26, 2021, and will be an unlimited free agent on July 1.
Bennett was the first player in Panthers history and won the Conn Smythe trophy. Last season, when Florida defeated Edmonton in seven games in the Stanley Cup final, Oilers captain Conor McDavid won the Contos My Strophy, becoming the sixth player to win an award from the losing team.
