Panthers sign forward Bennett to four-year contract
Sam Bennett re-signed with the Florida Panthers on Monday, agreeing to a four-year contract worth $17.7 million with the team that has been a good fit for him since joining at the trade deadline.
Bennett put up six goals and nine assists for 15 points in 10 regular-season games with the Panthers after they acquired him from Calgary. The 25-year-old was a point-agame player during Florida's playoff series, too, with a goal and four assists.
“Sam’s impact on our club this past season was seen immediately, injecting physicality, skill and energy into our lineup,” general manager Bill Zito said in a statement. “We are thrilled to have him in our Panthers lineup and look forward to what he can bring to our offense in the upcoming 2021-22 season.”
Bennett will count $4.425 million against the salary cap annually through the 2024-25 season.
The Panthers also resigned defensemen Lucas Carlsson and Noah Juulsen for next season. Next up could be a new contract for forward Sam Reinhart, whom they got from Buffalo on Saturday.
“That’s all going to get announced and worked on in due time,” Reinhart said of signing with Florida. “I just feel comfortable we’re both excited about the future. I don’t see any issues moving forward.”
In other moves around the NHL, New Jersey acquired defenseman Christian Jaros from San Jose for forward Nick Merkley, Philadelphia re-signed big defenseman Sam Morin, St. Louis re-upped Aussie Nathan Walker, and Jake Virtanen cleared unconditional waivers, putting him one step closer to being bought out by Vancouver.
INTER MIAMI
Ventura Alvarado ,a Mexican-American center back who has played his whole pro career in Mexico, has been training with Inter Miami for a few weeks and is close to finalizing a contract with the club.
The Athletic first reported the news, and a league source confirmed that he could be signed by the end of the week.
Alvarado, 28, last played for Atletico San Luis. He is an Arizona native who has made 13 appearances for the U.S. national team, the last in 2015.
Inter Miami coach Phil Neville, asked about Alvarado last week, said he was shaking off the rust but impressed the staff with his style of play.
“It was an opportunity we had that he could come in and train,” Neville said.
“He’s had a lot of time off. He’s a long way behind everyone else, so it’s going to take another couple of weeks to truly evaluate him, but every single day he is getting fitter. He’s shown he’s an international player. He’s almost [Nico] Figal-like in the way he likes to play. We’re going to assess him another two weeks and see where that takes us. He’s impressed us with his attitude. He speaks good English, has good experience.”
Inter Miami ended a six-game losing skid with a 1-1 tie against Philadelphia on Sunday night. Miami is 2-8-3 heading into Saturday’s match against CF Montreal.
— MICHELLE KAUFMAN
More soccer: Matthew Hoppe scored his first international goal on a header in the 83rd minute and the United States beat Jamaica 1-0 late Sunday to reach the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup at Arlington, Texas.
Hoppe, making his second international appearance, nodded home a cross from Cristian Roldan from just inside the 6-yard box, and the U.S. eliminated the 45thranked Reggae Boyz for the third straight Gold Cup.
The 20th-ranked U.S. will face Qatar, an invited guest ahead of its hosting next year’s World Cup, on Thursday in Austin, Texas. It will be the 11th consecutive Gold Cup semifinal for the Americans, who last won in 2017 when they beat Jamaica in the final. Goalkeeper Matt Turner had his third shutout in four matches.