Toronto Maple Leafs Target Sam Bennett Confirms His Free Agency Decision

The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking at a ton of options in free agency right now, and one of them has been Florida Panthers stud Sam Bennett.

Although Bennett has reportedly rejected the Maple Leafs, there has still been a sliver of hope that the forward would reconsider and come to the epicenter of hockey in Canada.

After winning the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe, the prevailing notion as of late has been that Bennett will return to the Panthers this summer, and he will do so on an eight-year deal.

Last night, the Florida Panthers had a night out on the town in Miami, where they celebrated their incredible Stanley Cup victory.

It was here where numerous big-name players gave speeches and revealed their intentions over the coming weeks. Bennett gave a speech and found himself channelling Leonardo DiCaprio in 'The Wolf of Wall Street.'

He made it crystal clear to his teammates that he has no intentions of leaving. Instead, he wants to keep the dynasty alive.

Overall, this is bad news for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who were probably hoping for Bennett to join the team next season. Although negotiations still need to be had.

While Bennett can say whatever he wants, he and the Panthers need to come to an official agreement, which is something that has not occurred yet.

Ultimately, we are looking forward to seeing how free agency shapes out, and how the Leafs are able to pivot off of Bennett deciding to go somewhere else entirely.

It is clear that the Maple Leafs have a lot to figure out here, but there is still some hope that they can have a big summer and get better.