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Matthew Tkachuk's Four-Word Message After $64 Million Sam Bennett News

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio Losada | Last updated Jun 29, 2025 8:41 AM ET

The Florida Panthers spent nearly a full week celebrating their second consecutive Stanley Cup, but even with the parties and the parade already over, Matthew Tkachuk keeps finding ways to celebrate.

Tkachuk took to Instagram to post a story featuring an intimate locker-room moment with fellow Panthers forward Sam Bennett right after Florida's victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the finals.

The photo shows Tkachuk and longtime friend Bennett standing and soaked. Tkachuk has champagne in one hand and a cigar in the other. Beside him, Bennett stares into the crowd, arms open.

Tkachuk wrote a four-word caption, "More of this please," tagging Bennett's account with the picture, along with a heart-eyes emoji next to a trophy.

The post can be understood as a celebration not just of the title, but also of Bennett’s new eight-year, $64 million extension with Florida, signed on Friday.

"I knew that I wanted to be here, and I was pretty confident that it was going to get done," Bennett said. "Obviously, you never know. Things can change. It had to be the right fit for both me and the team. We obviously came to that solution.

"Obviously, I couldn’t be happier. Being in South Florida has completely changed my life. I love playing hockey there. I love living there. I love the team, the staff and the owners. Everything about [this place] is really the dream situation. I couldn’t pass up the chance to be back here for another eight years."

Bennett capped a career-best, 51-point regular season with 15 playoff goals and 22 points in 23 postseason games, earning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs.

Tkachuk's and Bennett's friendship goes back nearly a decade to their days in Calgary playing for the Flames. The franchise drafted Tkachuck with the No. 6 pick of the 2016 draft, just two years after landing Bennett with the No. 4 pick of the 2014 draft.

The two shared the Flames locker room midway through the 2020-21 season when Calgary traded Bennett to the Panthers. Tkachuk was traded to Florida a bit over a year later, joining his former teammate on their way to win two championships in Sunrise.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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