Florida Panthers winger Sam Bennett is home in Ontario for the summer and may have just teased a potential homecoming with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Bennett and the rest of the Panthers have enjoyed one of the best summers of their entire lives, celebrating the first Stanley Cup win in Panthers franchise history, downing the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals back in June.

A former top-5 pick, Bennett had himself a solid postseason, contributing 7 goals and 7 assists for 14 points cross 19 games in the playoffs, but now with the Holland Landing, Ontario native coming up on the final year of his deal in Florida, the rumour mill will start to spin about a potential homecoming for the 28-year-old — at least until he actually puts pen to paper on an extension with the Panthers.

On Tuesday, Bennett joined TSN’s “First Up” for a brief interview to discuss not only his Cup run in Florida, but also the messages he receives from fans while he’s back home in Southern Ontario. According to Bennett, even the people who hate him have been trying to coax him to come home. Bennett’s response? “Yeah, you never know.”

Bennett was limited to just 69 games this season due to injury, but he still managed to post 20 goals and 41 points in that span. Granted his production level has never been absurdly high, with his career high being 49 points in 2021-22, but Bennett’s penchant for doing whatever it takes to win has finally paid off.

Will Bennett sign a deal with the Maple Leafs as a free agent next summer? Will the Lesfs push to acquire him at the deadline if the Panthers find themselves in some trouble in the standings this season? We’ll have to wait and see, but he certainly sounds open to the idea.