Quote:
Originally Posted by Cleveland Steam Whistle
I think it's the last line of your post that everyone seems to taking as a given, but I'd wager is not being seen as such a slam dunk by the a Flames right now and is complicating the decision, especially if the expectations are for him to hit that level right away.
Also, he's not going to play on our 4th line, so he needs to be in the top 9 right away. I know it's easy to say he'll be better than Raymond or Colborne, which I hope would be the case in fairly short order, but in 4 games maybe not. This is really complicated for the Flames I'm sure, there is no guarantee he'll be better right now, so slotting him in unproven at this point and taking out a player who's been through this teams battles all year is not something you take lightly at this point if your are the a Flames. Getting in has to to be priority number 1, but if it's debatable if it's going to be an upgrade over the next 4 games you have to be careful of the cultural implications for the team and Bennett long term when you preach always earned and this group has already exceed expectations so much.
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Guys like Granlund and Ferland and Shore are being slotted onto the 3rd line on a nightly basis.
They have seen Bennett in practice with the team, as well as in pre-season.
There is no doubt in anyone's mind, I would venture to suggest, that Bennett is clearly better - right now - than those guys at a minimum.