Quote:
Originally Posted by Vinny01
Again one of the main reasons he can help the team is the secondary scoring has dried up completely. Raymond, Colborne, Stajan, Granlund, Backlund, Jones have vanished from the score sheet. Hartley rode that top line heavy last night and we virtually have no second PP unit.
Bennett is a dynamic offensive talent. His speed, smarts, and 2way play already make him a perfect fit style wise for the team. Bringing him in and playing him the 2 games against the bottom feeders will give Hartley a good sense if he should keep playing him or have him watch the last couple games. There is no rush to burn the year off the ELC but with this team needing likely 3 wins in their last 4 with 2 winnable games coming up they need to get the best lineup out there. Adding Bennett gives them more options and playing out the string in Addy is no better than being in a locker room in a tight playoff race.
He doesn't have to be a savior but on the flip side he has potential to ignite energy into the lineup in a similar fashion that Sven did in 2012. Baertschi scored and the Flames won those games. Also i have no concern with a similar fate with Bennett that happened with Sven as Sam already plays a solid 2way game and is a higher caliber prospect
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I don't disagree with anything you are saying. Those are all the reasons to try it. Although there is no try and see period left with 4 games to go, these next two are just as important as the last two, they aren't freebies we can dick around with before we get to the real games against LA and WPG.
But all those players who have "dried" up don't simply feel Bennett is automatically going to have a better chance than them at scoring in the next 4 games. I'm sure they aren't ignorant to his skill set, but they also aren't ignorant to how the NHL game is much tougher, and every single one of them has proven they can score more NHL goals than Bennett has at this point. The fans of this team as a collective feel "Bennett" meets the "earned" criteria, and fair enough. I'm suggesting to you that none of the players on the roster feel that way yet (which is nothing against Bennett by them), and if they chose to play Bennett and it doesn't work out (because all gets forgiven with wins), choosing to play him does have some serious potential re-precusions how players on this team trust and view the reputation of this team that is so very stellar right now.
This is not a team (players wise especially) that views themselves as a team with their back against the wall that needs to take risks or get some help to get in. This is a group that for sure feels like they are exactly where they want to be, with their destiny in their hands down the stretch. They likely aren't a group looking to the coaches or management of the team going, "damn guys we are reeling, throw us a life line, get us some help" they are a group that likely feels pretty good confident that they are going to be able to take this across the line with the team they currently have.