Quote:
Originally Posted by djsFlames
I'm not usually one to truly think that the fans may know better than the team, but this is one of those cases where it's just becoming logical to see..
I just don't see the downside, whereas I see plenty of upside to doing it.
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Guaranteed the Flames see it too, but what's the rush?
- Team is winning;
- No point just giving an asset away (Stajan, Brouwer, whoever);
- Injuries can happen anytime, then you will need the depth;
- Janko won't be hurt playing prime minutes in Stockton.
Treliving isn't stupid, they know what they have in Janko. At the end of last season, Treliving said he wanted to get bigger skill. Well, he added Jagr and he's going to add Janko. Janko is going to be a big part of this team THIS year and in the playoffs.
I really think they are evaluating Bennett at centre right now. They will give him 20 to 25 games and if he still doesn't produce, they will pull the plug on him as a centre and move him to the wing and bring Janko up to replace him at centre.
There is also another thing to consider, and that is what to do with Backlund moving forward. If Bennett can't cut it at centre, then a Backlund extension becomes much more pressing. If Bennett excels at centre and the Flames have Janko ready, then maybe you don't extend Backlund as there are only so many dollars within the cap, or at the very least, this dictates how hard Treliving will negotiate with Backlunds' agent. If Bennett excels at centre, Treliving has more leverage in negotiations with Backlund.