Quote:
Originally Posted by CsInMyBlood
Sam Bennett is 21 years old. This is the time you over invest in a player.
He has shown flashes throughout his career already. Just look at his work in the playoffs, he was one of our best in both playoff years.
Patience is key here. He is young and finding his way. If the penalty parade continues I cannot argue against sitting him for a couple of games to really send a message.
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Playoffs are the worst place to evaluate a player, this is something that has long been discussed and leads to many terrible contracts if taken with more than a grain of salt. The age factor is a very slippery slope to start down as well, especially where lottery picks that are now expected to make an impact very quickly are concerned. With 171 regular season games already under his belt and little to show for it since his rookie year, the Flames have already been extremely patient in today's NHL. Bennett is the textbook case of a player that should have brewed in the AHL for a year before making the jump and is now paying for it in the long run.
At this point I would say you now must either cut your losses and bench him for a while or go for broke and see if he can get it going with a top line assignment. The time is now to try and salvage something worthy of where he was drafted and turn him into a contributor on a team with serious playoff aspirations this year.