Quote:
Originally Posted by kyuss275
I have seen some posters say that "look at Backlund when having patience". I'm not sure if those circumstances apply to the new NHL. Some of the reasons that Backlund was given a long leash was that the flames had zero center prospects in the system. Hell they didn't have any real forward prospects that could come close to NHL. Back when Backlund was the youngster in NHL it was more norm to have your NHL roster full of vets. Now the NHL seems to be going younger and younger every year. I don't think teams going forward are going to be giving prospects 6-7 years to get their stuff together.
I would also like to add that being patient is a 2way street. Yes flames should be patient with Bennett but he is also going to have to be patient going forward if he wants to remain a flame. I could easily see Bennett and his agent asking for a trade this summer. He might feel he needs a fresh start. What do they see as the long term future with the flames? Even if he starts playing well, he is never going to dethrone Johnny Hockey or Tkachuk on LW. I don't see him as a center and even if he was, he has a long way to go to make it as a top 6 center man. If he does put it togther in the next year or 2, is there even going to be any money left to keep him long term? Johnny, Gio, Mony, Hamilton have been paid. Backs could be getting paid pretty soon and they better be backing up the money trucks for Tkachuk in a years time. ( Tkachuk is my favourite who i see as future captain). Doesnt leave much for Bennett.
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Agree with your post here. Patience is required on both sides.
I'm not sure if the Backlund comparisons make much sense. Backlund showed signs of being strong on the defensive side of the puck almost from the point he entered the league. He was an advanced stats darling long before the offence came.
If you wanted to point out good examples of what Sam could become, I think you would look at other late blooming top 5 picks like Blake wheeler, kyle Turris, or Nino Nieteridder. Common theme here is all we're traded from their draft teams. But let's also not forget Cody Hodgson was once considered the best prospect in hockey.
That said, Sam has displayed, fairly consistently, that he looks like a fringe NHLer. I don't think it's a stretch to say if he wasn't picked 4th overall, he wouldn't be in he league. He has frequently hurt the team with really poor penalties. It is not unusual at all to see Sam behind the play, out of position, taking stick infractions either in the offensive or defensive zone. That coupled with his seemingly neutered offensive abilities, you have a player who is lost. It's one thing to have littler or no impact, it's another to hurt the team. If this is what Bennett is, it won't matter what team he plays for, who his coach is, or who his line mates are, he won't be emerging as an impact player at this level or even in the NHL at all.
Very disappointing to see how this has turned out, but it might not be too late. I'm certain the hockey ops department has spent a lot of time evaluating their options with this player. To me, it looks like it's broken. This looks like a lose lose for the Flames. I'm not sure how you 'fix' him within your own system other than tell Ferland he's no longer needed on the first line (even though he's earned that spot) and play the living hell out of Sam there and hope he's not a boat anchor that sinks your first line & playoff chances for the year. Or you sell low on the player and get a similar return that Lazar and Sven got. You walk away and hope he doesn't turn into Kyle Turris somewhere else.
Maybe it's time to bring in a 'marrage counsellor' of sorts and see if the relationship can continue. As for the next game, Sam can/should/deserves to take a turn in the press box.