Sam Bennett really is an enigma. Had he lived up to his potential, the Flames depth down the middle looked pretty good. But given he's now pretty much a winger, suddenly we have less to work with and are probably middle of the league at best at that C position. While it's not fair to pin the team's problems on him alone, him not panning out like a 4th overall should really does prevent the team from taking the next step forward.
I still do believe we should be very patient with him. He's still only 21, has a strong toolbox and isn't completely useless. He's also on a very team friendly contract, so it's not like he's overpaid. There's plenty of teams who would take a player of his age at his contract. Had he been drafted in later in round 1 or beyond, this discussion likely doesn't exist.
Unless the return in a trade is a player clearly better then him, I'd still keep him on the team. There's still use for players like him. But I agree with most; it stings like hell that he's likely never going to be the PPG center the team coveted that would elevate the team to contender status.
Most of us had big hopes for a big step forward from him last off season. I still think he can do it under a new coach. But at this point I'll be happy with him if he can prove himself to be a reliable top 6, or even middle 6 forward.
|