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Originally Posted by jonkaupp
I didn’t give up on him. I said confidence should be low, and it damn well should be. Blaming it purely on his line mates is horse ####. He didn’t do a damn thing after Monahan went down and he got some games up on the top line.
I do agree on Gulutzan and I think it’s the number one reason he should be fired. This team will not compete for a cup unless Bennett figures this out (unless they miraculously sign Tavares). Maybe Jankowski can take that spot. Regardless this team needs to figure out a legit 1a or top tier 2 centremen if it wants to compete. There’s not a player on this team I want to see succeed more. Most excited Id ever been about a draft pick since I started watching the team 18 years ago, felt like we got our first ‘no 1’ level talent in the draft. The most excited I’ve been about this team was after Bennett’s rookie year, I thought Bennett was on his way to being a superstar. But to not be disappointed or to just blame it on his circumstances the past two years is hilariously bad analysis. I got my analysis by watching nearly every game this year and seeing another year of extremely underwhelming and terribly inconsistent play. Take off the rose coloured glasses.
The only way Bennett should be traded is if you get a good legit RW like the Islanders did for Strome. Can’t see any scenario that happens so all we can do is hope Bennett figures it out.
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I'm disappointed too - but just because he likely won't live up to his pre-draft scouting report, doesn't mean he can't be a good piece going forward. It's not just about Bennett figuring it out though - the team has to work with him and build him up. I think once he got set with Jankowski, his development got back on track and he looked like a young player struggling with consistency (as did Janko). The entire year prior to that though, the organization screwed him. They screwed him, and themselves. Saddling him with Versteeg/Brouwer/Chiasson...that's idiotic player development. It's astoundingly stupid. No other teams saddle their prized youngsters with such utter crap linemates. It was an impossible situation for Bennett to succeed in. Bad coaching, bad roster building...to expect Bennett to carry non-AHL talent up and down the ice as a centre was moronic.
I'm excited for the Bennett + Jankowski combo going forward. It'd be great to see them get a RW'er that is actually an effective NHL'er in the same way Monahan and Gaudreau got Hudler.