Bennett hasn't progressed offensively, but I think he is night and day better in just about every other facet of the game. He is LIGHTYEARS better defensively than when he started. He is so much stronger out there and rarely loses a puck battle. He is going to be this team's most complete player and probably one of the most important cogs to winning.
Bennett will start clicking offensively. If you have followed this thread, there are a tonne of great examples of players that took longer to get it going. With a change in coaches, who knows what effect this will have on him?
Often a coach comes in and starts breaking up lines and changing player utilizations as he sees fit. I do not think that Gulutzan has put Bennett in many good places to succeed offensively, nor do I think the actual system employed helped matters either. Bennett has speed, and he makes plays at speed. I have been harping on this fact for probably over a year - Bennett needs to play with someone else who can play at his pace. I also think that a system change - one that is likely to increase the speed at which this team plays - will greatly benefit him.
Time will tell. Bennett looked like he was about to bust open under Hartley, took a few steps back offensively under Gulutzan, and hopefully under a new regime, it will prove to be more conducive to his development and he can develop into a valuable 2-way player that can play in any situation.
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