Quote:
Originally Posted by Flashpoint
The Athletic has a really great article on Bennett's trade value as a top 5 pick, now 5 years out from his draft. They compare him to similar players who were traded, and pare the list down to guys who are similar - good rookie season, but fail to develop beyond there, and seem to be "stuck".
Athletic Link (Paywall)
For comparable forwards:
Kent Wilson's conclusion is that he could be Nail Yakupov, or he could be James van Riemsdyk (who turned into a good 25 goal 55 point player a couple years later).
Its a neat article. I fall on the side of "hold" when it comes to Bennett after reading it - the guy may be 5 years from his draft, but clearly there is upside to be had. Yakupov is the cautionary tail of holding onto a guy for too long, but the big difference I see there is Yakupov's "give a s---" meter is a lot lower than Bennett's.
My other takeaway is that any concept of Bennett as our top line PPG center is dead and gone. Secondary scoring is about as good as it's ever going to get at this point. That's a bit of a hard pill to swallow as a long term Flames fan, given that he's our highest ever draft pick - but I still say keep the asset provides more potential upside than a trade at this point. Even for a first rounder.
(Off Topic) I used to be pretty anti-paywall BTW - but I really can't say enough about how amazing the Athletic is. |
Yakupov's issue more than attitude is he isn't good enough. He was a good 18 year old and regressed or didn't improve from there. Bennett is in the same boat. Bottom 6 forwards for now until they bottom out and play overseas.
If anyone offers Trevliving a first rounder especially when you don't have one this year he takes it. Unfortunate part is that no GM probably offers that.
Bennett is a good addition in a trade with young d prospect to improve our top 6 forwards. Flames need more goals and guys like Mangi, Dube etc will be able to replace Bennett's 3rd line minutes.