Quote:
Originally Posted by chedder
Wouldn't that be the fear of ever trading a player? I think I got the point. Just stating that comparing Bennett to Hall is apples to oranges other than draft position (which isn't even that relevant with Hall going first overall) .
Hall has been a good to very good player since day one, Bennett hasn't.
And I like Bennett. Just don't think he'll ever be an 80 point player.
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Forget Hall. Do you not see William Karlsson as a parallel to Bennett? Buried in a 3rd line role with mediocre linemates, gets an expanded role and suddenly explodes.
Talent in this league has always played with talent. Jonathan Toews wasn't playing with scrubs when he was voted a top 100 player of all time, he was consistently on the ice with the likes of Hossa, Kane, Sharp, and Saad. As much as people wax poetic about earned ice time, most of the time players just fall into it by convenience and team need. Bennett is a LHS C / LW and he's been pushed out of prime production opportunities by Backlund, Monahan, Gaudreau, and Tkachuk. There are teams that do have that spot available, and Bennett in particular has the type of upside where even if he doesn't become Hall, he could be a more complete two-way center than Monahan and a more dynamic offensive player than Backlund.
Personally I don't see Monahan-Backlund as a cup winning 1-2 punch at center so giving up on Bennett right now seems irresponsible at best. Brayden Point wouldn't be who he is without injuries to the likes of Stamkos and Johnson, either. Sometimes things have to fall into place naturally and that was not about to happen under GG, whose sense of adventure was limited to watching a Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Under Hartley, and now again under Peters, we are seeing the kind of experimentation needed for players to have breakout seasons.