Quote:
Originally Posted by GioforPM
Who were Bennett's wingers then? Usually Brouwer and Chiasson or Versteeg. No they aren't necessarily horrible, but not at the level of Tkachuk (or even Neal). And not as much of a fit IMO.
I bet Ryan slides up though.
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Center was a bad fit for the kid and it caused a lot of damage to his progression as an NHLer - it is not something that was simply based on who his linemates were either. That was part of the problem but much of the issues were a result of Bennett being over his head in the role. The Flames finally have a good player in him now as a winger and things will only get exponentially tougher for him back at center, especially if asked to do what Backlund does for this team.
There's no reason to even go down that road when the team has so many other capable options to plug that hole now. Lindholm is my choice as he is the closest player we have as far as IQ, style and actually provides more offensive skill to the line.