Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
Is it not abundantly clear by now that Springtime Sam Bennett is not the same player as Winter Bennett? We have seen this now each and every season the Flames have played in the playoffs since 2015—Bennett plays fine in the regular season, but then turns into a post-season monster. Yeah, he is still young and maybe there is some room to grow, but I am today fairly unconvinced that he will be a viable second-line option for the Flames in September. He remains a VERY important player for this team because of what he brings when the playoffs start, but I still believe what we see from him each regular season is what we will get in the future, and that's okay.
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Absolutely, that's the rub.
I think he took steps this season in driving play, but he certainly didn't in production when push came to shove. His production rate was his second highest in his pro career after his rookie season, so he's taking a step ... but that's not to suggest he's a top six forward. (He was ranked 11th for forwards in points/60 five on five on the team).
So you take that and probably plateau him as a third liner, but have some hope/confusion left to ponder with his generation stats being much higher (3rd in forwards for expected individual goals, 1st for forwards in individual high danger chances).
Is this guy good at creating but bad at finishing? Bad luck? A bit of both?
I think they find a new guy behind Backlund, and let Bennett be the ceterpiece of the third line.