Quote:
Originally Posted by Bingo
Yeah you can't pencil Bennett into a top six spot. He had good underlying numbers last year, numbers that suggest he could still be untapped, but how often can we hope that before you just take him for what he is.
Could he still pop to some degree? For sure he can. But not smart to assume he will.
The team needs a better sixth forward. They are welcome to aim higher and get the same through trickle down, but they need to acquire a player that is better than Frolik and Bennett and then see what happens.
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To play devil's advocate here:
Do we actually need an upgrade in the top six based on last year's results?
The playoffs were a poor showing by the team on aggregate. But, to his credit, Bennett was clearly the best forward by a mile.
An indictment on the other guys, no question, but Bennett was successful in the playoffs by any measure, despite playing 3rd/4th line minutes.
The regular season Flames scored almost at will for the majority of the year with a rotating cast on the 2nd line RW. What is the harm in having Bennett there for 25-30 games to see what a bit of confidence could do? It's not like Frolik blew the doors off with the same opportunity, and the potential upside of post season Sam becoming regular season Sam has to be considered.
Their issue is not with scoring, as they finished top 5 in that regard. It is with compete and will in tighter checking games during the playoffs.