Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - What if Sam Bennett has another good playoff performance?

Calgary4LIfe · 08-08-2020, 11:59 AM

For me, I think Bennett just needs runway and consistency of opportunity.

Hartley did that for him. I thought Hartley was really good at developing young players (Baertschi aside, who just seemed unable to have much of a motor of any kind).

I was ok with Gulutzan taking Bennett off that 2nd line LW position alongside Backlund - that's a fantastic starting point for someone like Tkachuk to slide into and develop in the NHL, but he should have moved Bennett to the 3rd line centre and just kept him there. Win or lose, just give him that consistency.

Lindholm spoke about that early this season in that he doesn't care if he plays win or centre, but that if he moves to centre to just give him a long enough runway. I don't see Bennett any differently.

This is the first time that Bennett (hopefully) has a long runway at centre with consistent line mates that aren't terrible. No Brouwer or Neal that drag every line mate down in effectiveness. I hope that Ward keeps him at centre playing with Dube for the rest of this playoffs, and all of next season. See what happens. It may pay off huge for this club, and I would say that due to Bennett's playoff history, he probably has earned this type of opportunity. That's the type of investment that I want this team to make in Bennett - not all players are equal in development.

I don't know what next season will look like, but I remember reading a rumour on here from someone who knows someone in the Flames' org, and the rumour posted was signing Hall while retaining Gaudreau for next season. Now I don't know how you can possibly accomplish that without killing the defence, but having that kind of a lineup would be huge for the team, and I think Bennett could make it work.

Gaudreau - Monahan - Lindholm
Tkachuk - Backlund - Mangiapane
Hall - Bennett - Dube

The top line is the top line - we know what they can do already.
The second line will always be the match-up line - we know what they can do.
That third line though - that's a fast skating line that can be physical and and maybe becomes a really good scoring line too. I don't know, but I suddenly like the idea of Bennett centring a line like that.

This is kind of putting the cart in front of the horse so to speak right now, but my point is that Bennett SHOULD be getting a long look at being a centre on this team with decent line mates and seeing if that helps his career and stats take-off or not. I think he is reliable enough defensively to allow for this at any rate. His underlying stats show that he is a better player than what he is, so why not?

08-08-2020, 11:59 AM	#193
Calgary4LIfe Franchise Player Join Date: Jun 2010 Exp:	For me, I think Bennett just needs runway and consistency of opportunity. Hartley did that for him. I thought Hartley was really good at developing young players (Baertschi aside, who just seemed unable to have much of a motor of any kind). I was ok with Gulutzan taking Bennett off that 2nd line LW position alongside Backlund - that's a fantastic starting point for someone like Tkachuk to slide into and develop in the NHL, but he should have moved Bennett to the 3rd line centre and just kept him there. Win or lose, just give him that consistency. Lindholm spoke about that early this season in that he doesn't care if he plays win or centre, but that if he moves to centre to just give him a long enough runway. I don't see Bennett any differently. This is the first time that Bennett (hopefully) has a long runway at centre with consistent line mates that aren't terrible. No Brouwer or Neal that drag every line mate down in effectiveness. I hope that Ward keeps him at centre playing with Dube for the rest of this playoffs, and all of next season. See what happens. It may pay off huge for this club, and I would say that due to Bennett's playoff history, he probably has earned this type of opportunity. That's the type of investment that I want this team to make in Bennett - not all players are equal in development. I don't know what next season will look like, but I remember reading a rumour on here from someone who knows someone in the Flames' org, and the rumour posted was signing Hall while retaining Gaudreau for next season. Now I don't know how you can possibly accomplish that without killing the defence, but having that kind of a lineup would be huge for the team, and I think Bennett could make it work. Gaudreau - Monahan - Lindholm Tkachuk - Backlund - Mangiapane Hall - Bennett - Dube The top line is the top line - we know what they can do already. The second line will always be the match-up line - we know what they can do. That third line though - that's a fast skating line that can be physical and and maybe becomes a really good scoring line too. I don't know, but I suddenly like the idea of Bennett centring a line like that. This is kind of putting the cart in front of the horse so to speak right now, but my point is that Bennett SHOULD be getting a long look at being a centre on this team with decent line mates and seeing if that helps his career and stats take-off or not. I think he is reliable enough defensively to allow for this at any rate. His underlying stats show that he is a better player than what he is, so why not?