Quote:
Originally Posted by New Era
Why does anyone give a #### about stats? The only thing that matters is winning and losing. Sam Bennett hasn't been a significant contributor to victories. PERIOD. He's a waste during the regular season and only seems to find that extra gear in the post season, which the Flames also don't win enough of. Winning is all that matters. As fun as it is to watch Sam run around and bowl people over, crash the net and score the ugly goals needed, he just doesn't contribute consistently to victories. The same can be said about a number of Flames. Time to move on from these guys.
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You and I arguing about Sam Bennett yet again, it's always fun!
Your take on Bennett wasn't an uncommon one. I'd argue it was the uncomplicated one, but one that was justified because his day in day out regular season play just wasn't a sexy one.
However, look at what's happening in front of your eyes. He's got the opportunity I've long argued with you that he needed - and he's running with it. I'd say this is Bennett proving your take wrong - and it's freaking awesome for the team you cheer for. So you can continue to move the goal posts to justify an opinion you have, or you can be like "damn, I'm happy I was wrong on that one" and move on while cheering for a forward who is producing points at a better rate than almost everyone in the NHL in these playoffs as he also leads the NHL in post-season hits. Like holy hell - put those stat lines together, and don't even bother arguing that the stats don't matter, use the ol' eye test - it lines up. The Sam Bennett we're seeing right now is the player we DREAMED of drafting. He's showing the heart, grit, determination, and skill we need. Can he keep this up? Probably not, but does he deserve better linemates and an opportunity to play as a centre next year? Yeah, he does.
I was over here in camp Gillies and hammering the drum for him over Rittich for far, far too long. I was a freaking James Neal fan last year (...I STILL have my James Neal jersey ffs). Sometimes we're wrong.
The underlying numbers are starting to shine through. No one here is really arguing that Bennett is a superstar, as most of us seemed to have abandoned that take somewhere between Glen Gulutzan and Bill Peters - but just look at what he's doing AGAIN. He's "earning" his ice time/bump in linemates that you have said before he didn't deserve - well, he deserves it now, and he's making good on it. This is awesome for the team.
If someone is a Calgary Flames fan, I don't understand how they aren't loading up on the Bennett train. This could be freaking huge for the organization going forward. He's producing at an elite level at the most important time of the year, and so even if he puts up 30 points in the regular season - if he produces at a top level in the playoffs that's a pretty damn good thing - it's also really entertaining to watch.