Quote:
Originally Posted by djsFlames
We have a playoff bennett, not a regular season bennett.
Acknowledge and respect what the guy is and what the guy isn't.
He's not going to elevate the same way for 82 and you have to slot him accordingly. You just keep him riding shotgun for when the post season rolls around. Let's not beat our head against rocks with replacing monahan nonsense.
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If a guy can produce the way Bennett does at a point in the season where the competition is heightened, is it really a given it doesn't translate to the regular season? How did Ryan do in the playoffs when he was deployed in a fashion similar to Bennett in the regular season?
Clearly it is difficult to get a read on Sam Bennett, but any statistical analysis has to be tempered by his assignments. I don't know that he could sustain on line one, but I wouldn't be willing to say it isn't a possibilty because he has talent, has shown glimpses and has never been given a prolonged opportunity. Maybe past coaches were right, and he does not have the skillset for a top six role, but understand that the guys who made those decisions are no longer in Calgary for a failure to produce.
To me Bennett is a player who thrives in a system pushing the play and pressuring the opposition, while the Flames have catered to a crew preferring possession and relying upon a conservative defensive structure. This doesn't work for a player like Sam Bennett and if the Flames continue with this philosophy it may be best for Bennett to move on, but with every passing season it becomes more apparent that the league has moved in a different direction and that direction has rendered the Flames obsolete.