[CliffFletcher]

I'm skeptical Bennett can translate his playoff success into being a productive 2C or 3C over a full season.

Most of his goals were scored with a ferocious forecheck and by crashing and banging around the net. It's extremely difficult to maintain that kind of relentlessness for 82 games.

The game is refereed differently in the playoffs vs regular season. Bennett would take a couple minors a game if he played that way all the time.

The role of an NHL center is to maintain possession of the puck, use vision and smarts distribute it to wingers, and backcheck down low when he doesn't have the puck. Bennett still doesn't do those things. He's still not a very good passer, and he's not great without the puck.

You have to ask yourself why a guy with his wheels, who plays in the bottom 6, has not been entrusted to kill penalties. It's because his anticipation, patience, and discipline are lacking.

He's fun guy to watch, and his style of play is well-suited to the compressed intensity of the playoffs. But I just don't see him as a line-driving NHL centre.