I wonder how long Treliving will take to make a move here. Frolik's statement (which came through his agent) was a lot more 'forceful' than what is coming out from Bennett's camp. In fact, if Treliving hadn't been making the calls to trade Bennett, it most likely wouldn't be leaked at all. It sounds like somebody leaked it for a different organization. Friedman had to call Bennett's agent to confirm, and it was a fairly uncommitted confirmation (request vs demand).
IIRC, Bennett (and Jankowski) wanted a trade not too long ago, but it seemed to go quiet later on. Things can change. It sounds like Bennett just wants more of an opportunity - and opportunity that was talked up as him having earned it from Conroy, Treliving and Ward. To start the season, Bennett found himself on the 4th line. That's not an 'opportunity'.
I like Bennett. Didn't go out and publicly demand a trade. Didn't sulk. Didn't try to force the issue. Though his play hasn't been great, he is at least looking like he cares out there, especially in the last game when this got leaked.
Things may change. Injuries happen, and the Leivo/Simon experiments may come to an end, providing Bennett with more ice time and opportunity. Then it will be on him to show up (which I think he will).
I used to think like a lot of people here - that the NHL is not a developmental league, and that's what the AHL is for. I disagree now. You have to really not be watching hockey carefully season-over-season to see how basically every player develops over time. The ones that get better opportunities, usually develop better. The AHL is to get players over whatever hump it is that they need to get over to adjust to the NHL - physicality and defensive acumen usually. They need to meet that certain 'threshold' where they can enter the NHL and not be overwhelmed and prove that they can be trusted with some minutes without hurting the team.
Development is then accelerated in the NHL IMO. I think that Bennett has shown more than Mangipane did, and Mangiapane got glued on the line with Tkachuk and Backlund. Anybody want to argue that it didn't go a long way into helping Mangiapane develop?
This is an ongoing thing that I see happening with the Flames. I think the worst thing that happened is the Flames making it to the 2nd round that season. It seemed to just try and accelerate things. Since then, the Flames have done less 'developing' and more 'trying to win now'. IMO, players like Kylington who are way too good for the AHL stop getting enough ice time and rope to develop. Flames end up spending more assets to 'shore up' that position short-term, and then Kylington stops developing as well as he probably should because Forbort and Gustafsson are better than he is (but not in the long-term plans like Kylington is).
Bennett got kind of caught in that situation IMO. You have to really hate Bennett to not point and say at his playoff performances and think that he is so easily expendable. He helped give the Flames energy and solid 5on5 scoring - something that this team has a lot of trouble doing in the playoffs.
No, he is not the 2nd coming of Jagr, or Iginla. He is Sam Bennett - a middle-six player that can help your team win in the playoffs by his versatility and physicality. He is a nightmare to play against, and he will play that way even with an injury (as he did).
Flames without Bennett are that much physically less capable. It isn't because Bennett is THAT physical and gritty, it is because there is so little of that on the team.
As for playoff performances, the Flames also lost one of their consistent playoff performers in Brodie. He has been the Flames' best and most consistent defencemen in the playoffs. Compare his ice-time against MacKinnon vs the rest of the team, for instance. I value playoff performances, at least when they happen consistently. Nobody else has been consistently good in the playoffs other than Bennett and Brodie, which alarms me in some ways.
Getting a bit sidetracked now, but I know I will miss Bennett for what he brings to this team, and at the most important times. Maybe he isn't as skilled as some people want him to be. Maybe he isn't as good. Come playoff time, however, he is one of those players that you can count on to make those extra hits count, to come out with that swagger and that mindset to want to win at all costs.
Hopefully the return will be decent enough, and I hope that this team finds that extra gear in the playoffs like Bennett (and Brodie) had. I do worry about the majority of the grit disappearing off this team, and I really do think that it is an issue come playoff time.
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